Health Consultant

Job Posting Organization:
UNICEF, established in 1946, is a United Nations agency that works in over 190 countries and territories. Its mission is to reach the world's most disadvantaged children, save their lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential. UNICEF operates with a commitment to never give up on any child, striving to build a better world for everyone.

Job Overview:
The Health Consultant position under the supervision of the Health Manager focuses on supporting the costing of the RMNCAH (Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health) Strategy. This role involves calculating detailed cost estimates for each component of the strategy, integrating both direct and indirect costs into the final validated RMNCAH strategy document. The consultant will be responsible for organizing coordination meetings, collecting and analyzing financial and non-financial information, conducting field trips for consultations, and preparing validation workshops. The consultant will also work closely with various stakeholders including the Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Finance (MoF), and international organizations to ensure accurate costing and budgeting for health initiatives.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Organize coordination meetings between the MCH-MoH team and international cost consultants, ensuring relevant stakeholders are involved in the National RMNCAH strategy costing plan.
• Collect, analyze, and sort all required financial and non-financial information for the RMNCAH programme, including salaries of health workers, costs of meetings, equipment costs, demographic data, and macro-economic indicators.
• Participate in discussions related to costing, budgeting, and financing with key stakeholders within MoH, MoF, UNICEF, WHO, and UNFPA.
• Organize and conduct field trips for consultations with health managers or workers outside of Dili to gather cost data and feedback.
• Support the preparation of overall cost estimates using the chosen costing tool, aligning with the RMNCAH strategy and national budget structure.
• Finalize estimated costing and budgeting for both the NIS and RMNCAH using the agreed costing application.
• Prepare and coordinate validation workshops for the final costing draft with the MoH-MCH team.
• Translate the final costing draft to Tetum and integrate it with the RMNCAH strategy document, ensuring proper design, printing, and distribution of the costing document.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess an advanced university degree in medicine, public health, social sciences, statistics, planning development, or a related field. A degree in epidemiology, biostatistics, economics, accounting, or financing is considered an added advantage. Essential skills include sound knowledge in preparing costing and budgeting, as well as accounting and financing. Candidates should demonstrate the ability to work harmoniously in a team and adapt to diverse educational and cultural backgrounds while maintaining high standards of personal conduct.

Educational Background:
An advanced university degree in relevant fields such as medicine, public health, social sciences, statistics, or planning development is required. Additional qualifications in epidemiology, biostatistics, economics, accounting, or financing are advantageous.

Experience:
Candidates should have at least 5 years of relevant experience at the national level, preferably in the health sector. Experience working with international organizations is desirable, indicating a familiarity with global health initiatives and practices.

Languages:
Fluency in English is mandatory. Proficiency in Tetum is also required for effective communication and documentation within the local context. Additional language skills may be beneficial but are not mandatory.

Additional Notes:
The position is a consultancy role, and individuals engaged under this contract will not be considered staff members under the UN regulations. The selected candidate will be responsible for their tax liabilities and must ensure that their visa and health insurance are valid for the contract duration. Candidates must confirm their fully-vaccinated status against COVID-19 with a WHO-endorsed vaccine before starting the assignment, although this requirement does not apply to remote consultants. UNICEF promotes diversity and inclusion, encouraging applications from all backgrounds, including persons with disabilities.