This is a re-advertisement, candidates who have already applied do not need to re-apply.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to Health

How can you make a difference?

The Health Specialist (Health Economics and Financing), based in UNICEF’s Nairobi Centre of Excellence, is a key contributor to UNICEF’s technical assistance mandate under the Financing for Scale pillar. As part of IHEFPI — UNICEF’s first dedicated cross-cutting health economics and financing team — the Specialist has a dual role:

• Internally, embedding economics and financing capacity across UNICEF health teams and positioning the organisation as a credible partner in global health financing.
• Externally, delivering high-quality technical assistance to governments on immunisation, PHC, and MNCAH, supporting the design, implementation, and evaluation of sustainable, country-led financing strategies across 20+ countries in sub-Saharan and North Africa.

Key contributions include:

1. Improving resource allocation and efficiency analysis for immunisation and child health.
2. Supporting the design and implementation of sustainable health financing models.
3. Providing technical leadership in health budgeting and planning.
4. Packaging economic evidence to inform policy dialogue and advocacy.
5. Building capacity at national and regional levels to sustain reforms. Through this role, the Specialist ensures UNICEF’s support is country-led, evidence-driven, and scalable — directly contributing to health systems strengthening, UNICEF’s Health Strategic Plan, and the SDGs. The Specialist also helps embed resilience and preparedness into financing strategies, enabling governments to sustain essential services during crises and aligning with UNICEF’s Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs).

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks:

1. Technical Advisory on Strategic Planning, Policy Formulation & Review
2. Evidence Generation & Economic Analysis
3. Domestic Resource Mobilization & Government-Led Financing
4. Technical Advisory Support on Capacity Building
5. Cross-Sectoral Coordination & Integration

The Global Programme Division (GPD) plays a central role in driving programme excellence across UNICEF. It provides global strategic leadership and policy direction, develops and monitors frameworks and standards, and ensures coherence and alignment across sectors, regions, and partners. GPD generates high-impact, evidence-based solutions and serves as a hub of specialised expertise, offering technical guidance on policy reform and scalable programming.

GPD leads UNICEF’s policies, standards, and negotiations for programmes, ensuring that the organisation’s assets and priorities align with, and contribute to, child development goals. In addition, GPD strengthens country-level implementation through integrated technical support, linking global policy with on-the-ground action to deliver results for children at scale. As part of this structure, UNICEF has established Centres of Excellence (CoEs) to provide highquality, demanddriven technical assistance to Country and Regional Offices, and their governments and partners. Located strategically in Nairobi, Panama, Amman, and Bangkok, the CoEs bring together crosscutting expertise across time zones. Global Programme Practices in CoEs function as a single point of support entry, delivering tailored assistance in priority areas such as policy reform in matters that advance the well-being of children, at-scale programme design, public finance, workforce development, and institutional strengthening, and timely humanitarian response while promoting resilient development. In doing so, the CoEs also contribute to global policy standards, ensuring that UNICEF’s support is grounded in practical knowledge.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  JD - Health Specialist (Health Economics and Financing)_P4_133446.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Public Health, Economics, Medicine, Health Administration, Health Economics, Health Financing, Health Policy, Finance, Economic Evaluation, Fiscal Policy and any other related fields. A Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in a relevant area combined with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. This is applicable to internal (FT, Continuing and Permanent) staff only.

• Work Experience: At least 8 years of relevant work experience in Planning, Health, Health Economics, Health Financing, Immunization, Child Health, Policy Formulation, Sustainable Health Systems, Capacity Building, Evidence Generation, Cross-Sectoral Coordination and Partnerships, Technical Advisory, Domestic Resource Mobilization, Economic Analysis, Policy Advisory, Strategic Planning and any other related fields.
• Skills: Advanced technical proficiency in: Economic evaluation methods (CEA, CBA, ROI); Budget impact and financial forecasting models; Health systems and financing diagnostics (e.g., PFM assessments, transition readiness); Use of health economic modelling tools such as UNIVAC, OneHealth Tool, LiST, Spectrum, Optima Health, and/or advanced Excel and R-based modeling.
  • Strong quantitative analysis skills, including use of statistical software (e.g., R, Stata, Excel VBA); ability to manage large datasets and develop economic models.
  • Excellent policy translation and writing skills, with a track record of producing decision-useful outputs such as briefs, investment cases, and peer-reviewed publications.
  • Deep understanding of global health financing architecture, including mechanisms like Gavi support, GFF, and Multilateral Development Banks. 
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and French is required. 

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Portuguese, or Spanish) or a local language is an asset. 
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.