JOB DESCRIPTION

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, innovation

Ethiopia is situated in the Horn of Africa and is the second most populous country on the continent with an estimated population of 115 million. It borders six African countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, and covers 1,104,300 square kilometers. Approximately 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas. Ethiopia represents a melting pot of ancient cultures with Middle Eastern and African cultures evident in the religious, ethnic, and language composition of its people.

Over the past two years, children and their families across Ethiopia faced multiple and complex emergencies, such as the conflict in the northern Ethiopia and the drought, which resulted in millions of people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. UNICEF has programmes in Child Protection, WASH, Health, Nutrition, Social Policy, and Education and serves over 15 million children in Ethiopia. Join UNICEF Ethiopia to contribute to improving the lives of children and women

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

How can you make a difference?

Background:

Conflict in Northern areas of Ethiopia has left Health Facilities damaged or looted, affecting service delivery, and collapsing health system. Displacement has pushed people away from existing health services. The conflict has caused mental and psychosocial trauma among health workers and communities including Gender Based Violence especially among females. Some communities in other non-conflict affected areas are underserved in terms of access to essential MNCAH services.

EU has generously provided 31M USD through UNICEF to contribute to the improved health and well-being of women, newborns, children and adolescents through the provision of equitable and quality health services by reinstating and strengthening the health system in Amhara, Tigray, Afar, SNNPR and Oromia – post conflict.

As the project approaches its conclusion in June 2026, there is an urgent need to engage a consultant to support the implementation of the remaining Adolescent-Friendly Health Services (AFHS), Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) activities, as agreed with the EU. The consultant will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of AFHS in selected model facilities and for documenting best practices, lessons learned, and key challenges.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The Health Consultant Adolescent Youth Friendly Health Service, Gender Based Violence Support and Mental Health and Psychosocial Service (AFHS, GBV and MHPSS) supports the health section and field offices in providing technical leadership to coordinate the Adolescent, Youth Friendly Health Service, Gender Based Violence Support and Mental Health and Psychosocial Service under the EU funded project titled “Building Capacities and Restoring Essential Health Services (CARE4Health) in the conflict affected areas in Ethiopia”

Scope of Work:

The consultant will support the implementation of key EU-funded and UNICEF-supported interventions on Adolescent and Youth-Friendly Health Services (AFHS), Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS). This will include documenting success stories, lessons learned, and implementation challenges; conducting close monitoring of selected model facilities; supporting the mid-term review and end-term evaluation; and contributing to regular progress updates and the final project report. The overall objective to engage is tasks/activities that will contribute to building a strong evidence base and communication platform to support the scale-up of successful PHC models across Ethiopia, in alignment with national health priorities and UNICEF’s strategic objectives.

Work Assignment Overview

• Provide hands on guidance to model woredas/facilities on AYFHS, GBV & MHPSS service packages (protocols, job aids, referral SOPs (20 working days)
  • Deliverables/Outputs -Submission of monitoring tools and job aids
• Develop a simple tracking framework to monitor progress in the selected model woredas. (20 working days)
  • Deliverables/Outputs -Submission of Tracking framework
• Conduct regular field visits to all EU model facilities to assess service availability, accessibility, and adherence to MoH standards quarterly joint supportive supervision in all EU model facilities (15 working days).
  • Deliverables/Outputs -Submission of supportive supervision reports with actionable plan to address service delivery gaps identified during monitoring visits from the model facilities
• Work with facilities and communities to institutionalize youth feedback tools (suggestion boxes, SMS feedback, community scorecards) (15 working days)
  • Deliverables/Outputs -Submission of Report of youth feedback
• Provide on-site coaching during facility startup weeks, strengthen referral linkages (mapping, SOPs, MoUs) and establish/adapt youth feedback mechanisms (score cards, suggestion boxes, digital polls) (20 working days)
  • Deliverables/Outputs- Submission of field report narrating the progress of implementation of AFYS, GBV and MHPSS programs
• Monitor and Provide support to the consultant for the mid-term review to track and document the progress made towards the implementation of GBV, MHPSS and AFYS programs (20 working days)
  • Deliverables/Outputs- Submission of feedback on preliminary Findings.
• Contribute to the mid-term review process by providing input and synthesizing feedback on the mid-term review report (20 working days)
  • Deliverables/Outputs- Submit Inputs to the Mid-term review report with GBV/ MHPSS and AFYS
• Document at least three human interest stories, innovations, best practices and implementation challenges from model facilities/woreda best practices, challenges in each region (15 working days)
  • Deliverables/Outputs- Submission of Three human interest stories/best practice of GBV/ MHPSS and AFYS
• Compile monthly briefs and quarterly technical reports on progress, bottlenecks, and recommendations. (20 working days)
  • Deliverables/Outputs- Submit monthly briefs and quarterly technical reports on progress
• Compile and work on the EU progress report and Final report – Narrative (15 working days)
  • Deliverables/Outputs- Produce component GBV/ MHPSS and AFYS of EU progress and submit to Project Coordinator/ MNCHA Manager

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  TOR-Consultant (AFY-MHPSS-GBV).pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: public health, family health, health research, global/international health, health policy and/or management, socio-medical, health education, epidemiology, or another relevant technical field.

Work Experience:

• A minimum of five years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: Public Health/Sexual Reproductive Health planning and management, Maternal, Child health and Adolescent Youth Friendly Health Care, Gender Based Violence Support and Mental Health and Psychosocial Service.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
• Sound understanding of the Ethiopian Health System
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization as well as closely working with MOH of Ethiopia is considered as an asset.
• Strong technical knowledge of Adolescent Youth Friendly Health Service, Gender Based Violence Support and Mental Health and Psychosocial Service (AFHS, GBV and MHPSS).
• Demonstrated experience with programme design, and development and conducting preliminary assessments as well as working in complex humanitarian situations or their impacts.
• Excellent communication, report writing, and analytical skills.
• Technical experience of donor report writing, documentation and organizing workshops. and conducting preliminary assessments.

Personal/organizational Competencies

• A high level of organizational and coordination skills.
• High level of attention to detail.
• High level policy advocacy and negotiation skill
• An excellent command of the English language – both written and oral. Proficiency in Amharic is an added advantage.
• Ability to produce quality work within a deadline and under pressure.
• Highly developed communication skills.
• Motivated and can work independently as well as in a team environment.

Desirables:

• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

Note:

• Applications submitted without a fee rate will not be considered.

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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

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

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

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.

Remarks: 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements