National Health Consultant, Sofia, Bulgaria, 8.5 months (open for Bulgarian nationals only)

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, care 

UNICEF implements a 5-year Country Programme in Bulgaria, with a strong focus on early childhood years to ensure strong health for young children and their mothers. As part of this programme, UNICEF promotes universal home visiting, early detection of disabilities and intervention and support immunization programme, including HPV vaccination. These programme interventions are implemented in close collaboration with the health authorities and the medical professionals, including the Ministry of Health, regional and district health authorities and services, municipalities, professional associations and NGO partners.

As part of these efforts, UNICEF is increasingly engaging with the stakeholders in the field of child immunization. UNICEF also intends to explore other areas of potential engagement based on the needs of the mother and child healthcare system (PHC), including mental health. In this regard, and in the view of the lack of in-house capacity, UNICEF intends to hire a national health consultant to provide technical advice to UNICEF in addressing the above needs.

How can you make a difference? 

Bulgaria is a member of the European Union (EU) since 2007 and earlier this year obtained a high-income status from the World Bank. Despite economic growth and relatively stable development of many sectors in the country, pockets of inequalities remain, and they affect vulnerable children and families living in poverty or in remote areas, as well as those experiencing discrimination based on ethnicity or lack of access to health services, including routine immunization. The prolonged political instability and gaps in the healthcare system, as well as mistrust and misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, have further weakened the ability to maintain sustainable levels of routine immunization in Bulgaria. The country implements a calendar of mandatory and recommended child vaccinations and maintains relatively high levels of coverage. However, there is reportedly a large number of children who are considered zero-dose (have not received any vaccines) or are under-vaccinated (received only first, but not more jabs of the vaccines to create protective effects). There is a need to conduct additional analysis to find out about these cases.

To address these challenges, UNICEF Bulgaria Country Office is supporting the Ministry of Health in implementation of the universal progressive home visiting model and plans to engage more strongly on the interventions in the field of immunization. In continuation of this work in 2025, UNICEF intends to recruit a consultant/medical expert to support UNICEF office and Ministry of Health by policy analysis in the immunization programme, focusing on unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children with a special accent on vulnerable children.  Based on the situational analysis in immunization UNICEF intends to develop a joint action plan and support the implementation of the plan.

 

Scope of Work: 

• Conduct analysis of available data, system gaps, social evidence from the field, etc. using among other resources reports from 2024 in the field of improving child immunization levels.
• Based on the analysis, develop an action plan for a discussion with relevant authorities to help address the issue with zero-dose and under-vaccinated children.
• Based on the action plan, support the Ministry of Health to implement new solutions for walking the last mile and reaching zero dose and under-vaccinated children. Examples of potential interventions could include piloting the newly developed ECARO toolkits on mapping of inequities, of engaging Roma community for child immunization, or supporting the development of the Government-led Strategy for child immunization and its costing.
• Contribute with relevant advisory and technical assistance to UNICEF Country Office programming related to health and public health related activities with a particular focus on immunizations.
• Provide relevant advisory and technical assistance to UNICEF in the development of state policies geared towards enhancing the accessibility and quality of medical services at the primary healthcare level, specifically focusing on maternal and child health care, including immunization programme.
• Support UNICEF with policy dialog and advocacy with key partners such as the Ministry Health, National Center for Public Health and advocacy and the implementation of health activities in the health sector, according to the concept note developed by the country office and subject to resources.
• Support the development of project proposals and resource mobilizations efforts in the area of public health. Explore entry points for UNICEF in Bulgaria in Health Programming and compile a list of available donor opportunities for these interventions, including immunization and mental health.
• Regular (monthly) reporting on the deliverables in accordance with the agreed plan.
• Monthly reporting on the work done in accordance with the agreed form.

For a detailed description of the assignment, please refer to the attachment below.

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

• An advanced university degree in public health, epidemiology, maternal and child health, economic or public finance, public policy and governance.
• Deep knowledge of healthcare systems, including public and private healthcare structures, insurance practices, healthcare financing, and the roles of various stakeholders in the healthcare industry in Bulgaria;
• Good level of knowledge and understanding of the workings of the Ministry of Health of Bulgaria;
• Knowledge of UNICEF and WHO basic provisions regarding motherhood and childhood will be an asset;
• Work experience in public health policy, public health financing, risk management and mitigation will be an asset;
• Strong interpersonal communication and writing skills, with ability to lead/train a group of individuals and impart knowledge;
• Fluency in Bulgaria and an intermediate level of English;
• Strong analytical capabilities to interpret complex legal issues, identify potential risks, and propose appropriate solutions;
• Ability to assess the legal implications of healthcare decisions and policies and to navigate complex legal challenges in healthcare while safeguarding the interests of stakeholders;
• Drive for results.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

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 jobs-near-me.org 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. 

 Assignment Overview for National Health Consultant.docx