Home Visiting Consultant - Home-based, with travel (Similar time zone as Geneva preferred)

Home Visiting Consultant – Home-based, with travel (Similar time zone as Geneva preferred)

Job no: 578304
Contract type: Consultant
Duty Station: Geneva
Level: Consultancy
Location: Switzerland
Categories: Early Childhood Development

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.

How can you make a difference?

The UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) supports work in 22 countries, coordinating regional efforts and supporting the local efforts of Country Offices across the region. With a special commitment to meeting the unique rights of young children, ECARO endeavours to support targeted and coordinated efforts to promote implementation and scale-up of evidence-based, and effective innovations and multi-sectoral packages aimed at ensuring that all children, including the most vulnerable, thrive and reach their development potential.

UNICEF ECARO has led the development of Universal and Progressive Home Visiting (UPHV) as the pillar of Community Health in ECAR. Trained certified home visiting nurses deliver comprehensive support for child health, nutrition and development in communities, with referrals for specialized care or social services interventions. The model has strong equity dimension as it prioritizes children and mothers living in remote locations, in poverty, from ethnic minorities, with disability, struggling with substance abuse, violence, and single-parent households. ECARO developed comprehensive package of recommendations, training and tools for institutionalization of UPHV at the PHC level, that are used in the whole region.

UNICEF is seeking a consultant to provide technical inputs in development of regional resources, to support the coordination and oversight of the regional initiatives and to provide technical guidance to teams working at the country/national level. The consultant will work closely with the UNICEF ECARO teams, country offices and relevant national partners.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support institutionalization and strengthening of the home visiting programs at primary health care level in ECA region:
   1. Support implementation of Maturity Model (MM) assessment of home visiting in 12 countries through data validation, support in development of recommendations and final reports
   2. Support development of national plans of action in 12 countries through provision of technical guidance
   3. Support development of a regional synthesis report based on maturity model (MM) assessment with evidence as a basis for advocacy, fundraising and TA
   4. Provide inputs for development of new standards and guidance for strengthening of HV services based on the findings of the MM assessment
   5. Organize regional webinar to disseminate the MM assessment findings
2. Support evidence generation, knowledge exchange and advocacy
   1. Develop products and organize activities to support dissemination of findings of the systematic review of effectiveness of UPHV
   2. Provide inputs in development of regional recommendations on UPHV based on the systematic review findings
   3. Facilitate knowledge exchange between countries and support organization of a high-level regional conference on UPHV
   4. Engage in development of UPHV policy briefs and investment cases
   5. Support exchange with the Technical Advisory Group of international experts and in building partnerships with relevant experts and institutions around home visiting.
3. Support quality enhancement of home visiting services
   1. Support dissemination of the regional UPHV training package and support roll out across countries
   2. Support strengthening of quality assurance mechanisms
   3. Provide inputs for development of guidance for optimal use of home visiting in terms of content and frequency
   4. Provide technical advice in development of national M&E frameworks for home visiting
   5. Support digitalization efforts of HV job aids and records
   6. Support development of content and approaches to increase use of Bebbo app through HV
4. Support regional knowledge sharing and learning initiatives around ECD and health
   1. Support the organization of knowledge sharing and learning events to take place through UNICEF platforms to strengthen the capacities of UNICEF staff and relevant national stakeholders around early childhood development and health.
   2. Support use of regional LearnECD platform by sharing key information with UNICEF country offices
   3. Support documentation of UNICEF achievements and good practices in health

Work closely and collaboratively with colleagues and partners to discuss operational and implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations and/or alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decisions.

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

• Master’s degree or higher in the following disciplines: Health, public health and/or medicine, epidemiology, nutrition, human development, child development, families‘ studies or another relevant technical field
• Five years minimum of relevant professional experience in primary health care strengthening or home visiting (at national/systems level).
• Understanding of PHC system and home visiting and related system pillars (policy, financing, workforce planning).
• Knowledge of the public health concepts and approaches.
• Experience in national PHC or home visiting programme implementation is highly desirable.
• Experience working with Ministry reform programmes is highly desirable and ideally experience working on PHC reforms.
• Experience managing health system strengthening projects is considered an asset.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Experience working in ECA region and familiarity with the region is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is essential. Knowledge of another language spoken in the ECA region is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

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.

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

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