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For every child, the right to sustenance

UNICEF’s Caribbean Multi-Country Office (MCO) serves twelve English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. As part of UNICEF's Future Focus Initiative, the Caribbean MCO brings together policy influence, technical expertise and strategic partnerships to advance results for children across the region through one integrated programme, one management structure and a shared pool of resources. The Multi-Country Programme 2027-2031 focuses on three shared outcomes: equitable access to primary health care, learning and skills; protection of children from all forms of violence; and child poverty reduction and resilience strengthening.

Children across the Caribbean face interconnected challenges including learning losses, mental health concerns, violence, child poverty and increasing exposure to climate-related disasters. Despite many countries being classified as upper-middle or high income, significant inequalities persist, particularly for vulnerable children, adolescents, indigenous communities and those living in remote areas. Small island developing states also face fiscal constraints and heightened vulnerability to economic and climate shocks, requiring stronger regional cooperation and system-based solutions.

The Caribbean MCO’s management strategy is governed by four principles that together translate the new business model into concrete ways of working:

Impact-driven: technical expertise is organized in shared multi-country working groups rather than replicated in each country, with enabling functions aligned around UNICEF’s strongest comparative advantages.
Effective and agile: parallel country ecosystems are replaced by harmonized systems and flexible cross-country staffing, keeping management lean and decisions close to implementation.
Grounded: regional scale is balanced with national depth through country-specific workplans, Heads of Office in each duty station, and matrix management that anchors authority and accountability at country level.
People-centered: structural and managerial choices are guided by staff wellbeing, transparency and inclusion, with clear role definitions, meaningful consultation, and continuous investment in learning and development.

The operational expression of this model is the working group model. Rather than replicating similar roles across four separate country offices, technical and operational expertise is organized into 16 thematic and functional working groups, each distributed across different duty stations and each serving the full 12-country MCO — not just its host location. Roles are designed around three organizing principles: shared regional service, meaning every specialist contributes to the wider MCO; complementary expertise, meaning team capabilities reinforce each other rather than repeating the same profile in multiple places; and agile presence, meaning the workforce can be rapidly deployed across countries through travel, surge support or remote modalities in line with evolving needs and priorities. This working group model is the foundation of a fundamentally new way of working for UNICEF in the Caribbean: depth replaces duplication, and shared capacity replaces fragmented country-by-country coverage

The Health & Nutrition Specialist (Primary Health Care & Nutrition) is part of the Equitable and resilient services for primary health care, learning and skills working group. This group leads the implementation of the CPD outcome on equitable and resilient services that boost children’s nutrition, mental health, learning and skills, by strengthening health and education systems to deliver integrated PHC, nutrition, MHPSS and quality basic and secondary education for all children and adolescents. Its function is to translate this priority into integrated policy packages, service delivery models and scalable solutions across the subregion, ensuring that equity, inclusion and climate-resilience are embedded in the expansion of health and education services and that socio-emotional learning and future-ready skills are systematically advanced in all 12 countries.

The team is led by the Assistant Representative for Equitable and Resilient Services for Primary Health, Learning and Skills in Belize and includes seven NOC Specialists. The specialist profiles have been defined directly against the CPD outputs under this outcome, so that each post is anchored in a specific strand of work (early learning, foundational learning, policy and public finance, PHC/MHPSS, PHC/nutrition and Early Childhood Development), while together they form a complementary skills mix that covers the full range of expertise required to achieve the intended results. The working group is comprised of the following: Education Specialist (Early Learning) in Belize, Education Specialist (ECD) in Suriname, Education Specialist (Foundational Learning & Skills) in Guyana, Education Specialist (Policy & Budget) in Barbados, Health Specialist (Primary Health Care & Mental Health) in Suriname, Health Specialist (Policy & Budget) in Jamaica, and Health Specialist (Primary Health Care & Nutrition) in Barbados.

How can you make a difference?

The Health & Nutrition Specialist (Primary Health Care & Nutrition), reports to the Assistant Representative for Equitable and Resilient Services for Primary Health, Learning and Skills, P4, located in Belize, in close day-to day coordination with the in-country lead in Barbados.

The Health & Nutrition Specialist (Primary Health Care & Nutrition) provides specialized technical expertise in primary health care strengthening and nutrition programming, supporting UNICEF Caribbean's contribution to children's health outcomes across all 12 MCO countries. The role brings substantive technical depth in health system analysis, nutrition surveillance, and the integration of nutrition-sensitive interventions within primary care platforms.

Based in Barbados, the position will strengthen implementation support, policy engagement and partnership development where needs are greatest, while maintaining close access to neighboring countries across the northeastern Caribbean.

The key functions and accountabilities are:

Situation Analysis and Strategic Planning on primary health care and nutrition
Technical Leadership for Primary Health Care and Nutrition Programmes
Programme Planning, Coordination and Delivery of Results
Monitoring, Evaluation and Nutrition Surveillance
Capacity Development and Technical Assistance
Programme Resource Management and Accountability
Partnerships, Advocacy and Knowledge Management
Emergency Preparedness and Humanitarian Response

This position belongs to the Equitable and Resilient Services for Primary Health, Learning and Skills working group. If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: NOC Health and Nutrition Specialist (Primary Health Care & Nutrition) Barbados.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: Advanced university degree in Public Health and Nutrition, Child Development, Water Sanitation, Public Administration, Social Policy, Social Development, Community Development, or other relevant disciplines.

Work Experience: Minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional experience at national and/or international levels supporting primary health care systems strengthening and nutrition programming, including policy development, service delivery improvement and health systems analysis is required.

Technical Knowledge and Skills:

Specific Technical Knowledge Required (for the job):

Knowledge of the health and nutrition technical areas of UNICEF programmes (e.g., PMTCT, HIV/AIDS, malaria, WASH, EPI)
Knowledge of theories, principles and methods in the selective fields of the following: Public Health & Nutrition, International Health & Nutrition, Public Health & Nutrition Policy and Management, Child-Neonatal and Maternal Health & Nutrition Care, Family and Community Health & Nutrition, Health & Nutrition System Management, Public Health & Nutrition Preparedness, Health & Nutrition Emergency Preparedness, Nutritional Epidemiology, Nutrition Research, Health & Nutrition Education, Health & Nutrition Promotion and Disease Prevention, Educational Interventions in Health & Nutritional Care.
Knowledge of the global commitment on aid effectiveness, including the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the Accra Agenda for Action as well as knowledge of the Global Programme Partnerships (GPPs).

Common Technical Knowledge Required:

Knowledge of theories and practices in: Primary Health Care systems strengthening; Universal Health Coverage; Nutrition Surveillance; Digital Health; Child and Maternal Nutrition and Health; Nutrition and Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Public Health and Nutrition; Educational Interventions in Health and Nutrition Care; Environmental Health and Nutrition; Knowledge Management; Computer software application, including word processing, spreadsheet and corporate; software packages; Gender equality and diversity awareness
General knowledge of: Methodology of programme/project management; Programmatic goals, visions, positions, policies and strategies in Health & Nutrition; Knowledge of global health and nutrition issues, specifically relating to children and women, and the current trends, methods and approaches; Policies and strategy to address national and global health and nutrition issues,
particularly relating to conflicts, natural disasters, and recovery; Emergency programme policies, goals, strategies and approaches.

Technical Knowledge to be Acquired/Enhanced:

Knowledge of the latest developments and technology in related fields; Knowledge of local conditions and country legislation relevant to UNICEF programmes; UN policies and strategy to address international humanitarian issues and the responses; UN common approaches to programmatic issues and UNICEF positions; UN security operations and guidelines; UNICEF strategic framework for partnerships and collaborative relationships.

Required Skills:

Strong coordination and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across multiple reporting relationships and geographic contexts.
Strong analytical and technical writing skills, including preparation of policy briefs, technical guidance, programme documents and evidence-based recommendations.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Desirables:

Demonstrated professional experience in Primary Health Care strengthening, nutrition programming and health system strengthening.
Experience providing technical assistance to governments and partners in the development, implementation and monitoring of health and nutrition policies, strategies and programmes.
Professional work experience in a technical expert position in child survival & development, health and nutrition care.
Experience working with government institutions, development partners, UN agencies, NGOs and civil society organizations.
Experience strengthening health information systems, nutrition surveillance systems, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and data analytics.
Relevant experience in a UN system agency or international organization is considered as an asset.
Experience in a similar function across geographically dispersed duty stations is considered an asset.
Relevant Experience in both development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts is considered as an added advantage. Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.

Eligibility Requirement:

Candidates applying for National Officer positions must hold the nationality of the duty station country where the position is located, except for UNICEF internal candidates, holding a fixed-term, continuing, or permanent appointment and are legally authorized to work in that country, independently of UNICEF appointment, and as per the UNICEF Staff Selection Procedure.

UNICEF internal candidates must hold and upload a valid CARICOM Skills Certificate when applying to positions located in a CARICOM Member State outside of their country of nationality and are accountable for taking the respective steps for the verification of the certificate in the Duty Station, immediately upon arrival to the new Duty Station if selected for the position, in accordance with applicable immigration and employment requirements of the respective Country.

Note: While the Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean serves 12 English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries, the selected candidate will be based in the duty station indicated for this position and is expected to perform their duties from that location, consistent with organizational policies and operational requirements.

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…

(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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable. Appointment, selection and continued engagement are subject to the satisfactory completion of all required checks. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information and consent to enable UNICEF to undertake these checks.

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 are conditional on the selected candidates’ willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel. Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service

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, candidates that meet all the requirements and are legally allowed to work in the respective DS 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.

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.

UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

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.

Health & Nutrition Specialist (Primary Health Care & Nutrition), NOC, FT, #138592, Bridgetown, Barbados, Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean