The primary function of this post is to improve relevance, quality, availability and use of health data and relevant contextual information on children and women. The work focuses on UNICEF’s strategic priorities in immunization data including related health systems and population data. This function is carried out in collaboration with main institutional partners, in particular WHO, national governments, and other organizations and initiatives with expertise in these areas.
The functions, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks of this position include:
Identify key immunization-related indicators for monitoring immunization and primary health care programmes through ongoing assessment of the current data landscape and data science best practices, as well as review of existing approaches, indicators, and measurement tools.
Carry out data assessment and analysis of immunization data for inclusion in global and corporate advocacy materials, evidence-based products, and for programme monitoring and development purposes. Develop data pipelines, tools to encourage data use, and content for reporting on the situation of children and women in the area of immunization and primary health care.
Test measurement and monitoring tools in field situations, develop guidelines for their use and provide support for their implementation at regional and country level. Expand existing measurement tools such as the Joint Reporting Form; develop new tools to capture immunization programme and child population data; Collaborate with the World Health Organization and other partners on the estimation of immunization coverage and trends and other related programmatic data at the global, regional and country levels.
Guide collaborations with international partners to maximize effectiveness of data science work and to position UNICEF as a leader in immunization data. Represent UNICEF in international meetings and fora and in key partner meetings on immunization data and data science related activities.
Provide technical advice on reporting of immunization-related data as required, including answering requests by senior management and outside agencies and organizations. Contribute to developing capacity within the organization for better appreciation of the uses of immunization-related data in policy, planning, programming and advocacy, and advance modeling of child health outcomes and predictive analytics capacity within the organization.
Lead overall development and establishment of the immunization team’s work plan and reporting; Monitor deliverables against the immunization team’s work plan and provide support and guidance to ensure objectives are met; Supervise, manage and direct technical staff including appraisal of staff performance.
Overall accountability for the management of the immunization team’s financial allocations and efficient and effective use of resources; responsibility for resource mobilization and contributing to division and section-wide efforts in resource mobilization, in consultation with the section Chief.
Contribute to the overall results of the division, as outlined in the Office Management Plan (OMP) and based on evolving needs, including in humanitarian response.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
An advanced university degree (Master's) in public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, data science, statistics, applied mathematics, economics, or quantitative social sciences.
A PhD in related areas is desirable.
A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant professional experience at national and international levels in global health quantitative analysis.
Experience with immunization programmes and working with multiple types of data sources (household surveys, administrative data, supply data, mobility data, etc.) required
Strong statistical and modeling competence (estimating and predicting child health outcomes preferred); experience analyzing geospatial data required
Fluency in R or Python required.
Strong experience with data visualization tools (e.g. Shiny (preferred), Tableau, PowerBI)
Experience using statistical analysis and machine learning methods to surface insights and build data-driven products highly desirable.
Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
