UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.
At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.
UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.
By reaching the most underserved communities with the polio vaccine, UNICEF is realizing the rights of the most excluded children and preventing girls and boys from being paralyzed. Within the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), UNICEF maintains a leading role in the areas of strategy development, strategic oversight, vaccine procurement, technical assistance in vaccine management, communication and social mobilization, social data, monitoring, and evaluation. The GPEI seeks to ensure that future generations of children will be free from the threat of polio paralysis. Achieving this goal depends on ensuring rapid and effective responses to poliovirus outbreaks in polio-free countries. Polio eradication continues to be an organizational priority and is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). The number of polio outbreaks has far exceeded global expectations in recent years. UNICEF is scaling up support to ensure countries have the resources to be prepared and respond in our areas of accountability.
The polio Outbreak Workstream of the UNICEF Global Polio Team provides oversight, quality assurance, technical assistance, and knowledge management to country offices. It places particular emphasis on communication for social and behavior change and vaccine management within the outbreak response and preparedness context.

Hiring Organization: UNICEF
Location – Locality: Nairobi
Location – Region: Kenya
Industry: NGO
Job Type: Full Time
Salary: KES
Date Posted: 08/05/2024. 

How can you make a difference?

Under the guidance of the Emergency Specialist, Outbreak Response Workstream, Nairobi, and HR Specialist, Polio Eradication Programme, New York, and in active partnership with the HR in Humanitarian Action Team (DHR) and RO/CO/HQ colleagues, the incumbent will help ensure that country and regional offices facing Polio outbreaks have the appropriate human resources available to respond to these health emergencies in a timely and effective manner. This includes providing adequate HR guidance and ensuring effective and efficient sourcing, assessment, and deployment of respective human resources to positively impact the implementation of respective country preparedness and response plans supporting the different humanitarian crises. This is a roving HR position with the expectation to travel to affected countries.

Reporting Structure and Matrix Management

The HR officer will report to two supervisors in a matrix management structure. One supervisor will provide functional guidance (the Emergency Specialist, Outbreak Response Workstream, Nairobi) and the other will provide technical guidance (the HR Specialist, Polio Eradication Programme, New York). The HR officer will work in active partnership with the HR in Humanitarian Action Team (DHR) and RO/CO/HQ colleagues, ensuring alignment and coordination across different levels of the organization. The incumbent will be expected to balance the demands and requirements of both supervisors, demonstrating flexibility, adaptability, and strong communication skills.