Community Health Specialist, Community Health Specialist, Yaounde, Cameroon

General

Description of assignment title: Community HealthSpecialist

Assignment country: Cameroon

Duty stations: Yaounde

Work location: On UN premises

Expected start date: 07/15/2026

Duration: 12 monthsLong-term benefits and allowances

Sustainable Development Goal: 4. Quality education

Host entity: UNICEF

Modality: Onsite

Type: National

Volunteer category: Specialist UCoS from Apr2026

Work schedule: Full-time

Number of Assignments: 1

Details

Mission and objectives:

• UNICEF is an international humanitarian agency for childrenestablished by the United Nations Charter in 1946. The organizationis present in more than 192 countries and works in the areas ofhealth, education, water and sanitation, child protection, HIV andAIDS, nutrition, policy, and social protection. UNICEF operates inboth humanitarian and development contexts, addressing the needs ofchildren and women—particularly girls and the mostvulnerable.
• UNICEF has been present in Cameroon since 1975. Theorganization works in the areas of education, water and sanitation,child protection, and HIV and AIDS. Meanwhile, its upstream effortsfocus on advocacy and lobbying for budgetary conditions thatbenefit children and women, as well as on formulating policies topromote their growth and development. At the operational level,UNICEF Cameroon focuses on strengthening the capacity ofstakeholders, service delivery, and building partnerships toimprove services for children and women.
• The Child Protection Program aims overall to ensure thatchildren—particularly adolescent girls in vulnerableareas—are better protected against violence, exploitation,and harmful practices, including in the context of humanitarianemergencies. The program thus contributes to strengtheninggovernment and community child protection systems in order toidentify and combat violations of children's rights moreeffectively. Particular attention is given to birth registration,the prevention of and response to physical and sexual violence, andthe elimination of child marriage, based on evidence.

Context:

• UNICEF - the United Nations Children's Fund - created in 1946,is one of the worlds most trusted and respected organizations andthe leading organization for children.
• Since 1975, UNICEF has worked for the children of Cameroon toaccelerate the realization of child rights for all childrenincluding the most deprived and vulnerable.
• Working closely with the Government of Cameroon, civil society,the private sector and communities, UNICEF Cameroon Country Officeaims to sustain results achieved for children to date, and striveto further improve policies, national institutions and programmes,for the well-being of every child in Cameroon, in line withCameroon's National Development Strategy 2030 towards achieving theSustainable Development Goals. Our programmes focus on improvingthe lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in thecountry, irrespective of their nationality, gender, religion orbackground. Our main pillars include: Child Protection; Education;Water, Sanitation & Hygiene; HIV and Health; Nutrition; SocialPolicy; Social am Behaviour Change; Adolescent development andGender; and Operations.
• Background on Health
• UNICEF Cameroon in its efforts to strengthen Primary Healthcare and the Health System has supported the implementation of thecommunity health strategy to bring healthcare services closer tothe population and improve access to essential services. The2021-2025 National Community Health Strategic Plan led tosignificant progress, including increased number of trainedcommunity health workers, community Health data introduced intoDHIS2 with reports being produced, but it also faced key challengessuch as the effective management of community health data at alllevels of the health pyramid, the management of community healthcommodities, the limited funding, the institutionalization ofcommunity health that need to be strengthened. In response topersistent health needs and emerging challenges, the country ispreparing a new community strategic plan for 2026-2030 tostrengthen community-level health actions.
• Furthermore, the Maternal, Newborn, Child Health (MNCH) remaina central priority of the UNICEF - Government of Cameroon CountryProgramme. Despite progress, Cameroon continues to face challengesrelated to high maternal and neonatal mortality, coverages of keyhigh impact MNCH interventions still below 80% due to thepersistence of preventable childhood illnesses, limited access toquality MNCH care, continuity of care between health facilities andcommunities-particularly during the first 1,000 days, low skillsand competences of health human resource.
• Strengthening Primary Health Care (PHC) and community healthplatforms is essential to deliver integrated, high-impactinterventions along the continuum of care, all supported by theSocial and Behaviour Change interventions.
• UNICEF Cameroon therefore seeks to recruit a National UNVolunteer Community Health Specialist to support the design,implementation and monitoring of integrated Community Health andMNCH interventions with a strong focus on the first 1,000 days,embedded within PHC.

Task description:

• Under the supervision of the MNCH-HSS Specialist, the NationalUN Volunteer Community Health Specialist will undertake thefollowing responsibilities:
• a) Technical and Programmatic Support.
• Community Health - Primary Health care
• • The main focus will be to strengthen the digitalisation ofthe community health information system in which UNICEF is engagedsince 2025 in the Child Friendly Municipalities and beyond.
• • Contribute to the development of the new 2026-2030 NationalCommunity Health Strategic Plan
• • Support capacity building, supervision and coaching ofcommunity health workers with focus on digital reporting, analysisand use of DHIS2 data
• • Support the planning, implementation of community-basedinterventions in collaboration with Government Partners includingMunicipalities
• • Work closely with SBC to contribute to community engagementstrategies address-ing socio-cultural barriers that affectcare-seeking and early childhood practices
• • Work closely with other sections in the Child FriendlyMunicipalities initiatives with a focus in the first 1,000 dayspriorities.
• MNCH
• The main focus will be monitoring the implementation of theintegrated package of high impact MNCH interventions:
• • Support first-line health facilities to effectively deliverhigh-impact MNCH interventions during the first 1,000 days as partof the essential PHC service package focused on KMC at Facility andcommunity levels and iCCM.
• • Contribute to quality-of-care initiatives focusing onmaternal, newborn and child health services.
• • Contribute to the setting up of an effective and functionalreferral system focused MNCH
• b) Monitoring, Evaluation and Knowledge Management
• • Participate in joint field monitoring missions
• • Support collection, analysis and use of community health andMNCH data
• • Contribute to progress reports, donor reports and programreviews with clear visi-bility on first 1,000 days results.
• • Document best practices, innovations and lessons learnedrelated to community-based and PHC integrated interventions.
• c) Support the coordination and collaboration with othersections/units, govern-ment and other partners to strengthenmulti-sectoral programming.
• • Support coordination with other government, UN agencies,NGOs, and community partners through communication and stakeholdermapping.
• • Assist in organizing and documenting multi sectoralcoordination meetings and follow up actions.
• • Contribute to information sharing, joint planning, andmonitoring of collaborative community health initiatives, mostlyfor Child Friendly Communities
• d) Any other related tasks may be required or assigned by thesupervisor.
• Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UNVolunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promotevoluntary action through engagement with communities in the courseof their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part oftheir working time to some of the following suggestedactivities:
• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept ofvolunteerism by read-ing relevant UNV and external publications andtake active part in UNV activities (for in-stance in events thatmark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local formsof volunteerism in the host country;
• Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UNVolunteer actions, results and opportunities.
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submitthem for UNV publica-tions/websites, newsletters, press releases,etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UNVolunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of onlinevolunteering or encourage relevant local individuals andorganizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenevertechnically possible.
• Results/expected outputs:
• As an active UNICEF team member, efficient, timely, responsive,client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNICEF and itsbeneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions,including:
• Community Health & Primary Health Care
• Improved digitalization and use of the community healthinformation system, including increased reporting and data usethrough DHIS2.
• National Community Health Strategic Plan (2026-2030)developed,
• Enhanced capacity of community health workers to plan,implement, and report on community based interventions.
• Strengthened community engagement approaches addressing sociocultural barriers to care seeking and early childhoodpractices.
• The number of functional Child Friendly Municipality isincreased and performance measured periodically, focus laid on thefirst 1,000 days.
• MNCH
• Improved monitoring of the integrated package of high impactMNCH interventions, with clear focus on the first 1,000 days.
• Strengthened delivery and quality of iCCM services at firstline health facilities and communities as part of essentialPHC.
• Improved continuity of care and functional referral systems formaternal, newborn, and child health services.
• Monitoring, Evaluation & Knowledge Management
• Timely and high quality community health and MNCH datacollected, analyzed, and used for decision making.
• Clear visibility of first 1,000 days results in progressreports, donor reports, and program reviews.
• Best practices, innovations, and lessons learned fromintegrated community based and PHC interventions documented andshared.
• Final report on Monitoring and evaluation activities; regulardissemination of findings, exchange and shared experiences, lessonslearned, best practices, innovation and contribution to thepreparation of reports to donors.
• Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematicallyapplied, integrated, and documented in all activities throughoutthe assignment.
• Coordination & Multi sectoral Programming
• Stronger coordination and collaboration with government, UNagencies, NGOs, and community partners.
• Well documented and actionable multi sectoral coordinationmeetings with effective follow up.
• Improved alignment, joint planning, and monitoring of multisectoral community health initiatives.

Eligibility criteria

Age: 18 - 80

Required experience: 3 years

Nationality: Candidate must be a national, legal residentor hold refugee status in the country of assignment.

Assignment requirements

Relevant experience:

• 3 years

Languages:

• French, Level: Fluent, Required
• English, Level: Working knowledge, Desirable

Required education level:

• Bachelor's degree in in social, digital or financial sciences,Public health, midwifery nursing, medicine or any other relatedfield

Competencies and values:

• Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operationsrelevant to UNICEF; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant ortransferrable to UNICEF procedures and rules; discretion, politicalsensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability toapply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a rangeof different actors, especially in senior positions; whereappropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative andability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness toaccept wide responsibilities and ability to work independentlyunder established procedures; ability to manage informationobjectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive andclient-oriented;
• Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of theUN and UNICEF in daily activities and behaviours while actingwithout consideration of personal gains; resist undue politicalpressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in theorganization's interest even if they are unpopular; take promptaction in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does notabuse power or authority.
• Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operateeffectively across organizational boundaries; excellentinterpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effectivepartnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural,multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respectfor diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender,religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goalof gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and fullinvolvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations;ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training tocolleagues;
• Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingnessto learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area ofexpertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment.
• Planning and organizing effective organizational andproblem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of workin an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish prioritiesand to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to workunder pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multipleconcurrent projects/activities.
• Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken andwritten communication skills, including ability to prepare clearand concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulateoptions and positions concisely; ability to make and defendrecommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff(including national staff), military personnel, volunteers,counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diversebackgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to awide range of different target groups;
• Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work inpotentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physicalhardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austereenvironments for protracted periods; willingness to travel withinthe area of operations and to transfer to other duty stationswithin the area of operations as necessary;
• Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntaryengagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity andself-reliance; and commitment towards UNICEF's mission and vision,as well as to the UN Core Values.

Skills and experience:

• Minimum 2-3 years of professional experience
• Experience working in child health programs linked to the first1,000 days, is a strong asset.
• Knowledge of the Cameroonian health system context isdesirable.
• Experience of working with UNICEF is an asset
• Key Competencies
• Programme planning, monitoring and reporting skills.
• Ability to work closely with communities, frontline workers,and government counterparts.
• Strong communication, teamwork, and problem-solvingskills.

Area(s) of expertise:

• General and specialised medicine, Project management, programmedevelopment, strategy, Finance, accounting

Driving license:

Other information