Deadline for ApplicationsOctober 3, 2025
Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)D
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Non Family with Residential Location
Staff Member / Affiliate TypeUNOPS LICA6
Target Start Date2025-09-16
Terms of ReferenceGeneral Background and Operational Context
โข Ethiopia, situated in the Horn of Africa, faces multifaceted humanitarian challenges stemming from internal conflicts, climate shocks, and regional instability. As of 2025, it hosts over 1 million refugees mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan, ranking as the second-largest refugee-hosting country in Africa.
โข The country is highly vulnerable to climate change, with displaced people and host communities experiencing frontline impacts of rising temperatures. Research shows that climate change will heavily affect human health and global healthcare systems. Displacement, health, and climate are deeply interconnected, highlighting the urgent need to strengthen Ethiopiaโs overstretched health services while minimizing environmental harm caused by the health sector and humanitarian response.
โข The growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) poses a significant challenge due to limited capacity for prevention and management within both national and humanitarian health systems. Currently, donor funding for NCDs accounts for only 1-2% of the total health development assistance, with humanitarian health responses focusing mainly on communicable diseases and acute emergencies.
โข Ethiopia maintains an open-door policy for refugees and asylum seekers, though refugee management remains encampment-based with limited access to essential services and notable public health needs. The 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan cites 21.4 million people requiring humanitarian aid, including 4.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) driven by conflict and climate-related droughts and floods.
โข UNHCRโs 2025โ2029 multi-year strategy prioritizes inclusion into national systems, climate action, and sustainable programming aligned with Ethiopiaโs Global Refugee Forum commitments. Public health programming is foundational, aiming to strengthen primary health care, NCD management, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and nutrition for refugees and host populations.
โข The Public Health Associate role is crucial in supporting UNHCRโs strategic health objectives by ensuring equitable access to quality health services for refugees and integrating refugee health needs into national systems. UNHCR, under its global mandate, collaborates with governments and Ministries of Health to provide comprehensive primary healthcare and lifesaving medical services at the same standard for refugees and nationals alike, supporting health facilities and community programs in refugee settlements and host communities.
โข Despite assistance, refugees, especially in urban areas, still face financial barriers to accessing primary and hospital care. UNHCR focuses on enhancing refugee inclusion in national strategies, such as health insurance and social protection schemes. A health system strengthening approach, in collaboration with national authorities and WHO technical support, is essential for integrating refugees in national health responses.
โข Ethiopia is at a pivotal moment concerning durable solutions, with progress at national and local levels toward policies fostering refugee inclusion and a โsolutions from the onsetโ approach to emergencies. This includes reinforcing national services such as health to serve both refugees and host communities. Support for this transition is strong, aligning with responsibility-sharing principles in the Global Compact on Refugees. However, recent funding cuts by major donors affecting Ethiopia, the broader region, UNHCR, and the humanitarian-development sectors pose uncertain challenges.
โข UNHCR is launching a new initiative to strengthen NCD care for refugees and host communities in Ethiopia. Partnering with Novo Nordisk A/S (NNAS), the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF), and the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF), this initiative aims to tackle the growing NCD burden sustainably and in a climate-resilient way.
โข The initiativeโs focus areas include:
โข Integrating NCD prevention and care into Ethiopiaโs national primary healthcare system.
โข Addressing NCDs through a comprehensive approach encompassing mental health and nutrition.
โข Supporting the shift from parallel humanitarian health services to inclusive national health systems.
โข Promoting environmentally sustainable healthcare infrastructure and supply chains.
Purpose and Scope of Assignment
The Public Health Associate, as a member of a multidisciplinary team, will ensure that UNHCRโs public health programs adhere to minimum UNHCR and global health standards to reduce avoidable morbidity and mortality among populations of concern (POC) and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The primary purpose of this position is to provide technical leadership and support for the projectโs implementation, overseeing coordination with partners and stakeholders. Additionally, the role will ensure that all activities align with national frameworks, UNHCR Ethiopiaโs Multi-Year Strategy, and the projectโs rules and conditions.
Standard Job Description
Public Health Associate
Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Public Health Associate is a member of a multidisciplinary team and contributes to ensuring that UNHCR's public health programmes meet minimum UNHCR and global health standards in order to minimise avoidable morbidity and mortality among forcibly displaced and stateless persons and towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Public health programmes include primary health care, secondary health care, sexual and reproductive health (including HIV), nutrition, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). The incumbent provides effective guidance and support to partners on UNHCRโs responses in public health.
S/he will contribute to advancing the concepts found in UNHCRโs Global Public Health Strategy as well as the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and the mainstreaming/inclusion of refugees into national health programmes and systems.
The Public Health Associate is usually supervised by a more senior public health staff or in the absence thereof, by operations/programmes staff.
All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCRโs core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.
Duties
Assist the implementation of public health programmes with partners and health authorities in a multi-sectoral and coordinated manner.
Assist efforts towards public health programming towards greater inclusion and access of refugees to national health systems.
Participate in relevant coordination and collaboration structures as requested.
Participate in emergency responses to new refugee influxes and disease outbreaks.
Support gathering information for relevant assessments and identification of needs.
Work closely with programme and other units as applicable in programme planning and monitoring.
Support intersectoral collaboration throughout all stages of programme cycle between public health, and other sectoral areas to promote synergies and maximise impact.
Assist in the use of the relevant UNHCR Health Information System suite of tools and surveys to support in analysis, interpretation, reporting and use of public health data.
Assist in capacity strengthening of partners to ensure the technical integrity of public health programmes.
Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making is risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
Perform other related duties as required.
For positions in country operations
Assist in efforts to enhance the technical integrity of health care services and that they are based on Ministry of Health, UNHCR and/or internationally recognized and most up-to-date standards and policies.
Assist in the process of preparing and processing medicine and medical supply orders with partners.
Assist in ensuring community engagement and community participation in health programming.
Monitor and support compliance with UNHCR Public Health Administrative Instruction/standard operating procedures.
For positions in regional bureaux
Assist in the coordination of public health programmes across the regional bureau and with country operations including assimilation and documentation of better practice/lessons learnt for dissemination.
Support effective collaborative approaches across the departments in the bureaux and with HQ.
Minimum QualificationsYears of Experience / Degree Level
For G6 - 3 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher
Field(s) of Education
Not applicable.
Certificates and/or Licenses
Medicine; Nursing; Public Health; Epidemiology;
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Experience in public health programming as well as understanding of health systems and health system building blocks. Experience with data collection and analysis in position(s) where the ability to draft clear, concise documentation was essential.
Desirable
Experience in public health emergency preparedness and response. Experience in humanitarian settings. Experience with coordination and stakeholder engagement to achieve public health goals. Experience with health information systems. Experience with the provision of quality-assured medicines and medical supplies.
Functional Skills
PM-Project monitoring and evaluation
PH-Public Health Epidemiology
MD- HIV/AIDS situation management
MD-Reproductive Health
PH-Community Health - Health Data Collection/Analysis/Interpretation
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)
Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.
Competency Requirements
All jobs at UNHCR require six core competencies and may also require managerial competencies and/or cross-functional competencies. The six core competencies are listed below.
Core Competencies
Accountability
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Teamwork & Collaboration
Commitment to Continuous Learning
Client & Result Orientation
Cross-Functional Competencies
Planning & Organizing
Stakeholder Management
Technological Awareness
All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination, and abuse of power.
As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.
This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.
Required Languages
,
,
Desired Languages
,
,
Additional Qualifications
SkillsMD-HIV/AIDS situation management, MD-Reproductive Health, PH-Community Health-Health Data Collection/Analysis/Interpretation, PH- Public Health Epidemiology, PM-Project monitoring and evaluation
Education
CertificationsEpidemiology - Other, Medicine - Other, Nursing - Other, Public Health - Other
Work Experience
Other informationPosition is opened to ONLY Ethiopian nationals
Women are strongly encouraged to apply in order to promote gender-balance within UNHCR.
Applicants may be subjected to an assessment (written or oral interview).This position doesn't require a functional clearance
RemoteNo