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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 for as long as we are needed. 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 professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to life. 

The Government of Tanzania, through the Ministry of Health (MoH), is strongly committed to improving the health and well-being of all its citizens by striving to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This commitment underscores the delivery of quality health services that are accessible, people-centered, equitable, and responsive to the diverse needs of Tanzanians regardless of their location or socioeconomic status. 

At the core of this vision is the strengthening of primary health care (PHC), which serves as the first point of contact for communities. PHC plays a vital role in disease prevention, health promotion, and managing common illnesses. To actualize this, the Ministry is rolling out the Community-Based Health Program (CBHP), also known as the Integrated and Coordinated Community Health Worker (iCCHW) program which serves as the national strategic framework for formally integrating Community Health Workers (CHWs) into the Tanzanian health system. 

CHWs are essential frontline agents who bridge the gap between health facilities and communities, particularly in underserved and rural areas. By institutionalizing their role, the Ministry aims to improve service delivery, enhance community participation, and ensure sustainable health outcomes. 

A recent nationwide CHW Mapping Exercise was conducted to provide a detailed overview of the CHW landscape across mainland Tanzania. The exercise assessed CHWs’ geographical distribution, demographic characteristics, training status, education levels, deployment structures, and support mechanisms, all aligned with the country’s transition toward an integrated and coordinated CHW program. 

Despite these achievements, there remain critical gaps that need to be addressed in order to fully operationalize the program. At present, there is no nationally agreed transition plan to guide the systematic integration of the existing diverse CHW cadres who are supported by different partners under varying models into one unified and coordinated program. Without such a roadmap, there is a risk of duplication, inefficiencies, and uneven distribution of CHWs across the country. Furthermore, supervision of CHWs remains a persistent challenge. Many CHWs lack consistent oversight and mentorship, as there are no standardized supervisory tools or clear guidelines to strengthen the capacity and accountability of supervisors. Equally important, the community governance structures that should ensure local ownership, accountability, and sustainability of community health services are either weak, undefined, or fragmented across different programs.

How can you make a difference? 

The purpose of this assignment is to build on the recent CHW mapping exercise and ongoing MoH and PORALG reforms, ensuring timely alignment of community health worker systems with national PHC priorities. These tools and frameworks are being developed at the pivotal stage in rolling out the iCCHW program, following the completion of the national CHW mapping exercise. The evidence has highlighted significant policy and operational gaps that need to be addressed urgently to ensure that the transition to a unified CHW system is both effective and sustainable. Clear, practical guidance is required to avoid duplication of efforts, strengthen accountability, and ensure that resources are used efficiently to achieve maximum impact.

The outputs of this consultancy, the Transition Plan, Supervisory Manual, and Community Health Governance Guidance will serve as critical tools to operationalize the iCCHW program. They will be used by the Ministry of Health, PORALG, UNICEF, and implementing partners as reference documents to guide planning, implementation, supervision, and monitoring of community health services. By providing standardized approaches, these tools will harmonize CHW programming across the country, ensuring that all cadres of CHWs are integrated under one national framework, supervised in a consistent and structured manner, and supported by well-defined governance mechanisms that promote community ownership, equity, and sustainability.

These deliverables will inform key decisions on the policy direction for transitioning diverse CHW cadres into one national framework, the adoption of a nationally agreed supervision model at council and community levels, and the establishment of governance structures that clearly define roles, accountability, and community participation in health service delivery.

This consultancy seeks to address the following core questions:

1.           How can Tanzania effectively and sustainably transition from multiple, CHWs recruited for vertical programs to the integrated CHW program?

2.           How can governance structures, roles, and accountability mechanisms be operationalized at community, ward, and council levels to ensure effective coordination, oversight, and community participation in health service delivery?

3.           What tools, processes, and competencies do CHW supervisors need to provide consistent, high-quality supervision, mentorship, and performance monitoring within the iCCHW program?

Scope of work

Under the overall guidance of the UNICEF Health Manager, jointly with the Director of Preventive Services at the Ministry of Health and in collaboration with the Director of Health and Nutritional Services at PORALG, the consultant will work closely with the Health Promotion Section to collate and review information, and engage stakeholders to inform the development of key tools supporting Tanzania’s Integrated and Coordinated Community Health Workers Program (iCCHW program) These will include a phased CHW Transition Plan, Community Health Governance Guidance defining clear roles, accountability mechanisms and tasks at all levels, and a practical CHW Supervisors Manual to strengthen supervision and performance monitoring. Together, these deliverables will enhance governance, harmonize CHW programs, and improve the quality and efficiency of community health services across Tanzania Mainland. The scope includes:

Objective 1: To develop a comprehensive CHW Transition Plan that provides a phased, practical, and cost-effective roadmap for integrating existing CHW models into Tanzania’s iCCHW program. 

• Conduct a desk review of CHW models and policies.
• Draft a transition plan with clear steps, timelines, costing estimates, and accountability mechanisms.
• Facilitate stakeholder consultations and incorporate feedback.
• Draft presentation slides for validation to MOH and PORALG
• Present and finalize the transition plan for MoH/PORALG endorsement.

Objective 2: To develop comprehensive Community Health Governance Guidance that defines clear roles, responsibilities, and accountability mechanisms at community, ward, and council levels. 

• Draft a framework clarifying roles of community-level bodies (Health Facility Governing Committees (HFGC) and Village Social Service Committees (VSSCs) 
• Draft orientation slides for Health Facility Governing Committees (HFGC) and Village Social Service Committees (VSSCs) 
• Facilitate stakeholder workshops to validate the guidance.
• Revise and finalize the governance framework for endorsement.

Objective 3: To develop a practical and user-friendly CHW Supervisors Manual that aligns with Tanzania’s iCCHW program and supports effective supervision, mentorship, monitoring, and performance improvement of Community Health Workers. 

• Review existing supervision and mentorship tools, guidelines, and best practices nationally and globally. 
• Draft the supervisor’s manual covering supervision processes, mentorship strategies, performance monitoring, and digital integration. 
• Pilot the manual in selected councils and gather feedback from users and supervisors. 
• Revise the manual based on pilot findings and finalize for national adoption. 
• Develop orientation materials including slide decks, job aids, and quick reference guides for supervisors.
• Facilitate validation meeting with PORALG and MOH

For the above objectives, UNICEF, in collaboration with the MOH and PORALG, will facilitate the following activities:

1. Field Visit for Pilot Testing:
   UNICEF and MOH will organize and conduct field visits to two selected councils—Kigoma and Songwe to pilot the draft supervision manual. These visits will involve engaging key stakeholders, including council health teams, community health workers (CHWs), and supervisors, to test the practicality, relevance, and usability of the manual in real field conditions. Feedback and observations from these visits will be documented and used to refine the draft manual for broader implementation.
   
   
2. Validation Meeting:
   UNICEF and MOH will organize a validation meeting with relevant stakeholders at the national level. The purpose of this meeting will be to review the outcomes of the pilot, discuss lessons learned, and finalize the supervision manual. In addition, the meeting will validate the transition plan and the community guidance framework, ensuring that these documents are contextually appropriate and aligned with national health priorities.
   
   
3. Dissemination Support:
   UNICEF, in collaboration with MOH, will support the dissemination of the finalized supervision manual, transition plan, and community guidance framework. This will include sharing the documents through multiple platforms such as workshops, online portals, and printed materials to ensure wide accessibility and uptake by all relevant stakeholders, including health managers, supervisors, and CHWs at both council and community levels

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

Minimum requirements:

• Advanced university degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Systems, Health Services Management, and other relevant fields.  
• At least 5 years of experience in community health program design and implementation.
• Proven experience in policy and strategic planning at the national level.
• Demonstrated understanding of the CHW program in Tanzania or similar contexts.
• Strong analytical, facilitation, and writing skills

For more information about the work assignment, deliverables, timelines and percentage of payment allocated to each deliverable, click here  Community TOR.docx

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 appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

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, eligible and suitable female 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.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advanced to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.