Public Health Law Expert, Brazzaville, Congo

General

Description of assignment title: Public Health Law Expert

Assignment country: Congo

Duty stations: Brazzaville

Work location: On UN premises

Expected start date: 08/03/2026

Duration: 12 months(with possibility of extension)Long-term benefits and allowances

Sustainable Development Goal: 3. Good health and well-being

Host entity: WHO

Modality: Onsite

Type: International

Volunteer category: Expert UCoS from Apr2026

Work schedule: Full-time

Number of Assignments: 1

Details

Mission and objectives:

• The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations Public Health Organization established in 1948. The objective of the World Health Organization shall be the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.
• World Health Organization achieves its goals by performing its essential functions:
• 1. Take a leadership role in key health issues and create partnerships when joint action is needed;
• 2. Set research priorities and encourage the acquisition, application and dissemination of useful knowledge;
• 3. Setting standards and criteria and encouraging and monitoring them;
• 4. Develop ethical and evidence-based policies
• 5. Provide technical support, be an agent of change and build institutional capacity in a sustainable way;
• 6. Monitor health status and assess health trends.

Context:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) was established in 1948 as the United Nations' specialized agency for health. Its mandate is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve vulnerable populations. Within the Health Systems and Services Cluster, the Health Financing and Governance Team provides technical support on health governance, strategic planning and economic evaluation, stewardship and policy dialogue, legal and regulatory frameworks for health, and broader health system strengthening.
• The Health Financing and Governance Team under the Health Systems and Services Cluster supports Member States and countries within the Region to generate evidence at country levels to support advocacy for the needed legal reforms. This will help to inform planning for the needed legal reforms, tracking and reporting on progress in improving laws in the regional. To facilitate this, an assessment of the current status of UHC laws in AFRO countries was conducted in all countries to establish and also inform targeted country support for the required legal reforms to facilitate progress towards UHC. From 2026 onwards, the team will deliver an expanded portfolio of UHC legal reform activities to ensure updated evidence and effective support to the increasing countries' requests. The Public Health UN Volunteer will provide in-house legal expertise and analytical support to strengthen delivery against country and donor commitments.

Task description:

• Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Team Lead - Health Financing and Governance or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer will :
• Provide in-house legal analysis to support the team's work on health law and UHC legal reform across Member States.
• Review and analyse health-related legislation, regulations and legal frameworks across countries, identifying gaps and opportunities for reform.
• Maintain and regularly update the repository of country UHC-related laws, regulations and legal materials, ensuring systematic country follow-up and coordination with regional data hub teams.
• Coordinate the validation of legal country profiles, including engagement with parliamentarians, and support the production of final country reports.
• Review and produce legal country profiles ready for publication for each validated country profile.
• Provide legal input into country-level processes, including health sector reviews, policy dialogue, regulatory reform and strategic planning.
• Support country engagement on health policy dialogue, stewardship and regulatory work, including preparing background notes and follow-up actions.
• Contribute to the drafting and dissemination of legal briefs, policy briefs, technical notes and other analytical products on health governance, health law and UHC legal reform.
• Contribute to internal technical reviews and analytical outputs supporting the team's broader UHC and health systems work.
• Support documentation of the UHC-related laws initiative, including the development of thematic papers in coordination with relevant Health Systems and Services (HSS) units.
• Document and analyse country validation methodologies, including conducting comparative analyses and generating lessons learned.
• Support team and cluster reporting on the legal and governance workstreams to donors and the wider region, including quarterly progress reports.
• Support the organisation and documentation of technical meetings, working groups and legal capacity-strengthening events for Member States.
• Contribute to the design and delivery of capacity-building activities.
• Coordinate with country offices, partner agencies and AFRO clusters on joint governance activities.
• Collaborate closely with technical officers within the Health Financing and Governance Team and the broader Health Systems and Services Cluster.
• Participate in meetings and activities in line with AFRO working hours.

Eligibility criteria

Age: 18 - 80

Required experience: 7 years

Nationality: Candidate must be a national of a country other than the country of assignment.

Assignment requirements

Relevant experience:

• 5 years

Languages:

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

Required education level:

• Master's degree in
• Legal and Regulatory Expertise
• Health Systems and Policy Expertise
• Research and Analytical Skills
• Knowledge Management and Data Systems
• Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination
• Technical Writing and Communication
• Programme and Project Support
• Capacity Building and Training
• Collaboration and Teamwork

Competencies and values:

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Producing results
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Professionalism
• Self-management
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

Skills and experience:

• Advanced higher degree (Master's or equivalent) in Law (LLB / LLM), with specialisation or working experience in public health, health policy or health systems
• At least 5 years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in health law, legal aspects of health systems, or legislative drafting/reform; experience working on UHC or health systems legal frameworks strongly preferred
• Strong research, analytical and policy-writing skills; ability to summarise complex technical material in clear, concise reports
• Demonstrated experience in project coordination, multi-stakeholder engagement and donor/partner reporting
• Familiarity with international and national legal frameworks for health, including the right to health, UHC, health insurance regulations, and public health law.
• Solid overall computer literacy, including advanced proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel.
• Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines.
• Desirable: Postgraduate degree in public health, health policy or public administration.
• Have affinity with or interest in health law, UHC legal reform, health systems strengthening, volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System.

Area(s) of expertise:

• Legal affairs, Health, Administration

Driving license:

• -

Other information