Technical Officer (Universal Health and Preparedness Review)

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

Health emergencies continue to have significant and sometimes catastrophic impacts on countries' health, economies, and development. Both recent and ongoing public health events have demonstrated that many communities remain at high risk and that strong levels of national preparedness across all relevant sectors are crucial to ensuring the effective management of health emergencies when they occur. They also illustrate the need for scaling up the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) that requires countries to build and maintain the capacities to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to, and recover from public health emergencies, anchored on strong and resilient health systems. The Emergency Preparedness Division contributes to the implementation of the WHO Global Programme of Work (GPW 13) and is guided by WHO strategic priorities to “keep the world safe, improve health and serve the vulnerable”. The WHO strategic priorities drive the progress in health towards Universal Health Coverage, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and speaks particularly to SDG 3, to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. The Health Security Preparedness (HSP) department supports Member States in enhancing national preparedness across the IHR core capacities to manage all-hazard risks and emergencies and to build multisectoral approaches for health security. It ensures that WHO supports Member States to build sustainable preparedness capacities and scale up the implementation of the IHR (2005) and support the implementation of the Sendai Framework, the WHO Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Framework, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and other related global and regional frameworks. HSP works with partners and the broader global health security community to ensure that the most vulnerable communities in all countries are protected from the impact of health emergencies.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Within the framework of the delegated authority, the incumbent will have the following roles and responsibilities, in close collaboration with other WHO departments, regions, and relevant stakeholders:

• Support the establishment and implementation of UHPR Global Peer Review Commission (GPRC) as well as relevant review processes and reporting.

• Contribute to the development of the advocacy materials, maintenance of the UHPR website, and updating of the content and tracking.

• Promote and advocate for UHPR inside and outside the organization, at all levels, and across multiple sectors.

• Contribute to the preparation of the Member States, WHO, and other stakeholder briefings, bulletins, information sessions, and governing body processes for the UHPR.

• Support the development communication plan that aligns with the UHPR strategies, including the preparation of the communication plan (including stakeholder engagement plan, etc).

• Prepare briefing templates to effectively communicate UHPR progress and updates to the process.

• Support the preparation of the Member States, WHO, and other stakeholder briefings, bulletins, information sessions, and governing body processes for the UHPR.

• Support the engagement of civil society organizations and non-state actors in the UHPR process.

• Support the coordination and management of the UHPR-TAG (Technical Advisory Group).

• Work closely with colleagues in the UHPR secretariat to ensure optimization and avoid duplication.

• Support of outbreak response capacity building and leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic response investments through operationalization of UHPR as needed.

• Support to the ongoing pandemic and other outbreaks as part of strengthening the UHPR mechanism through a multisectoral, whole-of-society approach.

Perform any other duties as requested by the supervisor.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: University degree (Bachelor's) in public health, health science, international relations and development, or related fields, or related fields.
Desirable: Training in programme planning and management.

Experience

Essential:

• At least two years of relevant collectiveexperience in international organizations and multisectoral engagement/collaboration/partnerships.

Desirable:

• Relevant experience working with international organizations within a multisectoral environment.

• Prior experience working in admin, logistics, programme coordination and planning

• Experience working for a national authority. WHO or UN experience is an advantage.

   

   

   

   

   

Skills

Demonstrated knowledge of public health in general and disaster risk management for health and IHR (2005) in particular, complemented by skills in the field of epidemiology, health emergency preparedness and response, and health system assessment (use of appropriate instrument, data collection, analysis and write-up of results, conclusions, and recommendations), planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, in a public health emergency and/or disaster context.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Moving forward in a changing environment
Producing results

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable: Expert knowledge of French. Intermediate knowledge of WHO language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

REMUNERATION

WHO salaries for staff in the Professional category are calculated in US dollars. The remuneration for the above position comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 50,377 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable), a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 3497 per month for the duty station indicated above. Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level

• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

• A written test and/or an asynchronous video assessment may be used as a form of screening.

• In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.

• According to 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. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules, and Manual.

• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.

• The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits and employs staff regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.

• The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its staff. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (

https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion

• ) are strongly encouraged to apply.

• Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to

reasonableaccommodation@who.int

• An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.

• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.

• Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with WHO and an underlying premise of the international civil service. Candidates appointed to an international post with WHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.

• WHO also offers wide range of benefits to staff, including parental leave and attractive flexible work arrangements to help promote a healthy work-life balance and to allow all staff members to express and develop their talents fully.

• The statutory retirement age for staff appointments is 65 years. For external applicants, only those who are expected to complete the term of appointment will normally be considered.

• Please note that WHO's contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO International Travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.

• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

• For information on WHO's operations please visit: http://www.who.int.

• For WHO General Service staff who do not meet the minimum educational qualifications, please see e-Manual III.4.1, para 220.

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