National Professional Officer (Vaccine Preventable Diseases)

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

In line with the Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW14), the WHO Representative Office for Samoa, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau supports WHO’s overarching goal to promote, provide and protect health and well-being for all people, everywhere. The office supports the respective governments in their efforts to accelerate, achieve, and sustain the control, elimination, and eradication of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) by adopting integrated people-centred approaches geared to reduce morbidity and mortality of such conditions. There will be a focus on reaching missed and zero-dose children; introducing and scaling-up priority and new vaccines; and intensifying preventive vaccination campaigns.
 

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The incumbent will perform all of part of the following, and other related responsibilities as required by the needs of the office.

1. Work under the direct supervision of the respective officer, and overall guidance and supervision of the head of the WHO country office.

2. Directly provide, coordinate, and/or facilitate the delivery of technical and managerial advice to the governments and national stakeholders in the development and implementation of sustainable, multi-sectoral and integrated strategies, policies, work programmes and plans, including financing of the systems at National and Subnational levels towards promoting optimal outcomes in for the Immunization program.

3. Contribute to the development of work plans and budgets, and support resource mobilization efforts to ensure sustainable immunization program implementation.

4. Monitor work plans and budgets implementation, supervise, and evaluate the implementation of planned activities, in consultation with national counterparts.

5. Monitor the national burden of vaccine preventable diseases or factors especially through health information system and health research activities including program review, coverage survey, seroprevalence studies, and the evaluation of new interventions for program improvement.

6. Facilitate the adaptation and implementation of evidence-based norms, standards, guidelines, and tools in the programme areas.

7. Guide the collection, analysis and documenting of best practices and partners’ experiences in life course programmes especially in vaccine preventable diseases and immunization, anchored in national and subnational perspectives.

8. Assist the Ministries of Health in planning and organizing national and subnational vaccination campaigns, ensuring alignment with strategic immunization goals.

9. Coordinate the development of information, education, and communication materials to foster community awareness and health practice in the life-course immunization.

10. Assist the governments with implementing activities recommended by the Sub-regional Verification Committee (SRVC) for Measles and Rubella Elimination in the Pacific.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: University degree in medicine, nursing or public health, or related science.
Desirable: Postgraduate degree in public health or related field.
 

Experience

Essential: 

· At least five years of working experience in developing and/or implementing public health, capacity building policies/strategies, and programmes   in the area of Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Immunization at national level.

· Professional experience providing technical services to Member States and other partners in relevant public health programmes in resource      limited settings.

Desirable: 

· Experience working in in the area of immunization service delivery and disease surveillance, and analyze life course data.

· Relevant work experience, with WHO and/or United Nations agencies, health cluster partners, non-governmental or humanitarian organizations.
 

Skills

· Knowledge and skills in program management, for the development and implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of successful public-health action plans, programmes, and interventions in immunization and vaccine preventable diseases surveillance systems, and other life course areas

· Knowledge, skills, and results in coordinating integrated, multi-sectoral, public-health programme interventions, taking into consideration the views of multiple stakeholders

· Skills in planning, training, monitoring, and evaluation of interventions, and the development of locally adapted tools and instruments

· Skills to work effectively with government officials at various levels, nongovernmental organizations and international colleagues and partners in resource-limited contexts

· Excellent oral and written communication, including for reports, presentations, and technical documents, and good inter-personal skills

· Skills to advocate and communicate critical life-course messages

· Ability to work harmoniously as a member of a team, adapt to diverse educational and cultural backgrounds and maintain a high standard of personal conduct
 

WHO Competencies

Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Producing results
Building and promoting partnerships across the Organization and beyond
 

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English language.
 

REMUNERATION

Remuneration comprises an annual base salary starting at WST 87,816 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable) and 30 days of annual leave.
 

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.

• The Director-General retains the discretion to not make any appointment to this vacancy, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description, including shortening the duration of the appointment.

• WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. 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.

• 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 may request reasonable accommodations (modifications or adjustments to the application or recruitment process) to support their participation in the application and recruitment process. Please send an email to reasonableaccommodation@who.int with your full name, the vacancy number you are applying for, and specific details of the accommodation needed in your request.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• This is a National Professional Officer position. Therefore, only applications from nationals of the country where the duty station is located will be accepted. Applicants who are not nationals of this country will not be considered.

• In case the website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click this link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates