Snr Reg Med Officer

Senior Regional Medical Officer

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

Regional outreach of Staff Health and Welfare Service (SHWS/HQ) Medical Section is through the regional medical offices. Their primary goal is to provide regional teams with medical capacity in support to their staff health and welfare strategic objectives, and operational planning.

The incumbent will support, facilitate and implement, in the countries of responsibility, the projects/programmes identified at regional level in close collaboration with SH&WS/HQ, aiming at the health prevention, protection and promotion of their national and international staff.

The Senior Regional Medical Officer will keep daily contacts with all levels of HCR staff both at HQ and in the field. Close collaboration with the RSWO. Close contacts with UNHCR Regional Director, Representatives, Chiefs of Mission regarding the health and safety of their staff. Medical Advisor to the Administration and Field Security of the COs and to MIP. Close working collaboration with the Office of the Ombudsperson, the Office of the Inspector General.

The incumbent will maintain contacts with the Regional Security Adviser and CSAs at UNDSS, DPKO/DFS missions medical authorities and infrastructures in the region, UNCTs, UN Dispensary Physicians, UN Examining Physicians, AFPs and INGOs operating in the countries of responsibility, especially in the health sector.

The Senior Regional Medical Officer (SRMO) reports to SHWS/HQ (Chief of Medical Section).

The SRMO is a rotational position; all SRMOs will rotate simultaneously from one position to another.

The incumbent will supervise one General Service Staff, as well as other staff if required.

The SRMO will work alone, but will be fully integrated in the relevant Regional Office/Hub and will be in direct contact with the Medical Section of the SH&WS at HQ. In this line the SRMO's yearly work-plan and key performance indicators will be established in line with the regional strategic objectives for staff health and welfare with the technical support of SH&WS/HQ.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

Accountability
- The promotion, prevention and protection of the health and safety of UNHCR staff is in line with DHRMs People Strategy.
- Matters affecting the health, safety and welfare of persons at work including affiliate workforce and retirees when possible are duly considered and reported.
- A holistic approach is taken to staff health and psychosocial welfare.
- Advocacy, promotion and dissemination of relevant policies, measures and information of general interest within UNHCR and externally is supported.

Responsibility
- Visit the workplace and advise on the provision of safe and healthy conditions by informed scientific assessment of the physical and psychological aspects of the working environment.
- Develop and manage mitigation measures by implementing initiatives in support to their health prevention, protection and promotion, ensuring medical compatibility with job requirements. Conduct preventive health and health-promotion programs, in line with the SH&WS and Regional Strategic Objectives.
- Provide travel medical services for staff on official travel, incorporating destination-specific health advice, facilitating access to immunization, prophylactic medications and travel medical kits.
- Provide support with relevant UNHCR polices and standing administrative instructions, as well as promote compliance with relevant health and safety legislation.
- Assess the fitness of staff for specific tasks, ensuring a satisfactory fit between person and job, recommend suitable adjustments to enable staff to undertake the work they have been selected to perform safely and effectively, considering any health issues or disabilities they may have.
- Manage the return to work of staff members after extended sick leave. Manage staff who are on sick leave, working with other health professionals to ensure the earliest return of functional capacity and return to work.
- Monitor the health of staff who are potentially exposed to hazards at work through health surveillance programmes. Advice staff about all medical and health issues related to their work.
- Analyse data from surveillance programmes, statistics from causes of sick leave, medical evacuations, deaths, work related illnesses or accidents using sound epidemiological methods to identify trends in workers health and recommend any remedial measures necessary to improve staff health.
- Advise employees and country representatives/line managers regarding work-related health issues
- Perform and assess the daily medical examinations and clearances of staff concerning:  recruitment, periodic medical examination, pre-departure briefing for missions to the field, etc.
- Manage immunization programmes for workplace biological hazards and for business travelers.
- Provide technical advice of health services required and support UNHCR COs in the management and monitoring of the implementation of the Service Level Agreements or Memoranda of Understanding ruling the integration and sharing of the field medical services provided from DPKO/DFS Missions or other UN Entities to UNHCR staff.
- Verify appropriateness, reasonableness and customary nature of major special medical bills/treatments.
- Systematically access and liaise with local medical facilities to ascertain proper medical care rendered.
- Establish a referral list of reasonable and customary costs at the duty station.
- Systematically record staff health data onto the corporate global medical database (MEDGATE) to produce reliable reports on staff health trends, challenges and risks to business continuity.
- Assess potential cases of occupational injuries and illness; investigate, manage and report individual cases appropriately and establish if this is a single case or if there is wider incidence.
- Establish functional and operational relations with the Regional Staff Welfare Officer, other Regional Medical Officers and Regional Security Advisor in order to constitute a functionally coordinated emergency safety network at the regional level for all UNHCR staff.
- Ensure medical compliance to MOSS prescriptions in terms of emergency evacuations plans, first aid kits availability, maintenance and training in the offices, vehicles and provide the relevant training.
- Provide health education on health risks and work and living conditions, including stress prevention programs in coordination with other the RSWOs to broaden staff awareness of alcohol and drug abuse and their impact on staff health at the workplace and conduct preventive health and health promotion programmes.

Authority
- Provide first aid and emergency services in response to accidents occurring in the workplace.
- Recommend, facilitate and support emergency medical evacuations of national and international staff and dependents.
- Assess and clear the centres for medical evacuations for UNHCR workforce and family members.
- Review, assess and take decisions about work accommodations, fitness for work, and mobility that are based on individualized medical risk assessments, monitoring of care and follow-up of chronic medical conditions to facilitate the return to work. Long term/impact decisions on staff member fitness to work (disability, medical constrains) always in consultation with Chief of Section.
- Provide surge capacity to the corporate and UN System emergency response capacity (UNMERT) including mass casualty incidents.
- Implement and develop existing health and psychosocial welfare policies.
- Access to confidential staff medical data.

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
- Degree of Medical Doctor (MD).
- Minimum 8 years of clinical practice as a Medical Doctor/ Practitioner of which at least 1-2 years should be in an international organization in hardship duty stations.
- Experience in occupational health and safety and/or travel medicine and/or tropical and infectious disease, and /or emergency medicine, minimum 2 years' experience.
- Project design and management experience (education and competency to successfully lead and direct projects) minimum 2 years' experience.
- Excellent communication, presentation and drafting skills.
- Fluency in English and very good knowledge of French.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES
- Advanced degree in Occupational Health/Public Health/Community Medicine/Family Medicine/International Health.
- Certification in OHS and emergency medicine (ATLS, ACLS, or PHTLS or equivalents).
- Experience in managing employee assistance programs like HIV or substance abuse or other wellbeing programmes.
- Supervisory experience of other health personnel.
- Demonstrated leadership and team building skills.
- Training experience and facilitation.