Epidemiologist in the Republic of Congo

UN VOLUNTEER DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT COGR000034--Epidemiologist The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers.In most cultures volunteerism is deeply embedded in long- established, ancient traditions of sharing and support within the communities. In this context, UN Volunteers take part in various forms of volunteerism and play a role in development and peace together with co-workers, host agencies and local communities.In all assignments, UN Volunteers promote volunteerism through their action and conduct. Engaging in volunteer activity can effectively and positively enrich their understanding of local and social realities, as well as create a bridge between themselves and the people in their host community. This will make the time they spend as UN Volunteers even more rewarding and productive.

General Information

Country of Assignment Republic of Congo

Host Institute World Health Organization

Volunteer Category International Specialist

Number of Volunteer 1

Duration 12 months

Expected Starting Date Immediate

Duty Station Brazzaville

Assignment Place

Family Duty Station

Assignment Place Remark

Assignment is with family accompanied

Living Conditions

A middle-income country, Congo is experiencing a particularly favorable development context with a stabilized macroeconomic framework because of the implementation of ambitious macroeconomic reforms. Economic growth averaged around 6% for over a decade. However, should the current decline in the price of a barrel of petroleum persists, it could hinder this dynamic. Note that the performance at the macro level is in contrast with the living conditions of the population which remains difficult. Unemployment, particularly among young people is high and the cost of living is quite high compared to other countries in the sub-region. Food imports account for most of the coverage needs of the population in major cities.

According to the latest evaluation of UNDSS, Congo has three security levels:

Level 4 in the Pool department

Level 2 in Brazzaville, and Pointe - Noire

Level 1 The rest of the territory

The UNV will be based in Brazzaville, the capital city. The city is quiet, everyday life in Brazzaville is safe and one can circulate freely. Most food and non-food commodities are available. Medical facilities are up to standard.

11 Oct 2017 Page 1 of 5 It can be difficult to find a suitable apartment with basic security conditions and water supply. The apartments must be approved by the Department of Safety and Security in Brazzaville.

The WHO Regional Office is located South on the outskirts of Brazzaville. A shuttle bus is available to take staff members to and

from work at scheduled hours.

Assignment Details

Assignment Title Epidemiologist

Organizational Context & Project Description

WHO is the directing and coordinating agency for health within the United Nations System and operates at three levels: global,

regional and country. The WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), in collaboration with Inter-country Support Teams, provides

technical assistance, guidance and coordination to, and for 46 countries in the African region. AFRO fosters synergies with

international partners and global and regional health initiatives.

The World Health Organisation Health Emergencies programme (WHE) was established in 2016. The WHE complements WHO’s

technical and normative role but with new operational capacities and capabilities for its work in outbreaks and humanitarian

emergencies. The vision of the programme is “protecting health and saving lives in outbreaks and emergencies”. Its mission is “to

help Member States build their capacity to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead

and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected

populations”.

The WHO regional office for Africa (WHO AFRO) WHE monitors, co-ordinates and responds to more than 300 alerts and rumours of

outbreaks and events every year. These include major events such as humanitarian crises and associated displacement, floods and

disease outbreaks. These emergencies present challenges not just to countries, but also to regional and global health security.

The Health Information Management (HIM) programme area of WHE focuses on three lines of work: public health emergency data

science, authoritative situational analysis and risk assessment for known and unknown public health threats and improved reporting

on public health emergencies through the development and dissemination of information products.

The WHO Regional Office for Africa is currently facing a high number of outbreaks and emergencies. The efficient implementation of

control measures needs the availability in the affected countries of skilled human resources and the presence in the WHE

Programme at the regional office of staffs to serve as back-up to the country teams and provide technical and managerial guidance

to them.

The WHE programme collaborates closely with other departments and WHO disease-oriented programmes in WHO Country

Offices, AFRO and WHO Headquarters, and with a wide range of UN organizations, international partners and experts, and WHO

Collaborating Centres.

The Epidemiologist will provide direct support to the WHE Programme through the detection, verification and risk assessment of

outbreaks and other public health events, improving collection of data of outbreaks and reporting on the response to public health

events and emergencies.

Sustainable Development Goals 3. Good Health and Well-being

UNV Focus Area Securing access to basic social services

Task description

Under the overall guidance of the Regional Emergency Director and direct supervision of the HIM Programme Area Manager, the

UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

Participate in conducting risk assessments on acute public health events occurring in the region

Assist in the drafting of reports on the response to major public health events

Develop country profiles on acute public health events in the region

11 Oct 2017 Page 2 of 5 Contribute to the development of suite of outbreak applications

Produce standard operating procedures for epidemic intelligence in the WHO African region

Any other duties as required by the WHE HIM programme area

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:- Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerismby

reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNVactivities (for instance in events that mark International

Volunteer Day)- Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms ofvolunteerism in the host country- Reflect on the type

and quality of voluntary action that they areundertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities- Contribute

articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNVpublications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.- Assist with

the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers- Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering,

orencourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV OnlineVolunteering service whenever technically possible.

Results/Expected Outputs

At the end of the assignment, it is expected that the UNV will have contributed to the WHO Health Emergencies Programme

through detecting, assessing and reporting on outbreaks and other public health events in the region. This will assist WHO

AFRO regional and country offices to support Member States to respond more effectively and efficiently to public health

events thereby contributing to protecting health and saving lives in outbreaks and emergencies.

A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the

number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed

• The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including

supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counter-parts, including Implementing Partners (IPs); • Age, Gender and Diversity

(AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment • A final

statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development dur-ing the assignment, such as reporting on the

number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed

Qualifications/Requirements

Required Degree Level Master degree or equivalent

Education - Additional Comments

Advanced degree in epidemiology, public health, or international health or degree in medicine, veterinary science, pharmacy, with

post-graduate degree in public health/epidemiology.

Desirable:Post-graduate training in epidemiology, public health or international development with good data management and

writing skills.

Years of Required Work Experience 24 months

Experience Description

Minimum of two years professional work experience in the area of epidemiology.

Desirable: Experience with the investigation and response to outbreaks and other public health emergencies. Professional

experience in an international organisation.

Language Skills

ENG (Mandatory) , Level - Fluent

AND - FRE (Mandatory) , Level - Working Knowledge

DoA Expertise

Public health Mandatory

11 Oct 2017 Page 3 of 5 Other health related experience Optional

Other emergency management experience Optional

Additional Requirements for Area of Expertise

Proficient in Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint

Excellent planning and organizational skills, with attention to detail and with the ability to multi-task and work under pressure.

Diplomacy, courtesy and ability to work in a multi-cultural team.

Need Driving Licence No

Competencies & Values

Accountability

Adaptability and Flexibility

Client Orientation

Commitment and Motivation

Communication

Creativity

Ethics and Values

Integrity

Leadership

Planning and Organizing

Professionalism

Respect for Diversity

Vision

Working in Teams

Conditions of Service and other information

Condition of Service Click here to view Conditions of Service

Conditions of Service for International Specialist:

The contract lasts for the period indicated above with possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and

satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment.

A UN Volunteer receives a Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) which is composed of the Monthly Living Allowance (MLA) and a Family

Allowance (FA) for those with dependents (maximum three).

The Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) is paid at the end of each month to cover housing, utilities, transportation, communications and

other basic needs. The VLA can be computed by applying the Post-Adjustment Multiplier (PAM) to the VLA base rate of US$ 1,587. The

VLA base rate is a global rate across the world, while the PAM is duty station/country-specific and fluctuates on a monthly basis

according to the cost of living. This method ensures that international UN Volunteers have comparable purchasing power at all duty

stations irrespective of varying costs of living. The PAM is established by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) and is

published at the beginning of every month on the ICSC website http://icsc.un.org.

11 Oct 2017 Page 4 of 5 For example, kindly enter the link Calculator

In non-family duty stations that belong to hardship categories D or E, as classified by the ICSC, international UN Volunteers receive a

Well-Being Differential (WBD) on a monthly basis.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are provided a settling-in-grant (SIG) at the start of the assignment (if the volunteer did not reside in the

duty station for at least 6 months prior to taking up the assignment) and in the event of a permanent reassignment to another duty

station.

UNV provides life, health, permanent disability insurances as well as assignment travel, annual leave, full integration in the UN security

framework (including residential security reimbursements).

UN Volunteers are paid Daily Subsistence Allowance at the UN rate for official travels, flight tickets for periodic home visit and for the final

repatriation travel (if applicable). Resettlement allowance is paid for satisfactory service at the end of the assignment.

UNV will provide, together with the offer of assignment, a copy of the Conditions of Service, including Code of conduct, to the successful

candidate.

Application Code

COGR000034-2304

Application procedure

If you have not yet registered in the UNV Global Talent Pool, please apply by registering your profile at

https://vmam.unv.org/candidate/signup. Important: Once you have created your UNV account by validating your email address, please

complete all sections of your profile. Go to ‘My Page’ section of your profile, click on the ‘Special Calls’ hyperlink and select the special

call you would like to apply for.

If you are already registered in the UNV database, please update your profile at https://vmam.unv.org/ Go to ‘My Page’ section of your

profile, click on the ‘Special Calls’ hyperlink and select the special call you would like to apply for.

Application deadline: 31 October 2017

Disclaimer

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme which welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We

arecommitted to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.

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