Technical Officer, DIR

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

Under the umbrella of the EHII, the main objective of the Health Information, Monitoring, and Analysis (HMA) Unit within the Division of Information, Evidence, Research and Innovation (DIR) is to ensure (i) the collection of health statistics for policy-making; (ii) coordination of health information activities across major stakeholders; and (iii) adequate dissemination and use of statistics and health information by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, WHO headquarters, Member States, and WHO partners and related organizations. The Unit also supports capacity building activities as well as the creation and implementation of multi-country and multi-stakeholders health information related networks in the Region.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the umbrella of the European Health Information Initiative (EHII), the purpose of the post is to provide technical support to the Division of Information, Evidence, Research and Innovation (DIR) of the WHO Regional Office for Europe for implementing health information management activities, in particular on the design, development and strengthening of health data and metadata management systems using appropriate technologies (with emphasis on European Health for All and Mortality databases) in WHO Europe and Member States, in cooperation with technical units, UN and other international agencies/Institutions and networks. The incumbent is expected to contribute to strengthening capacity of countries in developing and improving their health information systems, information management, and supporting data analysis and dissemination activities using appropriate tools and methods.

 

The main duties and responsibilities of the incumbent are to assess, develop and roll-out different components of user-friendly integrated health data production systems with flexible interfaces to internet-based tools, both in WHO and Member Countries.

In particular, the duties include\:

1. Managing the European HFA family of databases, including management of updates, using appropriate tools (such as R, MS SQL, and data management system) , and ensuring the data and indicators are published in the European integrated data warehouse and visualized and available in associated client applications (such as European Health Information Gateway and European Health Statistics mobile app);

2. Ensuring that data collections for the Health for All family of databases from Member States, WHO technical units and other international organizations are timely and as complete as possible for the opportune dissemination of indicators and information of acceptable quality;

3. Improving the Health for All family of databases by integrating the data and metadata, standardising their metadata and data models, maintaining documentation of workflow and data validation, handling and management processes, contributing to the design and operation of a new data management system to replace the current outdated and fragmented one, enabling easier, faster and less resource intensive updates to the data and indicators in the Health for All family of databases;

4. Conceptualizing, designing and developing guidance and tools for data validation as well as collaborating with national counterparts and data providers from Member States, WHO technical units and other international organizations on methods and approaches to improve the quality of the data in Health for All family of databases;

5. Coordinating and overseeing tasks related to validation and dissemination of data from the Joint EUROSTAT/OECD/WHO Europe data collections;

6. Analysing the use of the digital tools used for dissemination of Health for All family of databases, to identify the most common user needs, and using this todefine data requirements and definitions, structure of indicators and metadata, and further develop the relevant sections of the European Health Information Gateway, Data Warehouse, European Health Statistics mobile app and other tools.

7. Undertaking health situation analysis and monitoring of trends for different public health reports;

8. Contributing to assessment of health information systems in countries by advising counterparts on topics related to their design, development and implementation in order to strengthen monitoring and evaluation capacity in Ministries of Health;

9. Produce and disseminate educational briefing and training materials related to digital health information tools produced by DIR so as to facilitate and improve their use by WHO staff, public health professionals and other audiences; and,

10. Representing DIR/HMA in external technical meetings concerning health data collection, processing and analysis of health related data.

11. Other duties assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential\: University degree in statistics, demography, health informatics, computer sciences or similar sciences.
Desirable\: Master's or post-graduate training in one of the above sciences.

Experience

Essential\: At least 5 years relevant working experience in the field of statistical data collection and validation in public health, harmonization of data and metadata, indicator production, data analysis and visualization, including experience with and management of data from a variety of data sources and multiple dimensions/disaggregations of data.
Desirable\: Experience with implementing and using web-based data collection systems. Working with national and international agencies active in the field of health statistics. Experience in WHO or other UN agencies.

Skills

Good knowledge of the assessment, planning, development and implementation of projects and programmes on health information systems, including project management skills. Good knowledge and use of R statistical package or Stata or SAS, SQL, and sound health data management practices. Advanced statistical programming and data management skills to customize databases and other tools and automate data processing. Technical expertise in the application of qualitative and quantitative techniques in data analysis. Knowledge of statistical principles, methods and software packages (incl. statistical modelling) data administration and analysis, preferably with a special focus on biostatistics and demography. Knowledge of MS Office and related applications (Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint); Knowledge of R and related libraries (shiny, etc) or other programming statistical package (such as Stata or SAS)

WHO Competencies

Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Ensuring the effective use of resources
Producing results
Creating an empowering and motivating environment

Use of Language Skills

Essential\: Expert knowledge of English.
Desirable\: Intermediate knowledge of Russian.

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 59,151 (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 3135 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 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.

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

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

• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

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

• WHO has a mobility policy which can be found at the following link\: http\://www.who.int/employment/en/. 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.
  • Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.
  • For WHO General Service staff who do not meet the minimum educational qualifications, please see e-Manual III.4.1, para 220./ul>