Technical Officer, Health Financing

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

All Member States of WHO in the European Region share the common value of the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental human right.

 

All of WHO actions are based on this and rooted in the underlying value of equity as described in the General Programme of Work.

 

The 13th General Programme of Work defines the mission of WHO as one to promote health, to keep the world safe, and to protect the vulnerable.

The GPW calls for heightened accountability, prioritising impact and outcome at country level, and to improve the lives of three billion people, through universal health coverage, through addressing health emergencies, and promoting healthier populations.

WHO's mandate revolves around six core functions\:

(i) providing leadership on global health matters;

(ii) shaping the health research agenda;

(iii) setting norms and standards;

(iv) articulating evidence-based policy options;

(v) providing technical support to countries; and

(vi) monitoring and assessing health trends.

 

The European Region (EURO) of WHO is made up of 53 countries, with over 880 million people. The diversity of people and health situations requires, on the demand side, a solid understanding of the emerging socio-economic, epidemiologic and demographic patterns and trends at both aggregate as well as national and sub-national levels, with due sensitivity to disadvantaged populations and vulnerable segments of the society. On the supply side, it is equally crucial to have a solid understanding of the commonalities and divergences of the health systems, the circumstances and political economy under which they have evolved and operate and, more specifically, how these bear upon the way the health system stewardship function of health ministries is carried out.

 

Objectives of the Division of Health Systems and Public Health

The Division of Health Systems and Public Health aims to assist Member States to design, adopt and implement comprehensive health and health systems policies, strategies and tools in line with the values of solidarity, equity and participation across the broad thematic areas of health system governance, financing, service delivery and resource generation. For the period of 2015-2020, the Division has defined priority entry points for strengthening people-centred health systems. These have been agreed with Member States at the sixty-fifth session of the Regional Committee for Europe as two priority areas\:

(1) transforming health services to meet the health system challenges of the 21st century and

(2) moving towards universal coverage for a Europe free of impoverishing out-of-pocket payments for health.

 

Objectives of the Health Financing programme and the WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Strengthening

The WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Strengthening (Barcelona GDO) is a part of the Division of Health System and Public Health and contributes to the above objectives under the guidance of the Director of the Division. It hosts the Health Financing (HFI) programme of the Division and focuses on providing technical support to Member States on health financing policy for universal health coverage and health systems strengthening through analysis and capacity building to improve decision making processes and related institutional development. Its objective is to promote better performing health systems by applying a comprehensive, functionally coherent and results-oriented approach in the implementation of the 13th General Programme of Work

Outcome 1\: Strengthened health systems in support of universal health coverage without financial hardship, including equity of access based on gender, age, income, and disability. The HFI programme is to foster development of equitable and efficient forms of health financing that enable countries to sustain progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The programme is responsible for monitoring financial protection in the European Region based on regional and global mandates including the monitoring of the SDG target of 3.8 on UHC. The Barcelona GDO has an established portfolio of training activities (WHO courses on health financing for universal health coverage and health systems strengthening) which contribute to capacity building across all countries of the European Region and supports the country-specific technical work in Member States as agreed in the biennial collaborative agreements and country cooperation strategies.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The purpose of this post is to lead the work on designing and delivering capacity building activities of the WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Strengthening (Barcelona GDO); and to provide specialist technical expertise in a range of health financing and health systems strengthening activities of the Health Financing (HFI) programme.Under the broad guidance and supervision of the Programme Manager (Health Financing) the incumbent will have the following responsibilities\:

1. Lead the development and delivery of the training activities of the Barcelona GDO with a focus on strengthening the capacity to reach the Russian-speaking audience while maintaining a good balance of coverage of the whole European Region. This includes the regional, sub-regional and country-specific courses on

(i) health financing for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and

(ii) health system strengthening for improved health outcomes in specific disease areas.

2. Provide technical support to the HFI programme's country work on evidence-informed policy advice in designing the overall health financing systems and its functions of revenue collection, pooling, strategic purchasing and benefit design, with a focus on countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU) and South-eastern Europe (SEE);

3. Coordinate with WHO headquarters, country offices and country focal points on production of Health Accounts (HA) and reporting health expenditure data to WHO (monitoring the data quality in the region, managing country-specific projects, supervising the studies) with minimum supervision including the collaboration with relevant international agencies especially the OECD, EUROSTAT and the World Bank;

4. Produce and update regional and country-specific health expenditure analyses and reports;

5. Contribute to the regional monitoring of financial protection using the methodology and approach developed for the European Region including support to policy dialogue in countries of FSU and SEE to foster implementation of policy recommendations to sustain progress towards UHC;

6. Collaborate within DSP and with other technical divisions to promote a comprehensive and aligned support to Member States on health financing;

7. Participate in the preparation of the work plan, budget, implementation reports and donor reports; and

8. Perform other related duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential\: Advanced university degree (Master's level or equivalent) in health and/or social sciences, health economics/financing, health systems management, public health or business administration, or other related field from a recognized university.
Desirable\: Postgraduate degree in any of the above-mentioned degrees.

Experience

Essential\: At least seven years of relevant work experience at national and international levels in the areas of health financing, health systems strengthening, policy analysis and capacity building, including at least three years of relevant work experience with/in countries of the former Soviet Union.
Desirable\: Relevant work experience with/in international organizations, WHO in particular.

Skills

Proven abilities in designing, delivering and institutionalizing health financing/health system training activities (seminars, courses and workshops) in English and Russian languages. In depth knowledge of political, social and health systems of Member States of countries of the former Soviet Union including direct work experience in these countries.Proven skills in developing and assessing health financing/health systems policies, plans and strategies. Proven skills in health financing and expenditure analysis, policy-relevant analytical work including analysis of household budget surveys, estimation of out-of-pocket expenditure and financial protection metrics. Experience in statistical analysis and ability to use STATA and SPSS software packages.Knowledge of the WHO and UN system would be an asset, as would experience of working with other multi- and bilateral development agencies active in the health sector.

WHO Competencies

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

Use of Language Skills

Essential\: Expert knowledge of English. Expert 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 71,332 (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 1920 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.