Advisor, Health Emergencies

This requisition is for employment at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO)

The objective of the Health Emergencies Department (PHE) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is to increase health sector resilience to emergencies and disasters. PHE assists Member States to strengthen the health sector’s capacities in prevention, risk reduction, preparedness, surveillance, response, and early recovery for emergencies and disasters related to any hazards (natural, man-made, biological, chemical, radiological and others) and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain disasters, including outbreaks, and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations. PHE is responsible for ensuring the implementation and updating of the PAHO/WHO Institutional Emergency and Disaster Response Policy.

Under the general supervision of the Director, Health Emergencies (PHE), the first level supervision of the Unit Chief, Country Health Emergency Preparedness & IHR (PHE/CPI) and the administrative supervision of the PAHO/WHO Representative, the incumbent is responsible for, but not necessarily limited to, the following assigned duties\:

1. Manage PAHO’s health emergencies program at sub-regional level; advise, promote, develop and implement sub-regional and national policies and programs to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, or respond to national emergencies and disasters caused by all types of hazards, including natural, technological, biological, chemical, radiological, or those resulting from social conflicts, in close coordination with PAHO/WHO Representatives and in line with PHE’s Regional Strategic Plan;
2. Provide technical support for the establishment and/or strengthening of national disaster and emergency prevention and preparedness programs in the health sector, including the development, implementation and evaluation of country strategies and work plans pertaining to health emergencies, ensuring compliance with PAHO's organization-wide Health Emergencies strategies;
3. Maintain close relations and promote partnerships with all health emergency related sub-regional and international actors, such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescents (IFRC), Ministries of Health, national and international NGOs, UN organizations, donors and other institutions based in the Caribbean;
4. Advise sub-regional and national authorities on policies, norms, standards and guidelines to support the development of critical core capacities for global health security; provide training and support to national authorities to develop critical core capacities;
5. Provide technical guidance and support, in the context of the International Health Regulations (IHR), for the prevention, early detection, verification, risk assessment, and response to epidemic prone infectious hazards, and the analysis and dissemination of data related to the occurrence of outbreaks, in close collaboration with relevant teams at country, sub-regional and regional levels;
6. Provide technical advice and guidance for the implementation of health emergencies policies, concepts, tools and strategies at the sub-regional and national levels, for the prevention and, where feasible, elimination of diseases/epidemic risks. Work with partners, to improve approaches and methods of controlling epidemics in different epidemiological situations;
7. Promote multi-disciplinary and cross-cutting approaches and activities with key national and international partners, at the sub-regional and country levels, to ensure the successful implementation, monitoring and evaluation of capacities in line with IHR (2005) requirements, as well as the identification of financing for country plans;
8. Make recommendations and give guidance on relevant course of actions to be taken in affected as well as non-affected areas in order to prevent and/or control cause of excess morbidity and mortality related to emergencies and disasters;
9. Support the provision of data and information required for any PHE-related documents to be presented to PAHO and WHO Governing bodies; coordinate the implementation of the various Regional Plans of Action under the responsibility of the health emergencies program, including the plans for disaster risk reduction, coordination of health humanitarian assistance, as well as, plans related to the strengthening of surveillance, prevention, and control of high threats epidemic prone diseases (influenza, plague, yellow fever, cholera and other emerging and reemerging bacterial and viral diseases);
10. Identify and support catalytic areas where disaster risk reduction and climate change mitigation and adaptation measures can be integrated and add value to ongoing or planned technical cooperation support interventions;
11. Oversee the timely and high-quality collection, analysis, production and dissemination of health emergency data/information for the sub-region. This includes response specific information (what, where, who, when, how many, how quickly, current status), internal and external situation reports (SitReps), bulletins, rapid needs assessments, health risk assessments, and the Public Health Situation Analysis; and health inputs into humanitarian needs overviews (HNO), and strategic response plans (SRP);
12. Coordinate the mobilization of resources, through liaison with donors present in the Caribbean, formulation of projects, monitoring and elaboration of technical progress reports;
13. Assist PAHO Country Offices in the sub-region to ensure they fully comply with WHO readiness checklist;
14. Contribute to the preparation of biennial work plan and budgets (BWP), semiannual work plans and periodic evaluations for the sub-region; participate in the performance evaluation of the sub-region;
15. Provide technical leadership and support for the rapid assessment of health-related needs and the coordination of appropriate international health response in the sub-region for emergencies and disasters, in close collaboration with the Regional Office; Collaborate with other UN agencies and provide health expertise and required information, when required; Serve as a member of the Regional Health Disaster Response Team, including functioning as/or supporting the Incident Manager in case of a graded emergency.
16. Coordinate the response to outbreaks of epidemic and pandemic prone diseases in the subregion, as requested;
17. Perform other related duties as assigned.

Essential\: A university degree in a health or natural science and a master’s degree in a health science, public health, or in a discipline related to emergency and disaster management from a recognized institution.

Desirable\: A degree in medicine or specialized training in emergency and outbreak management or specific training in humanitarian response, disaster preparedness, or risk reduction would be an asset.

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/. PAHO will also use the databases of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation http\://www.chea.org and College Navigator, found on the website of the National Centre for Educational Statistics, https\://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator to support the validation process.

Essential\: Nine years of combined national and international experience in a managerial position in public health, social services, or disaster management (prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery).

Desirable\: Experience in the UN System with knowledge of inter-agency mechanisms in the area of national and international preparedness for and response to health emergencies would be an asset. Field experience in public health programs or emergency management programs in developing countries, including coordination of large scale public health projects, would be an asset.

• Overall attitude at work\: Maintains integrity and takes a clear ethical approach and stance; demonstrates commitment to the Organization’s mandate and promotes the values of the Organization in daily work and behavior; is accountable for work carried out in line with own role and responsibilities; is respectful towards, and trusted by, colleagues and counterparts.
• Teamwork\: Works collaboratively with team members and counterparts to achieve results; encourages cooperation and builds rapport; helps others when asked; accepts joint responsibility for the teams’ successes and shortcomings. Identifies conflicts in a timely manner and addresses them as necessary; understands issues from the perspective of others; does not interpret/attribute conflicts to cultural, geographical or gender issues.
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences\: Treats all people with dignity and respect. Relates well to people with different cultures, gender, orientations, backgrounds and/or positions; examines own behavior to avoid stereotypical responses; considers issues from the perspective of others and values their diversity.
• Communication\: Foresees communication needs of audience and targets message accordingly. Facilitates open communication; encourages others to share their views openly and takes time to understand and consider their views. Writes down ideas in a clear, structured, logical and credible way; drafts and supports the development of guidelines, policies and procedures. Shares relevant information openly and ensures that the shared information is understood; considers knowledge sharing as a constructive working method and demonstrates awareness of the Organization.
• Creating an empowering and motivating environment\: Manages individual and group projects and ensures that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clearly defined, understood and accepted; delegates work appropriately to achieve best results. Encourages others to take responsibility for their performance; promotes ownership, responsibility and accountability for desired results at all levels. Acknowledges own performance in achieving objectives and motivates staff to continuously develop their potential in order to achieve set goals and objectives.
• Producing Results\: Monitors own and others’ work in a systematic and effective way, ensuring required resources and outputs. Aligns projects with Organization’s mission and objectives. Consistently solves own and team’s problems effectively as needed. Challenges self and team to deliver high quality results, in line with Organizational goals. Proactively engages in projects and initiatives, accepting demanding goals, in line with Organizational Strategies and Program of Work. Demonstrates accountability for work of team and sets an example, while explicitly articulating lessons learnt for own and team’s benefit.
• Setting an example\:Works ethically to achieve individual work objectives under 'PAHO Regulations and Rules and the Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service. Maintains confidentiality and treats sensitive information with discretion; ensures that policies and procedures are followed in accordance with the Organization's professional, ethical and legal standards. When others behave in an unprofessional or unethical way, promotes appropriate standards and provides feedback in order to remedy the situation; escalates as necessary. Stands by own decisions and actions and accepts responsibility for them.

• Theoretical and practical knowledge in establishing and managing emergency operations, including formulation of strategies, plans of action, project proposals, budgets and reports; familiarity with the international actors in emergency preparedness and humanitarian assistance.
• Ability to identify priorities and develop strategies and activities to bring together all stakeholders to promote disaster response and preparedness.
• Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mature judgment, strong technical, analytical, conceptual, interpersonal and communication skills; demonstrate ability to identify, assess, analyze, synthesize and provide recommendation on key political, technical and administrative issues.
• Ability to integrate political, technical and managerial inputs into recommendations for decision-making.
• Ability to manage multiple issues and tasks in a complex organizational environment to re-prioritize actions on short notice.
• Strong professional oral and writing skills including the development of reports, oral presentations, and technical/persuasive documents for consideration at the highest levels of the Organization.

Very good knowledge of English with a working knowledge of Spanish. Knowledge of French and/or Portuguese would be an asset.

Demonstrated ability to effectively use a computer and utilize software programs such as Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint and Outlook. Other IT skills and knowledge of other software programs such as Visio and Project would be an asset.

Post Adjustment\: 52.8% of the above figure(s). This percentage is to be considered as indicative since variations may occur each month either upwards or downwards due to currency exchange rate fluctuations or inflation.

This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level.

Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to PAHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and e-Manual.

For information on PAHO please visit\: http\://www.paho.org

PAHO/WHO offers an attractive compensation package including an annual net salary and post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station and exchange rates (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance). Other benefits include\: 30 days annual leave, dependency benefits, pension plan and health insurance scheme. Benefits for internationally recruited staff may include home leave, travel and removal expenses on appointment and separation, education grant for dependent children, assignment grant and rental subsidy.

Candidates appointed to an international post with PAHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.

All applicants are required to complete an on-line profile to be considered for this post.

Candidates will be contacted only if they are under serious consideration. A written test and/or interview will be held for this post. The post description is the official documentation for organization purposes.