Advisor, HIV/STI/VH Care and Treatment

OBJECTIVE OF THE OFFICE/DEPARTMENT

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

The Communicable Diseases and Environmental Determinants of Health Department (CDE) promotes, coordinates, and implements technical cooperation activities directed toward the surveillance, prevention, control, elimination and/or reduction of communicable diseases, zoonosis and environmental threats to health that are technically sound and appropriate for the political and sociocultural context in which they are implemented. It strives to achieve a sustainable impact on health by providing normative guidance, furthering the implementation of evidence-based interventions, fostering alliances that strengthen country capacity, improving the effectiveness of inter-country collaboration, and facilitating policy and decision-making processes.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the general supervision of the Director, Communicable Diseases & Environmental Determinants of Health (CDE), and the direct supervision of the Unit Chief, HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (CDE/HT), the incumbent is responsible for, but not necessarily limited to, the following assigned duties:

1. Advise and collaborate in the implementation and monitoring of the PAHO HIV/STI Plan for the health sector, in particular in the area of HIV treatment and care, including all elements of the continuum of care;
2. Provide technical guidance and monitoring for the expansion and sustainability of HIV treatment and care, strategic uses of antiretrovirals (i.e. PrEP), supporting integrated models of care, towards the achievement of Universal Access targets and commitments of Member States;
3. Provide technical advice to Ministries of Health and partners in the implementation and monitoring of the WHO Consolidated Guidelines for strategic use of Antiretrovirals (ARV) for HIV prevention and Treatment;
4. Advise and provide technical guidance on matters related to HIV Drug Resistance; support the implementation of the WHO strategy for prevention, monitoring and surveillance of HIV Drug Resistance, with emphasis on programmatic components, and through the strengthening of a Latin American Network for HIV Drug Resistance;
5. Provide advice and address technical and programmatic matters related to HIV co-infections, including Tuberculosis, Viral Hepatitis (VH) and Fungal Infections among others, especially on aspects related to diagnosis, treatment and management of cases, and in pursuit of collaborative activities and synergies across programs;
6. Promote access to diagnostics and medicines related to HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and Viral Hepatitis (VH) through PAHO’s Strategic Fund in collaboration and strategic liaison with Medicines and Technology (MT);
7. Contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of all elements included in the cascade of HIV care and treatment, through the PAHO Regional Monitoring Framework and its consensus-based indicators, and measure progress towards regional goals and targets;
8. Manage the resources assigned for the effective implementation of the regional plan, including the development, day-to-day operation, monitoring and evaluation of specific workplans in close collaboration with all Units involved at regional, sub-regional and country level;
9. Support and expand partnerships with the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other US Agencies, United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), The Horizontal Technical Cooperation Group of Latin America and the Caribbean on HIV/AIDS and STD (GCTH), foundations, civil society and NGOs, bilateral governments with specific interests on HIV Care and Treatment;
10. Provide technical oversight and strategic guidance to short term consultants and other staff assigned to specific technical areas for effective implementation of PAHO’s technical cooperation to expand and sustain care and treatment for HIV/STI, including HIV Drug Resistance, and health systems strengthening;
11. Represent PAHO in consultations organized by WHO and/or other partners on technical and programmatic areas relevant to care and treatment of HIV, HIV Drug Resistance, as well as strategic use of ARVs and HIV co-infections;
12. Participate in team-based project development and execution of the program of work and the preparation of the biennial work plan (BWP) and related budgets and work plans, and progress reports, periodic analytical reports to donors, and briefing books;
13. Contribute to the design, development, and publication of reports, country specific, regional, and or global;
14. Cooperate and collaborate with other projects to achieve efficient coordination of activities, systematic utilization of resources and comprehensive development of study, research and analytical capacities required for the control of communicable diseases;
15. When called upon to directly supervise staff, establish clear work objectives, conduct timely and effective performance appraisals, provide coaching and feedback, and support staff development opportunities;
16. Perform other related duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Essential: A university degree in a health-related profession and a master’s degree in public health or in any of the areas related to the functions of the position, from a recognized institution.

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.

Experience:

Essential: Nine years of combined national and international experience in policy formulation, organization of service delivery systems for HIV/STI, application of public health principles and the health promotion approach and resource mobilization. Of these, at least five years of experience in direct care and treatment of persons living with HIV/AIDS and STI, incorporating gender and human rights approaches to health care delivery for HIV.

SKILLS:

PAHO Competencies:

• 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.
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences: Relates well to diversity in others and capitalizes on such diversity. 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.
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with team members and counterparts to achieve and build rapport; helps others when asked; accepts joint responsibility for the team’s successes and shortcomings.
• 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.
• 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. 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.
• Moving forward in a changing environment: Actively supports Organizational change initiatives and demonstrates personal commitment to them, including when faced with new demands; proposes workable solutions to challenging situations. Engages in positive responses to a changing environment and promotes workable solutions to achieve own and team’s results. Welcomes, and actively seeks to apply, new ideas, approaches and working methods and technologies in order to improve own and/or team’s work processes and results; demonstrates commitment to Organizational change initiatives.
• Ensuring effective use of resources: Sets specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely objectives for own team and/or the Organization; systematically analyses and anticipates priority projects for own team and allocates necessary resources to achieve them; identifies the cross-Organizational resources needed for large- scale projects in line with key Organizational objectives. Anticipates foreseeable changes and adapts own and team’s projects in the face of unforeseen circumstances and/ or challenges; creates measures and criteria to monitor progress of overall projects against key Organizational objectives; creates cost-effective solutions for the Organization.

Technical Expertise:

• In-depth knowledge of the determinants of the HIV/AIDS/STI epidemic; health service development and delivery; HIV/AIDS and other STIs and their effects on individuals and societies.
• Knowledge and skills in project planning, management and evaluation, including resource mobilization and grant management.
• Strong public health and strategic thinking background showing resourcefulness, initiative, leadership qualities, skills to deals with difficult situations and sensitive areas; demonstrated ability to identify, assess, analyze, synthesize and provide recommendation on key political and technical issues.
• Expertise in care and treatment of persons living with HIV/AIDS, organization and monitoring of health systems and services.
• In-depth knowledge of HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination and how this impacts access to health services, including stakeholders in the health sector environment.
• 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.

Languages:

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

IT Skills:

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.

REMUNERATION

Annual Salary: (Net of taxes)

US$ 73,516.00 post adjustment

Post Adjustment: 50.4% 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.

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.

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 is committed to workforce diversity.

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

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.