Technical Officer (Maternal Child Health and Quality Safety)

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

For the Future: Towards the Healthiest and Safest Region outlines a vision for WHO work with Member States and partners in the Western Pacific. Strong, resilient, sustainable health systems are integral to delivering the four thematic priorities. Up to 60% of people living in some countries in the Region do not have access to safe, quality and affordable health services and medicines. One in five families spend 10% of their income on health care. This threatens individuals, families, communities and economies. The Division of Health Systems and Services (DHS) will contribute to taking forward the vision of, and the thematic priorities in For the Future. DHS will support Member States with high quality advice and assistance on health financing, health workforce, medical products, quality and safety, law and governance, women and children, rehabilitation, surgery and health services including primary health care so that they can build resilient, responsive and sustainable health systems.

Unit Mandates:

In this role the incumbent will work across the different areas of health systems and together with the following units at Regional Office level:

Health Policy and Service Design (HPS) - HPS supports Member States to develop and implement policies, strategies plans and service delivery design, including primary health care, to strengthen governance, financing, health workforce in order to ensure access to needed promotive, preventative, curative, rehabilitative and palliative services without financial hardship.

Essential Medicines and Health Technologies (EMT) - EMT supports Member States to strengthen pharmaceutical systems and regulations, including for traditional medicines to ensure equitable access to quality-assured, safe and effective therapies and health technologies and works along with other programmes to accelerate the fight against antimicrobial resistance in the Western Pacific Region.

Maternal Child Health and Quality Safety (MCQ) - MCQ supports Member States to improve health systems to provide the best and safest possible health facility services to all people, regardless of race, beliefs, gender, economic and social condition and to ensure universal health coverage (UHC) serves all people, starting from women and children.

Health Law and Ethics (HLE) - HLE supports Member States to understand, develop and implement quality and ethical legal frameworks for health. Grounded in human rights and international good practice standards, legal frameworks for health guide transformative policies and innovative programming.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the supervision of the Coordinator, MCQ, and the Director, DHS, the incumbent will perform the following tasks:

1. Support Member States on developing strategic plans on strengthening maternal and childcare (MCH), infection prevention and control (IPC), quality service delivery and patient safety, through health systems approaches, to advance the regional vision, UHC and the Sustainable Development Goals;

2. Support Member States on reviewing, designing, implementing and monitoring policies and tools on MCH and IPC in critical steps along the clinical health care pathway;

3. Facilitate, conduct research and support the development and documentation of technical reports, quality assessment tools and relevant materials to be used in the technical and policy dialogues on MCH in primary health care and hospital care, with a focus on high-risk mothers and newborns, early childhood development, well child care and IPC;

4 .Support WHO staff at the regional and country level as well as Member States to strengthen attention to, understanding of, and capacity to integrate IPC through health systems approaches in pertinent policy and technical discussions, programmes implementation and review;

5. Support Member States to address IPC beyond the health sector (e.g., civil aviation, elderly homes, and communities);

6. Build partnerships and professional networks around MCH, health systems, IPC and implementation research; liaise with other WHO offices and headquarters to support joint initiatives at regional and country levels and support new ways of working across programmes, sectors and stakeholders required for employing the system strengthening approach in improving and sustaining a resilient IPC system within and beyond health sectors;

7.Perform other tasks as required.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: First level university degree in medicine, nursing, midwifery or related health sciences from a recognized university.
Desirable: Master’s degree in public health or related fields from a recognized university.

Experience

Essential: Minimum of five years of experience in maternal and child health with a strong background in infection prevention and control including exposure at both national and international levels.
Desirable: Experience with WHO, other UN agencies and international organizations; experience in supporting low and middle income Member States in the Western Pacific Region to develop and implement national-level policies and technical guidance in areas related to MCH and IPC; proven capacity in carrying out complex system analysis through qualitative and quantitative methods; experience in WHO COVID-19 emergency response on MCH and IPC.

Skills

1. Sound technical knowledge of key maternal and reproductive health interventions, health sector responses and public health strategies to improve maternal and reproductive health and infection and prevention control.

2. Knowledge and skills in project design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of MCA and IPC programmes.

3. Analytical and problem-solving skills.

4. Ability to work harmoniously as member of a team, adapt to diverse educational and cultural backgrounds and maintain a high standard of personal conduct.

5. Excellent communication skills and ability to promote coordination with the health system team members, other WHO colleagues, and external partners.

Other skills:

(a.) Report writing; (b) Communications; (c) Statistics, analytical skills (i.e. Excel, data analysis software — STATA, SAS or related),

WHO Competencies

Communication
Producing results
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Teamwork
Knowing and managing yourself

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of written and spoke english.

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 62,120 (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 2495 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.

• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.

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

• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

• WHO's workforce adheres to the WHO Values Charter and is committed to put the WHO Values into practice.

• 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.