Advisor, Health Emergencies

Contract

This is a P-4 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 144,460 USD and 186,252 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

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 objective of the Health Emergencies Department (PHE) of 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.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the general supervision of the Unit Chief, Emergency Operations and the direct supervision of the PAHO/WHO Representative, the incumbent is responsible for, but not necessarily limited to, the following duties:

a) Manage PAHO’s health emergencies program at national level (including all field offices, warehouses and related staff and financial and material resources); advise, guide, and support national authorities to develop, implement, and evaluate policies and programs to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, and respond to national emergencies and disasters caused by all types of hazards, including natural, technological, biological, chemical, radiological, or those resulting from social conflicts;

b) Coordinate and provide technical advice and guidance for the planning, development, and implementation of extrabudgetary projects designed for emergency response and for building capacities for preparedness and response to health emergencies in the country, working in collaboration with technical staff at the Country Office and other areas across the Organization;

c) Contribute to mobilization of voluntary contributions to support emergency preparedness and response and engage in managing, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of the funds;

d) Develop technical and programmatic reports on the progress and challenges related to the implementation of work plans and programs related to health emergencies; propose adjustments, and coordinate the implementation of short-term corrective measures;

e) Collaborate with Country Office personnel and relevant national authorities to facilitate the deployment and subsequent distribution of humanitarian goods, equipment, and services; coordinate relevant logistics teams and oversee the development and implementation of distribution and monitoring plans;

f) Collaborate with all areas to ensure that capacities and expertise of all areas contribute to improve the response;

g) Provide technical advice and guidance on the establishment and/or strengthening of national disaster/emergency 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;

h) Oversee, in the context of theIHR, the prevention, early detection, verification, risk assessment and investigation of 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 and regional levels;

i) Advise national authorities on policies, norms, standards and guidelines to support the development of critical core capacities for surveillance and response to outbreaks and promote the participation of Venezuela’s partner agencies in GOARN; provide training and support to national authorities to develop critical core capacities;

j) Identify 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;

k) Provide technical advice and guidance for the implementation of health emergencies policies, concepts, tools and strategies at the country level, 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;

l) Promote multi-disciplinary and cross-cutting approaches and activities with key national and international partners, at the country level, 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 in close collaboration with the CDE advisor and other technical areas;

m) Ensure that risk communication messages are technically sound and socio-culturally appropriate to induce, engage and empower stakeholders in the prevention, mitigation and control of infectious hazards and health emergencies;

n) Make recommendations and provide guidance on relevant courses of action 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;

o) Manage the timely and high-quality collection, analysis, production and dissemination of health emergency data/information. This includes response specific information (what, where, who, when, how many, how quickly, current status), internal and external SitReps, bulletins, rapid needs assessments, health risk assessments, and the Public Health Situation Analysis; and health inputs into humanitarian needs, and strategic response plans;

p) Support national authorities to develop and improve field information management procedures at the local and regional levels to ensure that information management in the field provides the best possible functionality and usability to stakeholders;

q) Promote dissemination of good practices and case studies for continuous capacity building and to ensure availability of a wide range of material to show the effectiveness of the Organization’s humanitarian response and health emergency preparedness;

r) Maintain relations and facilitate coordination among all health emergency related actorson all matters related to emergencies and disaster management (prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery)

s) Act as first-line emergency responder in case of a country emergency in line with the PAHO Policy and procedures for Institutional Response to Emergencies and Disasters and serve as/or support the Incident Manager in the country in case of a graded emergency. Collaborate with other UN agencies and provide health expertise and required information, where relevant and in close collaboration with the Regional Office; Serve as a member of Regional Health Disaster Response Team;

t) Coordinate and manage the health information and risk assessment team;

u) 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 andplans related to high threats epidemic prone diseases;

v) Coordinate and collaborate with the Country Office, in particular with administrative and support areas, in the planning, development, and implementation of binational plans of action for health emergencies;

w) Contribute to the preparation of biennial and semiannual work plan and budgets, periodic evaluations for assigned projects, and participate in the performance evaluation of the Unit;

x) Assist the team to ensure compliance with WHO readiness checklist including the updating of the Country Office Emergency Response Plan and Business Continuity Plan (BCP);

y) When needed supervise staff, establish work objectives, conduct performance appraisals;

z) Perform other related duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education****:

Essential: A university degree in a health, social, or environmental 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.

During the competition you may be asked to provide copies of your degrees. PAHO/WHO only considers qualifications obtained from institutions found in the following links: http://www.whed.net/; http://www.chea.org/search/default.asp and https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator.

Experience****:

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).

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****: Relate well to diversity in others and capitalize on such diversity - 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****: Collaborate and cooperate with others - 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****: Write effectively/Share knowledge - 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.

Producing Results****: Work efficiently and independently/Deliver quality 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.

Ensuring effective use of resources****: Strategize and set clear objectives/Monitor progress and use resources well - 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.

Building and promoting partnerships across the Organization and beyond****: Develop networks and partnerships and encourage collaboration - Builds and negotiates strategic partnerships and alliances with a wide range of key stakeholders to ensure Organizational results and success. Creates innovative opportunities for promoting synergies inside and outside the Organization to improve Organizational success.

Technical Expertise:

Theoretical knowledge and technical expertise at the highest level in the areas of humanitarian aid, emergency preparedness, and disaster risk reduction.

Demonstrated knowledge of the rapid response operations and their implementation in emergencies as related to public health, complemented by demonstrated ability to identify and manage difficult situations, to lead and direct multidisciplinary and multinational staff.

Excellent skills in the assessment, monitoring, analysis and evaluation of emergency situations, with the ability to conceptualize and implement innovative strategies and advocate their implementation.

Practical knowledge of results based management concepts and tools and their applications, especially related to outcome formulation and indicator development.

Mature judgment, strong technical, analytical, conceptual, inter-personal and communication skills; demonstrated ability to identify, assess, analyze, synthesize and provide recommendations on key political, technical and administrative issues.

Ability to coordinate, establish and maintain identifiable results-oriented productive relationships with key actors, monitoring activities, ensuring product delivery and reporting.

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 Spanish or English with a working knowledge of the other language.

IT Skills:

Demonstrated ability to effectively use current technology and software, spreadsheets and presentations, as well as ERP and management information systems.

REMUNERATION

Monthly Salary****: (Net of taxes)

USD $6,443.83 (Salary is non-negotiable)

Post Adjustment****:

USD $3,788.97 This amount 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 identify candidates to fill other similar short-term professional positions, at the same grade level.

Candidates will be contacted only if they are under serious consideration. A written test and/or interview will be held for this position as a form of screening.

PAHO/WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

PAHO is an ethical organization that maintains high standards of integrity and accountability. People joining PAHO are required to maintain these standards both in their professional work and personal activities.

PAHO also promotes a work environment that is free from harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and other types of abusive behavior. PAHO conducts background checks and will not hire anyone who has a substantiated history of abusive conduct.

PAHO personnel interact frequently with people in the communities we serve. To protect these people, PAHO has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse. People who commit serious wrongdoing will be terminated and may also face criminal prosecution.

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

Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are encouraged.

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