Epidemiologist (NPO)

Overview

Assist in epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response activities.

You have:

• A first university degree in epidemiology, medicine and/or public health; specialization in epidemiology.
• At least 2 years of experience working in epidemiology conducting monitoring and evaluation of diseases and public health issues.
• Demonstrated knowledge, competency and professional skills on the public health aspects of infectious disease control.
• Ability to write reports on outbreaks and interpret epidemiological surveillance data.
• Expert knowledge of English and Arabic.
• Intermediate knowledge of French is desirable.

Contract

This is a NO-B contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 2 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be more than 4,296 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.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

To(i) build institutional and operational capacity for epidemic and pandemic preparedness including for rapid response and mitigation of the public health impacts of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases; (ii) strengthen health systems capacity for detection, verification and containment of infectious disease outbreaks or any other public health events of international concern; (ii) improve epidemiological and laboratory surveillance and response programme in the member states of EMR for epidemic forecasting and detection through real-time analysis of outbreak intelligence data on infectious diseases; (iii) ensure that the EMR member states achieve the minimum epidemiological and laboratory core capacities required for strengthening national and regional surveillance, alert and response systems in accordance with International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR 2005);The programme also ensures availability of and access to strategic guidance for detection, verification, risk assessment, communication and adequate real-time response to public health emergencies that might constitute national, regional and international public health concern in the EMR countries.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the guidance of the lead epidemiologist and in close collaboration with technical leads, the incumbent will perform the following duties:• Assist in developing appropriate tools and indictors for monitoring implementation of programmes on surveillance and response for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases;• Participate actively in the development of an early warning and response system for epidemic and pandemic-prone diseases;• Provide field support in collection and verification of information on reported outbreaks or rumors from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and prepare consolidated and analytical reports on disease outbreak situations;• Help in maintaining an event management system database of reported outbreaks and public health events and document all steps taken in the verification and response process• Maintain an archive on the retrospective analysis of reported public health events including efficiency of the verification process and mechanism;• Assist in the preparation and dissemination of disease outbreak news, updates and assessments to key decision makers in the organizational hierarchy;• Coordinate the organization of training courses for health care workers on field investigation, surveillance and response to outbreaks;• Provide operational and logistics support for organizing technical missions for field investigation of outbreaks as required;• Participate in the development of rapid field assessment, risk assessment and investigation protocols for specific priority diseases, as required; Participate in the elaboration of guidelines for epidemic control;• Liaise with the national health authorities for dissemination of technical documents, guidelines and protocols on prevention and control of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases to the national health authorities.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: A first university degree in epidemiology, medicine and/or public health; specialization in epidemiology. Desirable: Training in epidemiology, and an understanding of Geographical Information Systems would be advantageous.

Experience

Essential: At least 2 years of experience working in epidemiology conducting monitoring and evaluation of diseases and public health issues Desirable: Relevant international work experience in the areas of communicable disease control.

Skills

Demonstrated knowledge, competency and professional skills on the public health aspects of infectious disease control, and the use of monitoring and evaluation of descriptive epidemiology and principles of public health in communicable disease surveillance and response. Ability to write reports on outbreaks and interpret epidemiological surveillance data. Demonstrable skills in the use of epidemiological and statistical software

WHO Competencies

Teamwork Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences Communication Producing results

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Expert knowledge of Arabic. Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of French.

REMUNERATION

Remuneration comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 41,710 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable) and 30 days of annual leave.

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.

• This is a National Professional Officer position. Therefore, only applications from nationals of the country where the duty station is located will be accepted. Applicants who are not nationals of this country will not be considered.

Potential interview questions