Junior Healthy Lifestyles Officer

Volunteering Communications & PR Medical & Health Interpretation & Translation

Overview

Support WHO Viet Nam in promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing diseases.

You have:

• At least 2 years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in communication/external relations or health promotion.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally- and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, civil society organizations, international partners, and the Government sector.
• Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; design and multimedia software, and other content development tools; and office technology equipment.
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment.
• Reliable and works with accuracy and professionalism, with attention to detail, in reporting and documentation, and for other communications work, especially for campaigns and advocacy related to NCD prevention and/or injury prevention.
• Sound security awareness.
• Self-motivated, creative, and proactive, ability to use initiative and work with minimal supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines.
• Working knowledge of other UN languages is desirable.

Contract

This is a UNV contract. More about UNV contracts.

This UN Volunteer assignment is part of WHO Viet Nam’s strengthening of strategic communication by providing support to the office’s The Healthy Lifestyles and Environment (HLE) Team.

Viet Nam has been a Member State of the World Health Organization (WHO) since 17 May 1950. WHO was among the first United Nations agencies to provide direct support to the Vietnamese health sector following the end of the war and national reunification. A WHO Country Office was established in Hanoi in 1977, and for decades, WHO staff have worked closely with the Government and people of Viet Nam to strengthen health systems and improve population health outcomes.

The Healthy Lifestyles and Environment (HLE) Team plays a central role in WHO Viet Nam’s work to prevent disease and promote health across the life course. The team supports the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), and other Government Agencies, as well as works with a wide range of national and international partners on priority areas including noncommunicable disease (NCD) prevention, tobacco and alcohol control, nutrition and physical activity, injury prevention, promoting healthy settings, environmental health, and climate change and health. Through this work, the HLE team contributes directly to advancing universal health coverage, strengthening primary health care, and reducing avoidable health risks.

WHO Viet Nam’s HLE work aligns closely with national priorities, including the Healthy Viet Nam Programme, the National Strategy on NCD Prevention and Control, the National Nutrition Strategy, the National Child Injury Prevention and Control Programme, National Strategy for Ensuring Traffic Order and Safety, National Program on School Health, among others.

A strong emphasis of the HLE team’s approach is prevention first and people-centred action, informed by public health evidence and behavioural insights. The team integrates health promotion, risk factor prevention, and supportive environments into its technical work, while also leveraging communication and social and behaviour change approaches in collaboration with WHO Viet Nam’s Communications for Health (C4H) function.

This UNV assignment forms part of WHO Viet Nam’s efforts to strengthen the HLE team’s capacity to support prevention-oriented policies, programmes, and partnerships, and to advance WHO’s strategic priority of promoting healthier, safer, and more resilient communities across Viet Nam.

Under the direct supervision of the HLE Team Lead, working closely with the Technical Officers (working on NCD risk factors as well as injury and violence prevention), the Junior Healthy Lifestyles Officer will undertake the following tasks:

Task 1: Provide support for NCD risk factors prevention and control, including nutrition and tobacco control, as well as the school health program. This will include: • Support for the nutrition program, including inputs for technical documents and coordination support for engaging implementing partners, and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) activities • Support for public-facing events on tobacco control, especially when there is senior-level WHO representation. • Support for the school health program, including preparation for meetings and workshops. • Support monitoring of surveys when required. • Support for translation of some documents when needed.

Task 2: Provide support for injury and violence prevention programs • Support for the road safety program, including Viet Nam Project 2000 Partnership meetings, workshops, and events • Support for the drowning prevention program. • Support for the violence against children and women program.

Furthermore, Junior Healthy Lifestyles Officer is required to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and taking an active part in UNV activities (for instance, in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

• Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to WHO; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to WHO procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgment; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented; • Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and WHO in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority; • Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues; • Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment. • Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate, and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities; • Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups; • Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary; • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity, and self-reliance; and commitment towards WHO’s mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.

• At least 2 years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in communication/external relations or health promotion. Demonstrated experience working in the WHO or other UN/international development organization would be a valuable asset; • Reliable and works with accuracy and professionalism, with attention to detail, in reporting and documentation, and for other communications work, in particular for campaigns and advocacy related to NCD prevention (e.g., tobacco control, healthy diets, physical activity, alcohol harm reduction) and/or injury prevention (e.g., road safety, drowning, prevention, occupational safety) is highly desirable.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally- and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, civil society organizations, international partners, and the Government sector. • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work energetically and effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel; • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; design and multimedia software, and other content development tools; and office technology equipment; • Self-motivated, creative, and proactive, ability to use initiative and work with minimal supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines; • Sound security awareness; • Able and willing to travel to communities, sometimes at short notice; • Has affinity with or interest in the mission of promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goals and contributing to a healthier and stronger Viet Nam. • Working knowledge of other UN languages is desirable.

The incumbent will live in Ha Noi, which has most of the economic and social amenities at a reasonable cost. Depending on living arrangements, housing can be expensive. Security is good. Ha Noi has a humid, tropical climate and monsoons. Summers, between May and September, are very hot with plenty of rain, while winters, from November to March, are cold and relatively dry. Living conditions in Hanoi are relatively good by developing country standards.

Viet Nam is a middle-income country which has witnessed rapid economic growth with impressive results in poverty reduction over the past twenty-five years. The country has deepened its integration into global and regional institutions such as the WTO, the UN institutions, and ASEAN. Vietnam was recently ranked as one of the more secure and stable places to live and do business by outside research groups.

In line with further improvements in the availability of goods and services, health facilities, and housing, the level of hardship in the duty station has recently been upgraded from C to B. Security is also reasonably good relative to other developing countries' large cities.

As this is a National UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials.

You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.

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Added 1 day ago - Updated 8 hours ago - Source: unv.org