Laboratory Officer- Kampala (Temporary Appointment) NO-C

Overview

Provide technical expertise for laboratory operations and health emergencies response

You have:

• Advanced University degree (Master’s level or above) in life science, medicine or medical virology from an accredited/recommended institute.
• Certified training or qualification in molecular biology, virology, bacteriology, infectious diseases, and/or epidemiology and laboratory techniques.
• At least five years of practical and operational application and management of laboratory services, laboratory diagnosis of communicable diseases at the national and international levels.
• Related experience in outbreaks and/or health emergency response of international impact.
• Proven ability to analyse laboratory activities in diagnostic, biosafety and quality management, to develop innovative solutions for their improvement.
• Sound knowledge in biosafety standards, methodology and techniques in health laboratories, including in molecular biology, virology, bacteriology and biosafety.
• Expert knowledge of English.

Contract

This is a NO-C 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 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be more than 5,603 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.

The World Health Organization, Uganda Country Office is looking for a qualified and competent Ugandan national to fill the following vacant position:

BACKGROUND

In recent times, Uganda has seen an increase in the occurrence of public health emergencies with so many events recorded each year. Geographical location in the meningitis and yellow fever belts, the ‘filo virus triangle’, as well as proximity to the biodiversity rich ‘hot spot’ of the Congo basin is the most important vulnerability for the occurrence. Climate change pressures on the eco-systems and environment, as well as increased international travel and globalization also influenced the occurrence of public health emergencies in the country. The country is also currently hosting more that 1.4 million refugees becoming one of the largest refugee hosting countries in Africa and the third in the world after Pakistan and Turkey.

Engagement of a Laboratory Officer demonstrates commitment of WHO Uganda to ensure prompt confirmation of infectious hazards to support its containment in line IHR (2005) requirements

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The incumbent will act as the subject matter expert for laboratory within the health operations and expertise team. S/he will manage the laboratory component of the EPR and provide technical support to the Ministry of Health (MOH) and partners within the health cluster. S/he will establish and maintain collaborative networks involving national and international organizations, governmental and nongovernmental institutions, professional and scientific societies, liaise with other units/teams at the country office

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The incumbent will perform the following duties:

Provide technical expertise and operational support for the timely response to outbreaks/epidemics and health emergencies, in collaboration with national health officials, including laboratory staff, and other partner organizations.

1. Adapt and coordinate the development and implementation of technical guidelines and standard operational procedures for laboratory testing practices for outbreak detection, including those caused by (re-)emerging and other infectious diseases
2. Coordinate the participation in Quality Assurance Systems of International Mobile Laboratories deployed in country and National Central Laboratories involved in the event management.
3. Lead the enhancement of laboratory infrastructure and the implementation of standard operating procedures to ensure safe collection, handling, shipment, storage and analysis of human and environment specimens.
4. Cooperate with partners in improving analytical and diagnostics services, quality and environmental management, equipment maintenance, safety and bio-safety for laboratories.
5. Manage the implementation, reporting, performance assessment and evaluation of the approved activities and ensure proper communication with partners as appropriate.
6. Contribute in strengthening the national capacity at the health laboratories; assess training needs and provide training for laboratory personnel in the related technical areas.
7. Oversee updating and maintaining the related reporting and information systems, documenting the response and laboratory strengthening activities, as and when required.

8. Perform any other related incident-specific duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

   REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: Advanced University degree (Master’s level or above) in life science, medicine or medical virology from an accredited/ recognized institute. Certified training or qualification in molecular biology, virology, bacteriology, infectious diseases, and/or epidemiology and laboratory techniques.

Desirable: Master’s level degree in public health or health related field.

Experience

Essential: At least five years of practical and operational application and management of laboratory services, laboratory diagnosis of communicable diseases at the national and international levels. Some related experience in outbreaks and/or health emergency response of international impact.

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Desirable:

· Experience in establishing or improving laboratory infrastructure for microbiology and/or detection of infectious diseases.

· Experience in planning and implementing laboratory trainings at national and regional levels.

· Experience in evaluating novel diagnostics assays for emergency use authorization during outbreak response.

· Previous experience in UN organizations/agencies, health cluster partners, recognized humanitarian organizations, international institutions or non-governmental organizations, particularly in developing countries.

Skills

• Proven ability to analyse laboratory activities in diagnostic, biosafety and quality management, in order to develop innovative and appropriate solutions for their improvement.
• Sound knowledge in biosafety standards, methodology and techniques in health laboratories, including those in molecular biology, virology, bacteriology and biosafety.

• Sound knowledge in Quality Assurance Systems for laboratories

  WHO Competencies

· *Fostering integration and teamwork

· *Communicating in a credible and effective way

· *Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

· Producing results

· Ensuring effective use of resources

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Desirable:

REMUNERATION

WHO offers staff in the National Officer category an attractive remuneration package, which for the above position includes an annual net base salary starting at UGX 226,180,000 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable) and 30 days of annual leave.

Potential interview questions