National Officer – Public Health Interventions

Medical & Health

Overview

Support the development and implementation of public health interventions in India.

You have:

• Bachelor’s degree in science, biotechnology or related discipline
• Experience of 1 year of working on environmental determinants of health such as chemical safety, climate change, air pollution especially with national and state government counterparts.
• Proficiency in English and working knowledge of Hindi
• Post graduate degree Sciences/Environmental Sciences/or allied fields
• Experience of working with research institutes/government institutions/reputed organisations/WHO/UN agencies/NGOs

Contract

This is a No grade contract. More about No grade contracts.

Overview of the programme

WHO India Country Office collaborates with the Government of India and relevant stakeholders within the framework of the collaborative Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS), to actively support the development and implementation of national health policies, strategies and plans aiming at promoting access to and utilization of affordable and quality health services and improving financial protection against health-related risks.

WHO Country Office for India is supporting the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to strengthen the existing health systems to cater to the growing needs of mental health and substance abuse, palliative care and elderly care in the country.

Underlying Values and Core Functions of WHO

WHO’s mandate revolves around six (6) leadership priorities specifying (i) advancing universal health coverage (ii) health related sustainable development goals (iii) addressing the challenge of non-communicable diseases and mental health, violence and injuries and disabilities (iv) implementing the provisions of the International Health Regulations (2005) (v) increasing access to quality, safe, efficacious and affordable medical products (vi) addressing the social, economic and environmental determinants of health.

The South – East Asia Region (SEAR) of WHO is made up of 10 countries, with over 1.8 billion people, with India’s population of 1.4 billion. All the Member States of WHO/SEAR (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste), share the common value of the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental human right. All WHO actions are based on this and rooted in the underlying values of equity, solidarity and participation.

Mission of the WHO Country Office for India

The mission of WHO India is to improve quality of life of the 1.4 billion people in India by supporting the government in eliminating vaccine preventable and other communicable diseases, reducing maternal and neonatal mortalities, promoting healthy lifestyles, addressing determinants of health, preparing and responding to health emergencies and strengthening health systems for universal health coverage.

Description of Duties:

The incumbent of the position will work under overall supervision of the WHO Representative to India and under direct supervision of Deputy WHO Representative to India.

· Support NCDC in setting up monitoring/surveillance systems including HHP with timelines and elaborately stating roles of each stakeholder and the infrastructural requirements.

· Identify and evaluate laboratories capable of conducting biological and environmental testing for chemical toxicants.

· Provide recommendations and assist in onboarding laboratories into the National Biomonitoring Programme for Chemical Toxicants.

· Assess healthcare system touchpoints for priority chemicals including lead

· Evaluate capacity of health workers to identify and treat for priority chemicals including lead

· Assist in reviewing preparedness and response systems to exposure to highly toxic chemicals

· Support the MOHFW and relevant institutions in developing a national guideline for management of priority chemicals including lead

· Provide other technical and administrative support to the NCDC, as needed.

Education:

Essential: Bachelor’s degree in science, biotechnology or related discipline

Desirable: Post graduate degree Sciences/Environmental Sciences/ or allied fields

WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from accredited institutions. The list can be accessed through this link: http://www.whed.net/

Experience:

Essential: Experience of 1 year of working on environmental determinants of health such as chemical safety, climate change, air pollution especially with national and state government counterparts.

Desirable: Experience of working with research institutes/ government institutions/reputed organisations/ WHO/UN agencies/ NGOs

Competencies:

· Team work

· Communication

· Producing results

· Moving forward in a changing environment

· Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond.

Functional Skills and Knowledge:

· Knowledge of the Indian political system, economic structures, and socio-cultural landscape, and a network of professional contacts in India.

· Experience in technical or scientific writing and oral presentations on health-related subjects to different audiences.

· Strong organizational and scheduling skills.

· Excellent communication, writing and editing skills.

· Excellent data management skills.

· Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders across different sectors.

· Excellent analytical and presentation skills.

· Competence in the use of Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint and Excel).

· Ability to travel domestically and to work based in New Delhi.

· Work in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervisions and handle multiple tasks and work well under pressure.

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Proficiency in English and working knowledge of Hindi.

Remuneration:

Monthly remuneration is 157,449 INR taxable as per Indian laws and the appointment will be through Special Services Agreement (SSA) extendable subject to satisfactory performance and continuing need for the function. S/he will be posted at New Delhi. The position may require travel to the states and districts.

The incumbent a national of the country (India) where he/she is to serve, is recruited locally and is not subject to assignment to any official station outside the home country. Only Indian Nationals should apply.

Additional information:

o This Vacancy Notice may be used to fill similar positions at the same level.

o Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

o A written test and interviews may be used as a form of screening.

o If your candidature is retained for 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.

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

o The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.

o The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversityequity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply for WHO jobs.

o Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process.

o Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to [email protected]

o An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter (https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values) into practice.

o WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of short-listed candidates.

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

o Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries.

o Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at [email protected].

o In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click the link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates.

o This post is subject to local recruitment and will be filled by persons recruited in the local commuting area of the duty station.

o Any extension of appointment would be subject to programmatic requirements, performance of the incumbent and availability of funds.

o Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.

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Potential interview questions

Added 1 hour ago - Updated 1 hour ago - Source: who.int