National Professional Officer (Adolescent Health)

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. More about NO-B contracts.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

With a view to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and target, the goal of the WHO support in the area of health through the life course approach is to help India better address the changing epidemiology, further strengthen and improve services in the areas of reproductive, maternal. newborn, child and adolescent health through the development/implementation of evidence-based health policies and strategies. Through policy and technical support at National and State level, the activities of the WHO Country office more specifically aim at helping the Government of India (GOI) to: - further develop and improve pre- and in-service training and capacity-building for relevant staff; - further develop and implement an integrated quality assurance system for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health services; - further support the definition and implementation of strategies to address childhood malnutrition and early childhood development; and-improve the management of reproductive health and child and adolescent health services.

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 non­communicable 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 11 countries, with over 1.9 billion people, with India's population of 1.3 billion. All the Member States of WHO/SEAR (Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Maldives, Timor-Leste, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Thailand) share the common value of the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental human right. All of WHO actions are based on this and rooted in the underlying values of equity, solidarity and participation. The mission of WHO India is to improve quality of life of the 1.3 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

Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Head of WHO Country Office and the direct supervision of Team Leader (Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health), with a view to achieve the expected results set out in the relevant WCO-India biennial work plans in accordance with WHO's Country Cooperation Strategy with India, as part of the WCO-India team working on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH), the incumbent will have the following responsibilities:

1. Be responsible for implementation of the GoI/ WHO collaborative programmes in the area of Health through the life course, particularly focusing on adolescent health and development, which includes:

a. formulating and planning the biennium work plans for GoI/WHO collaborative programme in India;

b. monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the progress of work-plan implementation;

c. preparing administrative and technical reports;

d. documenting successful interventions and synthesizing lessons learnt for wider dissemination

2. Provide technical and policy advice to the MoH&FW and the States on technical matters related to adolescent health, with emphasis on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) including preventing early pregnancy, adolescent friendly health services (AFHS), nutrition, injuries and accidents, mental health, NCDs and health promotion issues related to adolescents.

3. Providing technical support for health system strengthening for developing multi-sectoral policies and approaches for adolescent health to promote universal health coverage and equitable access to comprehensive health services to adolescent and young people.

4. Promote the need to respond to health and development requirements of adolescents in a holistic manner and integration of gender and equity services into Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Health, Adolescent Programme and general health services at national and sub-national levels.

5. Support adaptation of WHO guidelines, tools and training materials on adolescent health and promote their application in the national programmes.

6. Provide technical assistance to conduct operational/ implementation research in priority areas of adolescent health, in collaboration with WHO Collaborating Centres, national research institutes to generate evidence on health care delivery system.

7. Provide support to monitoring and evaluation of programme effectiveness, including programme review and synthesis of relevant data and information.

8. Liaise with donors/development partners (bilateral and UN) and civil society to harmonise WHO's recommendation on policies and strategies relating to adolescent health and development.

9. Assist in mobilizing additional resources for GoI/WHO collaborative programme in the area of adolescent health and development.

10. Support information brokering/exchange function of WCO India through contributions to the health information repository at the WCO India by collation, analysis and sharing of relevant health information and statistics.

11. Undertake any other task/duties as may be assigned by WR-India and Coordinator, Health Programmes.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: University degree in medicine or social sciences from a recognized university. Desirable: Post graduate degree in organization or management of Health Services/Public Health.

Experience

Essential: At least two (2) years of professional experience in field of Adolescent Health at national/stale level including experience in programme implementation related to Adolescent Health and Development. Desirable: Experience of working in UN Agencies, other international organizations and WHO at the national and international level will be an advantage. Recognized expert in the field with ability to lead and guide expert technical groups in Adolescent Health and Development.

Skills

• The incumbent should identify with the core values of the World Health Organization.
• Thorough knowledge of the country's needs and priorities in the area of Adolescent Health and Development. Ability to make oral and written presentations on technical issues and preparation of reports. Demonstrated ability to work in harmony with national/international staff. Maintaining poise even in difficult situations and good knowledge of the administrative functioning of government ministries and other related departments/agencies. Knowledge of WHO programmes and practices will be an added advantage.
• Sound technical and policy advisory skills, based on evidence. Leadership, coordination and supervision skills with demonstrated ability to work effectively with government and colleagues in a team setting at various levels. Very good ability to build and maintain relations and network with national authorities and other stakeholders across relevant sectors. Understanding of the potential motivating factors within national context and ability to adjust to new approaches in an increasingly complex environment.
• Modem management skills (planning and evaluation, etc.). Capacity to prepare terms or reference and lo prepare and monitor and manage the implementation of contractual agreements. Capacity to convey information and options in a structured and credible way; ability to speak and write clearly. Proficiency in computer applications and ability to draft reports.
• Knowledge of WHO/UN agencies programmes and practices will be an advantage.

WHO Competencies

• Teamwork
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Communication
• Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
• Producing results

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Expert knowledge of Hindi.

REMUNERATION

Remuneration comprises an annual base salary starting at INR 2,476,526 (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.

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

• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

• 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 into practice.

• 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 final candidates.

• 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.