National Professional Officer (Emergency Prep & Operations)

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 2,609 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

The objective of the WHO Nepal Country Office is to implement the Country Cooperation Strategy by supporting the Government of Nepal in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of national health policies, strategies and plans and developing and managing WHO's technical cooperation programmes at the country level. The Country Office collaborates with the Government of Nepal and relevant stakeholders in support of their efforts of achieving national health goals; of ensuring the attainment of universal health coverage and of contributing to global and regional public health action by providing needs-based technical assistance in national level policy formulation, setting norms and standards, improving knowledge dissemination and management, monitoring country health situation and building sustainable institutional capacity, to play a greater leadership role in different national level policy and technical forums.

WHO provides guidance and technical support in organizing the humanitarian health response following multi-hazard emergencies and in revitalizing the capacity of the health sector to rebuild and recover from multi-hazard emergencies in appropriate and sustainable ways. In the inter-emergency period the objectives are to increase the capacity and resilience of the Nepal Health System to reduce risk, prevent and prepare for disasters, to mitigate adverse health consequences, through supporting the Emergency Risk Management interventions prioritized in the national plan for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030); and the health security interventions for enhancement of core capacities required to comply with the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 as prioritized in the National Action Plan on Health Security. WHO strives to integrate and harmonize the actions undertaken for enhanced ERM and Health Security with the interventions implemented to achieve the health-related sustainable development goals and health systems strengthening through appropriate capacity building and co-ordination mechanisms and partnerships.

The WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) supports the MoHP to direct and co-ordinate the rapid provision of life-saving emergency health interventions at scale in the aftermath of multi-hazard emergencies and disasters and subsequently assists in the rapid recovery of the health system in collaboration with national and international partners. Thereupon it provides technical support to the MoHP and partners to enhance health sector emergency risk management through risk reduction or mitigation; preparedness and response readiness to build a health system that is resilient to multi-hazard disasters including due to public health emergencies.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the overall guidance of the WHO Representative and the direct supervision of the Team Lead /Medical Officer - WHE and close coordination with other members of the WHE team of WCO Nepal and WHO SEARO and in collaboration with other teams within WCO Nepal and key external stakeholders, the NPO-HEPO will perform the following to enhance Health Sector Emergency Risk Management and Health Security capacity in Nepal:

I. Risk Reduction, Country Preparedness and IHR:

1. Provide technical assistance and support capacity and capability building interventions aimed at Health Sector Emergency Risk Reduction, Preparedness & Response Readiness focused on critical risks and capacity gaps prioritized based on WHO SEAR Benchmarks Assessment; State Party Annual Reports (SPAR) and Joint External Evaluation (jee) of IHR; WHO Hospital Safety Index (HIS) assessments; and other relevant M&E frameworks;

2. Support the design and execution of effective advocacy, communication and programing strategies to facilitate mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reduction and Health Systems Resilience interventions (as outlined in the national plan for the implementation of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction), and Health Security enhancement interventions (as outlined in the National Action Plan on Health Security - NAPHS) in all Health Systems Development and Strengthening initiatives including the emergency components of the basic health services package and the emergency health services package of the MoHP.

II. Emergency Management and Operations:

1. Support the formulation, revision and updating of strategies, plans, technical guidelines and standard operating procedures for health sector response and recovery following emergencies due to natural and human induced hazards and public health emergencies at national and sub-national levels through National and Provincial Health Emergency Operations Centers and Hub and Satellite Hospitals Networks;

2. Provide/facilitate technical expertise and support the emergency health operations led by the MoHP in coordination with health cluster partners including risk / situation assessment; needs and gaps assessment; coordinated deployment of national and international Emergency Medical Teams and Rapid Response Teams for surge capacity management; provision of a range of critical emergency health services (community / pre-hospital care; hospital care and post-hospital/acute care) and public health interventions at the national and sub-national levels to the affected populations;

3. Support strengthening of operational partnerships through GOARN, health cluster, Stand-by Partners and WHO Collaborating Centres to ensure collaborative work in emergency response and recovery activities.

III. Infectious Hazards Management and Anti-Microbial Resistance Containment:

1. Facilitate the development, review, testing, updating and effective implementation of the National Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan (NPPRP) focused on all infectious hazards with pandemic potential in the country including Influenza; the National Infectious Hazards Risk Assessment Framework and the National Risk Communication Strategy and Plan, at national and sub-national levels;

2. Facilitate the development, review, updating and effective implementation of the National Action Plan on Anti-Microbial Resistance (NAP-AMR) especially focusing on a well performing National AMR Surveillance System; sustainable National Anti-Microbial Consumption monitoring mechanism; adoption of the WHO AWaRe classification in the National Essential Medicines List and Standard Treatment Guideline for infectious diseases; development and phased implementation of a hospital based National Anti-Microbial Stewardship and Infection Prevention and Control Programme; development and implementation of scalable one-health based operations research projects such as ESBL E.coli surveillance and operations research capacity building initiatives such as SORT-IT AMR; and the development and phased implementation of a national strategy for comprehensive information, communication and education on AMR for all critical stakeholders.

IV. Emergency Health Information Management: Collaborate with the Medical Officer, Epidemiology and the National Professional Officer (Health Information Management - Emergency):

1. To ensure the ready availability of relevant and up-to-date information for comprehensive analysis of risk profiles in terms of vulnerabilities and coping capacities to all types of hazards (natural: hydro-meteorological, geological & biological; and human-induced: technological & societal) - at the national and subnational levels;

2. Facilitate development of surge capacity in routine health information management and disease surveillance systems for emergencies and promote optimal synergy between legacy/routine information management and surveillance mechanisms and emergency information management and surveillance mechanisms avoiding duplication and overriding of legacy/routine systems.

V. Assist the Medical Officer/Team Lead - WHE in developing, testing and support scaling up of proven and cost-effective - monitoring & evaluation, learning and knowledge management, and documentation & knowledge diffusion mechanisms to improve the performance of and adapt current health sector ERM and Health Security enhancement strategies and interventions and design new ones as needed.

VI. Assist the Medical Officer/Team Lead - WHE and other mandated managerial colleagues to facilitate office-wide awareness, capacity and engagement to ensure the resilience, preparedness and response readiness of the WCO to internal and external emergencies and disasters in line with WHO Contingency & Business Continuity Planning guidelines and the WHO Emergency Risk Management & Response Frameworks.

VII. Perform any additional duties and discharge any additional responsibilities assigned by the Medical Officer/Team Lead - WHE or the WHO Representative as needed including deployment to other WCO's for emergency surge response when requested by WHE-RO or HQ.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: University degree in medicine from a recognized institution. Desirable: Advanced University degree in medicine preferably community medicine or public health from a recognized/accredited institution.

Experience

Essential: At least 5 years of relevant experience in the area of public health including at least 2 years of field experience. Desirable: At least 3 years of experience managing a team including field level operations and deployment experience for emergency health response in international organizations preferably in the UN System would be an asset.

Skills

1. In-depth knowledge of the key health security risks; situation, needs and priorities in all-hazards public health emergency preparedness, response readiness and operational mechanisms in federated Nepal.

2. Strong programme management, organization and coordination skills.

3. Ability to generate options, decide, prioritize and execute and multi-task under pressure.

4. Excellent analytical skills, strategic thinking and good judgement.

5. Excellent interpersonal skills, tact, discretion and diplomacy.

6. Ability to effectively work with government, development partners/donors and collaborating agencies.

7. High level of technical expertise and excellent overall attitude at work. 8. Adapting to change effectively.

WHO Competencies

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

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Expert knowledge of Nepalese. Desirable:

REMUNERATION

Remuneration comprises an annual base salary starting at NPR 3,502,540 (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'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.

• Applications from women, particularly from disadvantaged and socially excluded groups are particularly encouraged.
• 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.