Contract

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• • Purpose of the Position:

To promote Health systems approach for a holistic and effective COVID-19 response at subnational level, together with the national and international partners. This includes integration of COVID-19 response into routine health systems, and strengthening essential Health services for RMNCAH, Noncommunicable and communicable disease during the pandemic and beyond. The incumbent will be responsible for needs assessments, strategy recaliberation towards supporting the resetting and recovery, building back stronger and resilient health sytems

2. Job Description
   • Objectives of the Programme and of the immediate Strategic Objective

The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to help countries, and to coordinator international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies.

Organizational context (Describe the individual role of incumbent within the team, focusing on work environment within and outside the organization)

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Reporting to the Coordinator- Health systems, under the overall guidance of the Incident Manager and Head of WHO Country Office, the Public Health Officer- Health sytems resilience will have the responsibility for supporting the resetting of health systems and service delivery, including strategies to integrate COVID-19 services (vaccination, testing, treatment etc) and maintain provision of safe and quality essential health services. The broad aim is to support recaliberation and resetting of health systems, to buid health system resilience and prevent death and disability to achieve the best attainable health status for the populations which WHO serves. In close collaboration with Provinces and all relevant stakeholders, s/he identifies and engages with relevant Health Programme Managers and staff as well as the incident management system, at the national and subnational level, for strategy development and implementation pertaining to the resetting the health systems throughout the full cycle of prevention, preparedness, recovery and response phase. This will involve ongoing contacts with national health authorities, other UN agencies, national and international.

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Summary of Assigned Duties (Describe what the incumbent must do to achieve main objectives; include main achievements expected):

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During deployment, the duty station may change, and duties may be modified, based upon the technical needs of the Programme.

1. Provide cutting edge technical assistance in strengthening resilience of health systems and strategies for building sustainable approaches to Pandemic preparedness and response
2. Support systehesis of global, national and provincial experiences and best practices including Intra Action Review reports for developing strategies for resetting South Africa’s health systems in line with the approach of recalibration, mitigation, integration, and recovery
3. Support stakeholder coordination and consultations, collate feedback and update the strategy based on emerging evidence, expert opinions, national and WHO guidelines
4. Provide technical assistance to priority health system initiatives related to Universal health covergare and health secturity- particularly the National Health Insurance (NHI), National Public Health Institute of South Africa (NAPHISA)
5. Support implementation of various health systems strengthening initiatives, plans and strategies for health workforce, health information systems and essential medicines, with an overarching aim of building resilient health systems
6. Provide evidence informed methodical approach aligned with WHO norms and standards for phased reduction and resumption in service provision based on pandemic phase/ alert levels including mechanisms for optimizing key health resources, and health service delivery platforms tailored to local context and community needs
7. Monitor health service coverage and produce regular reports with uptodate disaggregated data and trends, suggesting key recommendations for improving coverage of various medical, surgical, diagnostic and public health services pertaining to key health programmes
8. Participate in regular coordination meetings with National and or Subnational (Province and District), WHO Incident management teams and partners to facilitate the overall health response, exchange information, produce and circulate minutes, related decisions and follow through on key aspects of health systems resilience and pandemic preparedness
9. Ensure appropriate links among humanitarian actions and longer-term health sector plans, incorporating the concept of “building back better” into the COVID-19 recovery plan.
10. Actively participate in the assessment, monitoring and evaluation of the COVID-19 situation, recommending appropriate actions and innovative approaches, for resetting health systems
11. Contribute to the preparation of other WHO and health systems communication products (situation reports, health cluster bulletins, donors alerts, and other ad-hoc reports).
12. Perform any other health systems strengthening specific duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

Recruitment Profile Competencies: Generic

Describe the core, management or leadership competencies required - See WHO competency model - list in order of priority, commencing with the most important ones.

1. Teamwork
2. Communication
3. Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
4. Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

Functional Knowledge and Skills

• • Describe the essential knowledge and the skills specific to the position

• Demonstrated knowledge of the Health systems and public health emergencies, complemented by demonstrated ability to identify and manage difficult situations, to work within multidisciplinary and multinational staff.

• In-depth knowledge of Health systems and emergency relief policies and practices within the UN, other UN specialized agencies, donor agencies, national and international NGOs.
• Sound knowledge and experience about health systems approach to disaster preparedness programmes and the incident management system.
• Excellent negotiation skills and ability to convene stakeholders and facilitate a policy process among UN, NGOs, national health authorities and donors.

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Education Qualifications

* Essential

An advanced university degree (Master’s level or above) in public health, medicine, international health or related field.

Desirable

Specialized training in Health policies, health system recovery, or health emergencies.

Experience

* Essential

At least seven years of relevant experience at national or international level, in developing health policies and strategies, provision of healthcare services, managing health programmes, developing and promoting collaborative partnerships, including experience in coordinating implementation and M&E of health programs in multi-cultural context

Desirable

Relevant work experience in WHO, other UN agencies, Government, relevant nongovernmental or humanitarian organizations.

3. Use of Language Skills

Excellent knowledge of English. Working knowledge of another South African language

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Other Skills (e.g. IT)

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Knowledge of Microsoft Office software applications. Excellent presentation skills