Risk Communication and Community Engagement Officer

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

The mission of the Division of Health Emergencies (WHE) is to build the capacity of Member States to assess, prevent and manage health emergency risks, and lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations.

The WHE Division brings together and enhances WHO's operational, technical and normative capacities in outbreaks, emergencies and risk analysis to address all health hazards across the risk management cycle in a predictable, capable, dependable, adaptable and accountable manner. The Programme is designed to operate within the broader humanitarian and emergency management architecture in support of people at risk of, or affected by, outbreaks and emergencies, consistent with ways that strengthen local and national capabilities.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The WHO has committed to scale up its humanitarian response and increase health sector capacity, on strengthening the health system resilience and responsiveness with regards to RCCE with focus on priority regions. The scope of the work will be aligned with the WHO principles of work and strategic documents on the health system infrastructure and health care services provision, public health essential operations and public health emergency preparedness and response principles.

The Incumbent will be based in the Ukraine WCO and will be supervised by the Team Lead, under the overall guidance of the Incident Manager and Head of the WHO Country Office, and working closely with counterparts at the respective regional office and HQ. Building on strong emergency management system at all three levels of the Organization (based on incident management) the incumbent will be involved in implementation of operations and services according to agreed standards and availability of a strong logistics and operational support capacity.

Reporting to the Health Service Delivery Specialist under the Health Operations Pillar and overall IMT, the incumbent will ensure the integrated development and implementation of a communications strategy and

advocacy products and all aspects related to community engagement as part of the health system response and will support country and subnational actions RCCE.

The incumbent will work in close collaboration with the WHO CO technical officers within IMT and specific technical programme areas, including EMT, EMS, Health service Delivery, under the guidance of the RCCE P3 professional, etc, in consultation with the HQ and RO focal points and coordination within the Health Cluster with the international partners.

The incumbent will provide technical expertise and when required, onsite support to ensure applicability and appropriate implementation of the recommended guidance. S/he will also be responsible for reporting, performance assessment and evaluation of the planned activities, ensuring proper communication with national counterparts and partners and as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

1. Provide technical and operational support for overall IMT activities in development of the risk communication materials and strengthening and mainstreaming community engagement and social mobilization strategies and delivering through existing national and local structures.

2. Work closely with RCCE P3 professional, on risk communication related outreach, coordination advocacy, including liaison with external partners (NGO, CSO, and youth).

3. Support the community engagement, social listening, and mobilization activities as per developed plans.

4. Participate in monitoring and evaluation of community engagement, social listening, and mobilization at subnational level, especially in conflict related territories and ensure the findings are integrated into technical and operational decision-making.

5. Participate in the capacity building activities and contribute to building the national capacity through needs identification, development, operationalization.

6. Support the IMT, national authorities and partners on the adaptation of response strategies for effective and feasible community engagement in affected areas.

7. Where necessary, participate in the formative research, and/or liaise with stakeholders/partners conducting sociocultural research, especially among IDPs.

8. Support the RCCE planning and streaming interventions and activities as necessary.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education Qualifications

Essential: University degree (Bachelor degree) in health promotion/health education, development, sociology, or medical anthropology from an accredited/recognized institute.

Desirable: Advanced University degree (Master degree) in Public Health. Specialized training in participatory approaches, strategic risk communication planning, social mobilization, participatory research, training and impact evaluation of community engagement/social mobilization interventions.

Experience

Essential: At least 2 years of relevant experience, at the national level, in applying multidisciplinary approaches in health promotion, community engagement and social mobilization programmes. Proven experience in the application of participatory models of engagement in the health context and the ability to adapt and innovate in emergency situations.

Desirable: Experience in WHO, the UN System and/or NGOs in the area of health operation, outbreak response and planning of emergency interventions in the context of public health and/or humanitarian action

Knowledge of WHO mandate and goals or experience in UN Organizations, international institutions or NGOs is considered an asset.

Skills

Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office applications. - Knowledge of ERP/Oracle applications is an asset.

WHO Competencies

*1. Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

*2. Teamwork

4. Creating an empowering and motivating environment.

5. Moving forward in a changing environment

Functional Knowledge and Skills

• Excellent communication skills in English and Ukrainian: the ability to clearly present ideas and concepts both orally and written.

• Ability to write well in English and Ukrainian and produce engaging risk communication and advocacy material.

• Demonstrated ability in coordinating with government national and local stakeholders, and partners and to work under pressure to achieve multiple deadlines.

• Knowledge and understanding of public health approaches related to community engagement; social mobilization; an understanding of emergency response; ability to coordinate multidisciplinary and technical inputs into designing community engagement strategies and plans.

• Strong strategic planning and organizational skills: ability to generate, analyse and appropriately apply findings from qualitative research to planning and project design; the ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary and multicultural environment with tact and diplomacy; an ability to meet tight deadlines; an ability to efficiently and effectively coordinate activities and tasks to meet specific objectives.

• Excellent interpersonal skills: the ability to build relationships and work with various internal and external stakeholders and partners.

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English and Ukrainian.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1. This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level.
2. Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
3. A written test and/or an asynchronous video assessment may be used as a form of screening.
4. In the event 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.
5. According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.
6. Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and E-Manual.
7. The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits and employs staff 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. 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/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply. Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to reasonableaccommodation@who.int
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
11. WHO also offers wide range of benefits to staff, including parental leave and attractive flexible work arrangements to help promote a healthy work-life balance and to allow all staff members to express and develop their talents fully.
12. The statutory retirement age for staff appointments is 65. For external applicants, only those who are expected to complete the term of appointment will normally be considered.
13. For information on WHO's operations please visit: http://www.who.int
14. 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.
15. 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. 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. 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].
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