Surveillance Officer (Addis Ababa)

Contract

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

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

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

The Programme seeks to promote and uphold the humanitarian and public health principles by leading a coordinated and effective health sector response together with the national and international community, with specific attention to vulnerable and marginalized populations, through effectuating WHO's commitment to work within the framework of the Interagency Standing Committee (IASC) and the cluster approach. The incumbent will be responsible for performing a dedicated coordination, health needs assessment, strategy development and resource mobilization, supporting the implementation and monitoring the joint incident management system and advocacy function.

In Ethiopia, millions are estimated to be in need of life saving humanitarian assistance affecting Somali region, Oromia and SNNP and southwest regions. To reduce excess morbidity and mortality resulting from the public health consequences of the drought-related humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, WHO will be working with the Federal Ministry of Health, Ethiopian Public

Health Emergencies Institute (EPHI) and health partners to respond to this emergency while building on existing health sector development programmes, enhancing preparedness for further deterioration of the humanitarian situation, boosting capacities, and integrating risk reduction and resilience building components to foster long-term development solutions to the crisis.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

The surveillance officer will support the investigation and response to emergency health and nutrition and events of national or international concern with the national or regional RRTs.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Supervised by the Team lead and under the overall guidance of the Incident Manager and Head of the WHO Country Office and working closely with regional counterparts, the incumbent will act as an IPC/WASH officer at the region level. S/he will manage the IPC and WASH component of the incident management system, assessment, support the revision and update of the IPC measures and practices, and provide technical guidance to RHB and partners. S/he will establish and maintain good collaboration with partners, and synergize with the WHO staff, liaise with other units/teams within the regional office, across the organization and partners for facilitating the development of a detailed work plan and budget for WHO operations.

The incumbent will be responsible for coordinating the implementation of the approved activities and to ensure alignment of purpose between national and the regional office on matters related to IPC and WASH. S/he will also be responsible for reporting, performance assessment and evaluation of the planned activities, for monitoring the availability and flow of financial resources and ensure proper communication with partners and as appropriate.

Working under the oversight of the Incident Manager and the direct supervision of the Surveillance Team Lead, the surveillance officer will perform the following tasks:

1. Provide leadership and guidance on technical matters related to early detection, verification, investigation and response to public health and nutrition incidents, ensuring efficiency of data collection, correlation, analysis, interpretation, and timely reporting at health facility at the district levels.
2. Support the verification of data on reported public health and nutrition emergency or rumors received from multiple sources, conduct retrospective analysis of reported incidents: determine trends, distribution patterns, and efficiency of the verification mechanism.
3. Support emergency health and nutrition data quality improvement, use of data for monitoring of trends, alert, and action thresholds (triggers).
4. Support supervision, training, and on-job mentorship in building the core surveillance (health and nutrition), alert and response capacities.
5. Support the early warning systems for public health and nutrition emergencies
6. Support the preparation and dissemination of public health and nutrition emergencies news, technical documents, updates, and assessments to key decision makers
7. Initiate and/or support/strengthen scientific documentation of response efforts and activities in line with WHO global best practice.
8. Produce regular and written feedback to FMOH/RHB/ ZHB and other response actors, and report to the field coordinator.
9. Perform any other incident-specific related duties, as required by the Surveillance Team Lead.

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

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential****:

First university degree in medicine or public health with specialization in epidemiology

Desirable****:

Experience

Essential****:

At least two years of relevant experience in the areas of public health or epidemiology with national authorities.

Desirable:

Experience in epidemiological surveillance and investigation with reportable diseases in the country. Experience working with UN/WHO or other large international organizations would be an added advantage.

Functional Knowledge and Skills

• Ability to work harmoniously as a member of WHE team, experience in the areas of emergency health and nutrition investigation/assessment and response.
• Working knowledge of statistical packages used for data management and analysis

WHO Competencies

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

Use of Language Skills

Essential:

Essential: Expert knowledge of English, and local language of the specific region.

Desirable: other UN language.

Other Skills (e.g. IT Skills)

• Knowledge of Microsoft Office software applications. Excellent presentation skills.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

· Remuneration – this is a Special Service Agreement at NO-B Level for three months (3) with a monthly remuneration of $ 2,359.17

· Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

· A written test may be used as a form of screening.

· 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.

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

· WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

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

· Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.

· 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.