Team Leader, Research

Contract

This is a P-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 10 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 172,512 USD and 216,197 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 overall objective of the Research Unit is to lead and facilitate theprocesses for conducting country-led, well-coordinated, cross-organizational,high quality and outcome-focused research and to generate impactful healthresearch and leverage evidence to improve the health of populations in theAfrican Region. The Unit seeks to facilitate the process of applying researchto achieve impact for people's health in the areas of research and evidence inthe WHO African Region by: scanning the horizon for impactful emergingsolutions; supporting countries to develop and implement policies andstrategies for the translation of new evidence to improved access and impact inMember States; promoting and supporting priority research in countries accordingto the unmet needs of Members States, including strengthening partnerships; andpromoting appropriate options for governance for research, including promotingethical considerations in related decision-making. The goal is to enable countriesin the WHO African Region to ensure evidence-based policies and strategies arein place to achieve universal access to high-quality, integrated,people-centered health services, increase the coverage and quality of effectiveinterventions, and to create mechanisms to measure the impact of thosestrategies and interventions

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Theincumbent will be expected to perform the following responsibilities:Providestrategic leadership and manage the Research Unit in developing andimplementing the research agenda and associated strategies for the region withthe objective of achieving results that impact the region. Leadthe Research Unit and coordinate the development of regional research policies,strategies, programmes and activities in collaboration with other WHO technicalclusters, and partners, in an integrated manner in the context of UniversalHealth Coverage, ensuring people-centred approaches across the life course toaddress the priority health problems of different population sub-groups;Coordinatethe Region's workstream on cross-cluster/cross-cutting activities andcoordination of regional research activities ensuring an integrated workingapproach for these activities in the regional office and at country office;Overseeactivities to support strengthening national research governance infrastructureand standards in counties including capacity-building policies, strategies andapproaches towards the implementation of best practices on regional researchactivities. ProvideSecretariat functions for the WHO AFRO African Advisory Council on Research andDevelopment;Oversee theprovision of coordinated support for the adaptation and implementation of theWHO policies and strategies on related service delivery models at primary care level,including the development of national protocols and guidelines for theirintegrated management;Oversee thecollaborative and proactive support to countries in the development andimplementation of monitoring and evaluation policies and strategies tofacilitate reporting on trends and progress towards regional and nationaltargets, including promoting the dissemination of lessons learned and goodpractices; and providing technical inputs into global surveys and reports;Identifyresearch needs and priorities aimed at improving country performance anduniversal access to comprehensive health services at country level, includingpromotion and strengthening of research capabilities, and support the additionof new knowledge and technologies into country health systems;Establishcollaboration networks with research institutions and support technicalassistance to country research programmes, including promoting the use oftechnical resource networks and leveraging in-country institutional capacitiesto enhance sustainability.Conduct high-leveladvocacy and policy dialogue and establish/strengthen partnerships, includingwith academia, professional associations, inter-governmental and on-governmentalorganizations and institutions, for the harmonization and alignment of actorsand resources in the formulation and implementation of national action plans,as an integral part of strengthened and resilient national health systems;Develop andmanage implementation of strategies and programs related to WHO AFRO libraryservices;Develop and managethe implementation, monitoring and evaluation of work plans and budgets withinthe framework of WHO Staff Rules and Regulations, financial rules and AFROaccepted procedures, while promoting integration of similar approaches andinterventions in the Research Team;Provideleadership to and manage the staff under his/her responsibility; ensure theirperformance, continuous development, and engagement, promoting a culture ofworking across boundaries, and integrity in accordance with the Organization'spolicies, rules, procedures, and values;Facilitatecollaboration of team members on cross cutting issues, especially those relatedto integration of research related interventions with other relevant Clustersand Programmes in AFRO and with other levels of the Organization to foster thedelivery of organizational results;Drive the teammembers' collaboration with other clusters and programmes to ensure thatResearch Unit interventions are integrated in strategies on universal healthcoverage, primary health care, sexual and reproductive health, and communicablediseases and non-communicable diseases programmes;Support theCluster Director in communicating the achievements and results of the work ofthe Research Programme; in collaboration with the Communication (COM) andPlanning, Budgeting, Monitoring and Evaluation (PBM) Units;Contribute toresource mobilization for the ARD Cluster's programmes, including but notlimited to drafting proposals and proactively participating in resourcemobilization campaigns, in collaboration with other technical clusters, theexternal partnerships team and country offices;Provideexpertise and technical advice to the Regional Director, the Cluster Directorand Senior Management in the areas of research development and in theapplication of evidence by countries;Perform other relatedresponsibilities as assigned, including replacing and backstopping for othersas required.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: -Advanced degree in a public health field,or related field.. Desirable: Ph.D or additional qualification in areas related to health research or social sciences

Experience

Essential: • A minimum of ten years' experience in research management, leadership and capacity building and strengthening, including experience in the area of health policies and strategies • Country working experience in Africa or other low- and middle-income countries. • Demonstrated experience in managing human and financial resources • Experience in management and coordination of diverse groups of stakeholders in the field of health research and working at international level • Experience in research,generation of evidence for policy making and publication of scientific papers. Desirable: Experiencein managing projects, policy formulation and strategic planning for healthsystems.

Skills

Expertisein research and research governance; Concreteskills in the planning and coordination of multidisciplinary public healthresearch programmes, which may include the implementation of a publichealth/disease control programmes;Strong skills in the area of developing and establishing policies and strategies; Excellent skills and abilityin managing diverse teams and financial resources;Provenskills in mobilizing resources; Abilityto engage and communicate effectively and diplomatically with externalpartners, internal organs and other stakeholders;Provenexpert knowledge in research, analytics, and research management;Recent(within past 5 years) track record of publication in peer-review scientificjournals; Strong technical writing andscientific writing skills.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences Communication Producing results Driving the Organization to a Successful Future Creating an empowering and motivating environment

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Intermediate knowledge of French. Desirable: The above language requirements are interchangeable.

REMUNERATION

WHO salaries for staff in the Professional category are calculated in US dollars. The remuneration for the above position comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 89,837 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable), a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 4874 per month for the duty station indicated above. Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.

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.

• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.

• 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.

• WHO has a mobility policy which can be found at the following link: http://www.who.int/employment/en/. Candidates appointed to an international post with WHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.

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