Technical Officer

Contract

This is a P-2 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 2 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 107,192 USD and 145,593 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 mission of WHO's UHC/Healthier Populations Division is to contribute to reducing health inequalities and reducing preventable disease and injury caused by environmental, social and economic determinants of health. This is achieved through a coordinated inter-sectoral approach aimed at enabling all people to enjoy better health and well-being, in line with the Organization's 13thGeneral Program of Work (GPW13) and the Sustainable Development Goals.The Department of Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS) is addressing the burden of disease from physical, chemical and microbial hazards in food and unhealthy diets, maternal and child malnutrition,overweight and obesity. The Department aims to ensure universal access to safe, sufficient nutritious food and effective nutrition actions, through setting science-based international food standards, promoting nutrition action in health systems, fostering sustainable food production and consumption, improving food environments and empowering consumers in all situations, monitoring nutrition status, and managing food safety events at the international level, closely working with Member States, UN partner agencies and non-State actors.The Monitoring Nutritional status and Foodsafety events (MNF) Unit defines indicators and nutrition surveillance systems,hosts and maintain nutrition databases, monitors nutrition trends and measures the impact of country food and nutrition policies. The Unit manages INFOSAN and collaborates with WHE for the management of major food safety events including PHEICsThe work of INFOSAN has two distinct components:1) INFOSAN non-emergency activities, including; the strengthening and maintenance of the INFOSAN global membership through outreach activities to register INFOSAN Emergency Contact Points and Focal Points, education of newmembers through the delivery of online training activities, webinars and simulation exercises, publication of ad-hoc reports and peer-reviewed publications related to INFOSAN Activities, review of national and regional plans to strengthen INFOSAN, and summarize and analyze food safety emergency events. 2) INFOSAN Emergency activities: the INFOSAN Secretariat identifies,verifies and shares information on food safety related events that involve contaminated foods distributed internationally, and foodborne illness outbreaks,not limited to one country. Technical assistance is also provided by INFOSAN tonational governments in managing food safety and food production related events or emergencies. INFOSAN Emergency Contact Points and Focal Points are actively engaged to provide updated information on food safety events and to ensure timely information exchange with countries potentially importing or exporting implicated product(s).

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Duties:Support the INFOSAN Secretariat's response activities during food safety emergencies and liaise with relevant internal and external stakeholders for assessment and verification, as required;Analyze, summarize, and compile information pertaining to each food safety emergency managed by the INFOSAN Secretariat for compilation on the INFOSAN Community Website and into quarterly summaries and other reports, as well as peer-reviewed publications;Maintain globalINFOSAN membership through regular outreach activities to ensure full coverage of INFOSAN Emergency Contact Points and Focal Points. This involves liaising with WHO Regional Food Safety Advisors, WHO Country Offices, national foodsafety authorities and FAO counterparts;Assist with capacity building initiatives for INFOSAN members by delivering online training activities, including webinars and simulation exercises and liaise with members to answer questions or redirect as appropriate;Support theINFOSAN Secretariat's efforts to upgrade and improve the INFOSAN CommunityWebsite to facilitate increased communication among members. This will involve liaising with WHO IT services and external IT companies; Support work around strengthening surveillance in food safety.Any other duties assigned by supervisor.Achievementsexpected:•Efficient exchange of information and management of food safety emergencies bythe INFOSAN Secretariat;• Regular acknowledgment and response to food safety emergencies by INFOSAN members communicated through INFOSAN, regular and active participation byINFOSAN members on the INFOSAN Community Website;• Publication of quarterly summaries of INFOSAN events on the open WHO website;• Maintenance and strengthening of regional and global INFOSAN membership.• Review and contribute to guidance work on food safety surveillance strengthening and global reports.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: University degree in food safety, international relations, public policy, public health or a related field from a recognized university Desirable: Post-graduate degree in food safety, public policy, international relations or a related field

Experience

Essential: • Minimumof 2 years of work experience at the national and international levels in the field of food safety.• Experience in working with multiple stakeholders coming to consensus.• Experience in working with web-based knowledge networks.•Experience in working in a team environment during public health emergency response activities. Desirable: • Experiencein WHO or other UN agencies.• Practical experience with the INFOSAN network.

Skills

• An excellent understanding of international foodsafety issues, and the challenges in managing them;• An understanding of the role of WHO and FAO in food safety;• Excellent interpersonal skills;• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written;• Excellent English writing skills;• Excellent knowledge of MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences Communication Producing results Knowing and managing yourself

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Expert knowledge of French. Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of Spanish.

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 48,805 (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 3311 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.

• *For WHO General Service staff who do not meet the minimum educational qualifications, please see e-Manual III.4.1, para 220.