Technical Officer, Epidemiology- WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE)

Contract

This is a P-4 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 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 149,646 USD and 192,937 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 the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) is to help countries coordinate international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to and recover from outbreaks and emergencies.

WHE 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. WHE 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.

The WHE team in the Solomon Islands is also responsible for providing timely and authoritative advice and support to address all health hazards and public health emergencies across the risk management cycle in a predictable, capable, dependable, adaptable and accountable manner. This includes detecting, verifying and assessing the risk of potential and ongoing health emergencies; establishing data collection mechanisms; monitoring ongoing health emergency operations; providing data management, analytics and reporting platforms, disseminating timely emergency health information products, and deploying to the field for joint response operations.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Within the framework of the delegated authority, the incumbent is responsible for the following assigned responsibilities:

1. Provide technical support in strengthening Solomon Islands' capacity including preparedness for managing health security, information management and risk assessments, infectious hazard management and emergencies in the country:

a. Provide technical support in implementing, monitoring and evaluation of International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 core capacities through the implementation of the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies (APSED III).

b. Provide technical support for early detection, verification and assessment of acute public health events, pharmacovigilance for ensuring the safety, quality and efficacy of medicines on a daily basis and during emergency situations; and AEFI including the use of multiple sources of information, to inform decision-making.

c. Provide technical support for risk assessments using multiple sources of information including surveillance data, health indicators, risk factors and disease surveillance information, capacity and vulnerability of health systems and services and of populations at risk for public health emergencies.

d. Provide support in the management of infectious hazards, enhanced surveillance and response for the control of influenza including pandemic preparedness.

e. Provide technical guidance on evaluation of various surveillance and data systems.

f. Provide guidance on the development and implementation of national action plans.

g. Develop appropriate training plans for building the core surveillance, alert and response national capacities in accordance with the national protocols and in line with the APSED III and the requirements of IHR 2015.

2. Contribute and participate in regional/global event-based surveillance analysis and joint risk assessment including timely information sharing.

3. Provide Solomon Islands with guidance on the evaluation and monitoring of country IHR capacities using IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (including Joint External Evaluation, State Party Self- Assessment Annual Reporting, Intra/After Action Reviews, and simulation exercises such as IHR Exercise Crystal), and other tools used to assess preparedness and operational readiness.

4. Manage outbreaks and emergencies through the principles of an Incident Management System (IMS) and ensure application of established technical guidance and standards of IMS functions; support the HWO in government relations to ensure an effective response.

5. Foster strong country-level emergency-related partnerships: build and coordinate partner networks and coordinate response partners during graded and protracted events.

6. Lead workplan development, financial and human resources (HR) planning processes related to Health Emergencies programme in the Country Office.

7. Support resource mobilization activities, working closely with the resource mobilization of the HWO, RED/DSE and WHO resource mobilization teams.

8. Foster close collaborative work with other technical programmes.

9. Upon request, provide technical and managerial support, backstopping and gap-filling for emergency activities at any level of the Organization or scale of emergency.

10. Perform other related duties, as requested by the supervisor, including provision of support to other areas of work and teams or programme areas, as required.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: Master's level university degree in medicine, public health or other health-related sciences from an accredited/recognized institution. Desirable: Specialized training in epidemiology (Field Epidemiology Training Programme), communicable diseases, pharmacovigilance, health, outbreak and /or emergency management. Graduate or doctorate degree in public health, epidemiology or equivalent.

Experience

Essential:

Minimum seven years of relevant experience, at national and international level, in multisectoral coordination, strengthening country capacities for preparing and responding to events of public health significance including infectious disease outbreaks, complex emergencies, AEFI and pharmacovigilance. Experience in event-based surveillance, risk assessment and/or emergency management and coordinating operational activities in preparedness and response with a range of actors.

Desirable:

Relevant work experience in WHO and/or other international agencies. Field experience in epidemiology, surveillance and response and/or control of outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases or other acute public health events in developing countries.

Skills

• Demonstrated knowledge of epidemiology, surveillance, risk assessment, rapid emergency response and disease control as related to public health, complemented by demonstrated ability to identify and manage difficult situations, to work with multidisciplinary and multinational staff.
• Excellent skills in the assessment, monitoring, analysis and evaluation of preparedness systems and emergency situations and response effectiveness, with the ability to conceptualize and implement innovative strategies and advocate their implementation.
• Authoritative and comprehensive knowledge of the theory, principles, methods and techniques in international emergency IMS.
• Ability to quickly comprehend strategic and tactical objectives and to formulate comprehensive plans to address challenges/risks.
• Strong operational competencies in managing and coordinating humanitarian programme cycle, including efficient human and financial resource management.
• Ability to work harmoniously as a member of a team, adapt to diverse educational backgrounds and maintain a high standard of personal conduct.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences Communication Creating an empowering and motivating environment Producing Results Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Excellent written and spoken knowledge of English. Desirable: Working knowledge of UN language.

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 77,326 (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 3615 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.