Unit Head, Immunization, Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Immunization 

Contract

This is a P-6 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. More about P-6 contracts.

Position Title: Unit Head, Immunization, Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Immunization

Objectives of the Programme and of the immediate Strategic Objective

The overall objective of the programme is the control, elimination and eradication of all EPI target diseases through vaccination and effective vaccine preventable diseases surveillance and control.

Description of Duties

The incumbent will perform the following duties:

Generic duties

• Coordinates and provides senior technical leadership in establishing new approaches, evidence-based policies and strategies, surveillance, and capacity building initiatives for regional implementation across Country Office programmes in vaccine preventable diseases and immunization.
• Provides senior level health technical expertise and advice to the Director and Senior Management in the area of vaccine preventable diseases and immunization on the development and establishment of new health strategies and policies for implementation into and/or the monitoring and evaluation of national and regional policies.
• Ensures effective coordination, management, and accountability of the programme area in delivering its objectives through efficient managing a diverse team of technical experts, financial resources and effective work plan coordination to optimize the programme’s deliverables in line with the mandate of the Organization.
• Ensures the coordination and management of the monitoring and evaluation and reporting of the area of work of key performance indicators and global reporting requirements and mechanisms to optimize performance of Department deliverables.
• Serves as the scientific/technical reference among UN Agencies and the peer community on the vaccine preventable diseases and immunization
• Builds technical partnerships with other UN Agencies, Gavi, Donors, research institutions and other stakeholders in the vaccine preventable diseases and immunization to position the technical area of work and implementation into respective policies.
• Represent the programme area of work in global fora and capacity building activities
• Performs all other related duties as assigned.

Specific duties

• Provide technical advice to the Member States on suitable strategies for strengthening national EPI, pertinent to local situation and considering the national targets and the evolving needs of the programme
• Provide technical expertise and guidance to the WHO/EPI field staff, supervise and guide regional IVP staff to ensure effective implementation and evaluation of EPI activities;
• Lead the annual regional working groups, technical advisory groups, meetings and training workshops of EPI, and represent EMRO in contributing to inter-regional and international meetings and workshops.

Recruitment Profile

Competencies:

Enhanced WHO Global Competency Model: https://www.who.int/employment/WHO_competencies_EN.pdf?ua=1

• Teamwork
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences;
• Communication;
• Moving forward in a changing environment
• Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
• Creating an empowering and motivating environment

Functional Knowledge and Skills

1. Strong skills in the area of developing and establishing polices and strategies;
2. Demonstrated leadership and managerial skills in international and multi-cultural settings combined with proven ability to successfully coordinate, manage and lead public health programmes, and build partnerships with multiple partners;
3. Strong understanding and skills in mobilizing resources;
4. Ability to engage, build consensus and communicate effectively and diplomatically with Member States, partners and media;
5. Commitment to collaborate effectively with other key partners in the Health Subject area;
6. Globally respected level of technical expertise and knowledge in vaccine preventable diseases;
7. Excellent knowledge of prevention and control measures for Vaccine Preventable Diseases and immunization programmes;
8. Familiarity with WHO policies and practices.

Other Skills (e.g. IT)

Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.

Education Qualifications

*Essential

University degree in Medicine and Master’s degree Public Health

*Desirable:

PhD in public health. Training in epidemiology of communicable diseases, particularly Vaccine Preventable Diseases.

Experience

*Essential

• A minimum of 15 years of professional experience in the management of immunization and vaccine preventable diseases, including experience providing senior level advice and guidance to Senior Management/Decision makers, managing human and financial resources, as well as experience in the area of developing and establishing policies and strategies. Demonstrated experience at the international level.

Desirable

• Experience in epidemiological designs, epidemiological analysis, data analysis, interpretation and using data for advocacy and public health planning is desirable.
• Experience working with a UN agency and coordination of input of multiple partners would be an asset.

Language Skills

Excellent knowledge of English. Working knowledge of Arabic or French would be an asset.

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 102,715 (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 2396.68 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's workforce adheres to the WHO Values Charter and is committed to put the WHO Values into practice. 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. Interested candidates are strongly encouraged to apply on-line through Stellis. For assessment of your application, please ensure that: (I) Your profile on Stellis is properly completed and updated; (ii) All required details regarding your qualifications, education and training are provided; (iii) Your experience records are entered with elaboration on tasks performed at the time. Kindly note that CVs/PHFs inserted via LinkedIn are not accessible