Young Professionals Programme - Technical Officer (Contraception and Fertility Care)

Overview

Engage in research and innovative methodologies in contraception and fertility care.

You have:

• No older than 35 years on 31 December of the year of application.
• National of a country eligible for the Programme.
• Hold a relevant university degree obtained in your home country or other eligible country.
• At least 2 years of experience in research relating to sexual and reproductive health.
• Intermediate knowledge of English.
• Expert knowledge of English and basic knowledge of another WHO official language is desirable.

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 107,711 USD and 146,298 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.

The Young Professionals Programme

WHO Headquarters offers opportunities for young professionals from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to engage in WHO’s work and build skills and competence in key public health areas. This is a structured programme which incorporates additional exposure and experience at country level and career support.

Young Professionals will be assigned to regular WHO positions and will be fully immersed in WHO’s technical work. Young Professionals will benefit from career support, networking, mentoring and tailored learning opportunities throughout this period to support them in achieving their personal career goals. To enhance their knowledge and widen their professional network, the YPP may be posted in a different WHO office on short-term learning assignments.

Eligibility criteria

The following eligibility criteria in addition to the minimum requirements of the position will be used to shortlist candidates:

• To be no older than 35 years on 31 December of the year of application.
• To be a national of a country eligible for the Programme: List of Eligible Countries.
• To hold a relevant university degree obtained in your home country or other eligible country.*

*Exceptions will be considered where no institute of higher education exists offering the degrees required for eligibility to this Programme as per the World Higher Education Database.

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Purpose of the position

The incumbent contributes to research, technological and methodological innovations, and evidence synthesis in contraception and fertility care. In carrying out this work, the incumbent participates in international collaborative efforts on WHO Organization-wide initiatives, and contributes to policy development and advocacy activities in the field, supporting the broader goal of improving sexual and reproductive health and rights globally.

Objectives of the Programme

The UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP) is the main instrument within the United Nations system for identifying research priorities on sexual and reproductive health and rights; for promoting, conducting, evaluating and coordinating related interdisciplinary research; for collaborating with countries to build national capacity to conduct research; and for promoting the use of research results in policy making and sexual and reproductive health programmes.

HRP is operated from within the World Health Organization's Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research (SRH). The Department draws on HRP research and global expertise to set norms and standards and develop global guidelines, and to support programme development in sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The Contraception and Fertility Care Unit (CFC) promotes informed evidence-based contraception and fertility care choices and rights through research and development, innovation, evidence synthesis, development and dissemination of guidance and implementation tools and provision of specialized technical support in contraception, fertility care and its associated conditions.

Summary of Assigned Duties

• Focusing on contraception and fertility care, the incumbent will:
• Contribute to research priority setting, drawing on the scientific literature, recommendations of HRP advisory bodies, input from the Member States and co-sponsoring agencies, colleagues, managers and other stakeholders. Based on research priorities developed, the incumbent will participate in the development of short-term operational plans and longer-term strategic plans for research and development in this area.
• Contribute to research activities, including: (i) development of research protocols, (ii) identification of national partner research institutions, (iii) drafting of research agreements, (iv) organization of scientific meetings, (v) organization and participation of training workshops, (vi) participate in research site monitoring visits, (vii) work with data management companies or organizations, (viii) monitoring the network of institutions participating in the research projects, (ix) analysis, write-up and publication of results, (x) evaluation of processes and results in preparation for subsequent research projects.
• Participate in activities designed to conduct capacity building of research centers to carry out high-quality research that is compliant with generally accepted scientific and ethical standards.
• Conduct systematic reviews of the literature in the field, input to evidence-based clinical and managerial guidelines.
• Prepare briefings for the Member States, UN agencies, other inter-governmental and non-governmental agencies on scientific and technical matters, working in close collaboration with WHO Regional and Country Offices.
• Participate in the preparation of progress reports, governing and advisory bodies, WHO reporting requirements, and donors.
• Draft manuscripts for publication in the scientific literature of research outputs, and implement related communications activities on the dissemination, adaptation, and use of WHO and HRP outputs by the WHO Member States, working in close collaboration with the HRP communications team and the WHO Department of Communications
• Carry out other tasks, as required by the Unit Head and Director.

Competencies

Communicating

Producing results

Teamwork

Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

Functional Knowledge and Skills

• Ability to think strategically; to express ideas clearly; to work independently and in teams.
• A strong commitment to international public health; an interest in adapting to varied physical and professional environments; and a desire to work with people with different language, national and cultural backgrounds.
• Knowledge of contraception and fertility care and its public health aspects.
• Strong research, analytical and scientific writing skills, as evidenced by the experience of peer-review scientific publication in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
• Strong communication and diplomatic skills.

Education Qualifications

Essential

An advanced university degree in public health, epidemiology, medicine, or another field related to contraception and fertility care. A university degree in a relevant subject must have been obtained in your home country or other eligible country.

Experience

Essential

At least 2 years of experience in research relating to sexual and reproductive health.

Desirable

Experience in managing research projects relating to sexual and reproductive health. Working experience in a UN agency or an international nongovernmental organization in low- and middle-income countries.

Use of Language Skills

Essential

Intermediate knowledge of English.

Desirable

Expert knowledge of English and basic knowledge of another WHO official language.

Other skills

Ability to use e-mail, scheduling, word processing and presentation software independently and efficiently. Ability to use team collaboration and communication platforms such as MS Teams and Zoom. Ability to carry out complex searches using electronic bibliographic databases such as PubMed.

Additional Information

Candidates may apply to one or more vacancies advertised under the YPP; candidates should ensure they meet the vacancy and programme eligibility criteria.

The selection process may include asynchronous video assessment, technical evaluation and interview.

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.

Should you have any questions, please check our FAQs available at https://www.who.int/careers. If your question is not listed, please contact us at [email protected].

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.

Potential interview questions