Technical Officer, Vaccines Preventable Diseases Outbreak Preparedness and Response

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD) Programme is part of and contributes to the work of the Universal Health Coverage/Communicable and Non-communicable diseases (UHC/UCN) cluster in the WHO African region. The strategic agenda of the cluster is to reduce disease burden in the WHO African Region, by guiding disease control agenda in Africa, and using analytics to inform strategic investments and tailored interventions for disease control. This approach is underpinned by the guiding principles of comprehensive whole of society, people-centered, integrated approaches to disease control. The comprehensive whole of society approaches to disease control involve: (a) coherent implementation of triple response – technical response: implementing disease-specific normative guidance, promoting intervention mixes and deploying medical commodities; health systems response: building capacities of district, service-delivery systems in disease mapping and stratification, interventions tailoring, and sector/subsector planning; and multi-sectoral response: addressing socio-economic and environmental determinants of diseases through mobilizing non-health sectors, communities and stakeholders; (b) disease control partnership of public and private sectors, health and non-health sectors; and (c) community involvement in targeted high risk communities, focused on managing determinants of diseases, health services demand creation and accountability by local health stewards.
The people centered, integrated approaches to disease control involve: (a) integrated guidance on disease control for each health service delivery platform, a move away from stand-alone disease specific guidance; and (b) integrated and efficient disease control investments in strengthening the capacity of appropriate health services delivery platforms, through deployment of appropriate technologies and analytics, to guide stratification of disease risks across population groups, to develop and deploy comprehensive packages of interventions appropriate to each targeted population group and health service delivery platform, as well as monitor population access, coverage and impact to leave no one behind.
The specific objectives of the UCN cluster to which the VPD programme contributes, are to: (i) provide leadership on disease control coordination, partnership and resource mobilization; (ii) contribute to the development of WHO disease-control technical products, services and tools including adoption of new technologies and innovations; (iii) support generation and use of strategic information for action and decision making including optimizing investment; and (iv) provide or facilitate provision of technical support in deployment of WHO technical products and services and institutional capacity building, including support to national disease programmes and regulatory authorities.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The incumbent will :

• Provide technical support to countries in the development, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of policies and strategies to improve preparedness and response to VPD outbreaks and support to the immunization programmes through the following:
• Support the development of evidence-based policies, strategies and tools to improve surveillance performance for timely detection of VPD events through the use of data;
• Support regular in-depth analysis of data and information to elucidate the burden and deep epidemiology (hotspot analysis and mapping, time-space analysis based on patterns) of VPDs in the region to generate evidence to inform preparedness and response strategies;
• Proactively support predictive modelling, conduct risk assessment and monitor VPD indicators and triangulation of information to guide VPD preparedness and response;
• Support the development of outbreak-readiness tools and response plans for countries at national and sub-national levels for the update/review of countries in collaboration with vaccine focal persons within regional, IST and WCO;
• Contribute and support the capacity building of countries teams in VPD risk assessment, outbreak investigation, outbreak preparedness and response, and documentation of outbreaks;
• Support countries in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of VPDs outbreak response by proactively supporting monitoring of readiness, intra-actions reviews and after action reviews;
• Support countries in the process of validation of elimination/ eradication of VPDs;
• Collaborate with other programmes to promote and support the adoption and implementation of innovations, particularly in the optimization and digitalization of surveillance systems, and risk assessment and outbreak preparedness;
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of up-to-date regional, sub-regional and national databases for VPD outbreaks’ readiness and response as part of the development of new/improved tools and strategies;
• Facilitate cross-border collaboration on VPD outbreak preparedness and response
• Perform other related responsibilities as assigned, including replacing and backstopping for others as required.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: Master’s degree in medicine, public health, epidemiology or related field.

Desirable: Post-graduate training or PhD in epidemiology, vaccinology, immunology, infectious or communicable diseases, and/or monitoring and evaluation.
Specialized training in infectious disease epidemiology and outbreak response.

Experience

Essential: A minimum of seven (07) years of experience in developing, designing, and implementing public health programmes, especially managing disease surveillance, outbreak investigation and response as well as setting up sentinel surveillance.

Desirable:
• Work experiences that are diverse, incorporating private sector, NGOs, other UN, or governmental Health related agencies will be an advantage.

• Experience in policy formulation and strategic planning
• Experience in resources mobilization and partnership coordination
• Good understanding of the IDSR and ERF frameworks
• Sound strategic and tactical thinking with ability to formulate clear comprehensive policies, strategies and plans.
• Organizational skills with ability to multi-task and produce results under pressure.
• Excellent interpersonal with proven ability to communicate in a clear and effective way, with tact, diplomacy and courtesy.
• Authoritative and comprehensive knowledge of the theory, principles, methods and techniques in international emergency risk management and humanitarian response, with a broad-based understanding of its growing complexity including knowledge of the workings of relevant international policy-setting bodies.
• Conduct field investigation for outbreak verification, risk assessment and provide technical support for rapid public health response to public health emergencies emanating from known or unknown disease pathogens.

Skills
• Demonstrated knowledge of VPD outbreak preparedness and response, health emergencies management, and global health;
• Proven ability to plan, coordinate and implement outbreak preparedness and response activities, including norms and standards and related capacity building;
• Proven ability to monitor and report on results, progress, lessons learnt and obstacles;
• Proven understanding of health emergencies programmes as related to the control of preventable diseases including case-based surveillance, Integrated Disease surveillance (IDSR) and International Health Regulations (IHR) as well how to achieve universal Health coverage (UHC);
• Demonstrated ability to strengthening partnerships and in mobilizing resources.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Producing results
Ensuring the effective use of resources

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English or French.
Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of any other UN official languages.

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 72,637 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable), a variable post adjustment. 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 and/or an asynchronous video assessment 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.
• According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.
• 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.
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• The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its staff. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to reasonableaccommodation@who.int
• An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. 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.
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• Please note that WHO's contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.
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