Technical Lead, Child Development

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing (MCA) supports a world where by 2030, every woman, newborn, child, adolescent, and aging person in every setting realizes their rights to physical and mental health and well-being. This will be achieved by supporting WHO's General Programme of Work and universal health coverage for all. The department provides support to countries with a focus on those with a high burden of ill health, to ensure evidence-based policies and strategies are in place to achieve universal access to high quality health services for maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and ageing (MNCAH&A), and increase coverage and quality of effective MNCAH&A interventions among pregnant women, newborns, children, adolescents, young adults and older people, and to create mechanisms to measure the impact of those strategies. This includes the identification of global research priorities for maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and wellbeing, resource mobilisation, design, and coordination of clinical and implementation public health research in areas where critical gaps exist in the global research portfolio.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

• Provides technical advice on national policies and strategies for implementation in collaboration with national authorities and supports the integration of evidence-based interventions in multi-sectoral early childhood development and/or health sector plans, and in national MNCAH strategies where applicable.
• Develops evidence-based practice tools to strengthen capacities of the health workforce to support nurturing care for child development, by designing standards, competencies, learning materials and on-the-job or self-learning materials including for use in pre-service training and continued education.
• Develops evidence-based approaches and tools to establish a continuum of well care contacts for children 0- 9 years of age and their caregivers, within health and school health services.
• Conceptualizes and develops managerial and monitoring tools, contributes to costing and cost-effectiveness analysis for the area of work.
• Coordinates the strengthening of capacities for planning, implementation, and monitoring of the respective area of work in countries, through WHO's Regional and Country Office programmes and in collaboration with partners.
• Contributes to the continuum of nurturing care for the first two decades of life, develops new evidence based approaches and tools to establish a continuum, of well care contacts, and supports governments in transforming systems and services to support healthy growth, development, and wellbeing of children in the first decade of life.
• Advises on knowledge gaps, research priorities, and contributes to the design of research projects to assess feasibility, acceptability, affordability, and effectiveness of programming for improving childhood development.
• Commissions systematic reviews and synthesizes evidence to inform guidelines, policies, and strategies relevant to Regional and Country Office programmes in the respective area of work.
• Oversees the global research agenda and supports the integration of early childhood development impact measures in ongoing research activities coordinated by the MCA department.
• Leads efforts for the development of knowledge products; dissemination of knowledge products and knowledge exchange; and facilitation of global working groups, working collaboratively with partners and building on existing networks and platforms. Coordinates with different sectors, including nutrition, education, environmental health, violence prevention, child protection, and social welfare, and with multi-sectoral coordination at global, regional, and country levels.
• Builds technical partnerships with other UN Agencies, donors, research institutions and other stakeholders and advocates for inclusion of the technical area of work and its implementation within organizational policies.
• Develops proposals and mobilizes resources to advance the technical knowledge base globally and accelerate implementation in countries.
• Represents the programme area of work in global fora and capacity building activities and serves as the senior technical focal point among UN Agencies and the peer community on public health programming for early childhood development.
• Performs all other related duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: First level university degree in social or medical sciences from an accredited university with an advanced degree (masters' level or above) in childhood development or child psychology, pedagogy, or education.

Desirable: Specialization in international curriculum development, teaching and learning, with a focus on child development.

Experience

Essential:

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in the field of early childhood development.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in working with the health sector to advance early childhood development, including design, implementation, and monitoring of programming in low or low-middle income settings.
• Experience in the development of practice tools and in teaching on early childhood development.
• Experience in convening stakeholders, providing leadership, and coordinating the knowledge sharing and development of joint technical products.
• Experience in conducting programme evaluations and in working with partner organizations to distil best practices that can inform policies and implementation strategies for the area of work.
• Experience in mobilizing resources.

Desirable:

• Familiarity with WHO HQ, Regional and Country Offices and with other UN bodies and NGOs in areas related to child development.
• Management of multi-stakeholder working groups.
• Experience in collaborating with foundations and donor agencies active in related work.

Skills

• Strong knowledge and skills in early childhood development, covering policies, evidence-based interventions, and services in relation to the health sector as well as other sectors such as education.
• Demonstrated skills in public health programming of interventions that support nurturing care for early childhood development.
• Excellent skills and ability in working with diverse, multi-disciplinary teams, within and across organizations.
• Demonstrated experience in collaborating effectively with other key partners in support of childhood development, and in managing relationships with Member States, partners, and media effectively.
• Proven leadership skills in planning, design, partner coordination, and implementation of technical products.
• Proven track record in facilitating knowledge exchange, developing knowledge products, and managing multi-stakeholder working groups.
• Demonstrated success in mobilizing resources.

WHO Competencies

• Teamwork
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Communication
• Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
• Promoting innovation and organizational learning

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of French.

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 92,731 (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 7473 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 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.

• The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits and employs staff regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.

• 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.

• 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.

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• WHO also offers wide range of benefits to staff, including parental leave and attractive flexible work arrangements to help promote a healthy work-life balance and to allow all staff members to express and develop their talents fully.

• The statutory retirement age for staff appointments is 65 years. For external applicants, only those who are expected to complete the term of appointment will normally be considered.

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