Technical Officer (AMR)

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

All Member States of WHO in the European Region share the common value of the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental human right. All of WHO actions are based on this and rooted in the underlying value of equity as described in the General Programme of Work.

The 13th General Programme of Work defines the mission of WHO as one to promote health, to keep the world safe, and to protect the vulnerable. The GPW calls for heightened accountability, prioritizing impact and outcome at country level, and to improve the lives of three billion people, through universal health coverage, through addressing health emergencies, and promoting healthier populations.

WHO's mandate revolves around six core functions\: (i) providing leadership on global health matters; (ii) shaping the health research agenda; (iii) setting norms and standards; (iv) articulating evidence-based policy options; (v) providing technical support to countries; and (vi) monitoring and assessing health trends.

The European Region (EURO) of WHO is made up of 53 countries, with over 880 million people. The diversity of people and health situations requires, on the demand side, a solid understanding of the emerging socio-economic, epidemiologic and demographic patterns and trends at both aggregate as well as national and sub-national levels, with due sensitivity to disadvantaged populations and vulnerable segments of the society. On the supply side, it is equally crucial to have a solid understanding of the commonalities and divergences of the health systems, the circumstances and political economy under which they have evolved and operate and, more specifically, how these bear upon the way the health system stewardship function of health ministries is carried out.

The aim of the Division of Health Emergencies and Communicable Diseases (DEC) in the WHO Regional Office for Europe is\:

• to improve health security across the WHO European Region by maintaining regional alert and response operations and assisting countries in building their capacity for surveillance systems, preparedness for, and response to all health emergencies, in line with the requirements of the International Health Regulations and specific country risks;

• to promote WHO's leadership in health emergencies and communicable disease prevention and control, including through relevant regional initiatives and specific research projects;

• to assist countries in the Region to design, establish and run effective health programmes that are able to tackle the burden of communicable diseases, particularly, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, especially M/XDR-TB, viral hepatitis, influenza, malaria, antimicrobial resistance and vaccine-preventable diseases through strengthened immunization programmes and to achieve/maintain regional elimination/eradication goals as for measles, rubella, malaria, and poliomyelitis;

• to ensure, within EURO, the availability of state-of-the-art competency to provide high level technical support to Member States of the Region, in collaboration with Headquarters and in close partnership with relevant institutions of the Region.

In this context, the WHO Regional Office for Europe specifically aims to reduce the impact of antimicrobial resistant organisms and their related morbidity and mortality. The WHO Regional Office for Europe has developed a regional strategic action plan (2011-2020) to support countries in developing inter-sectoral policies for the prevention, detection and management of antimicrobial resistance. This is done through close collaboration with the Member States of the Region and all relevant technical partners by facilitating intersectoral coordination, supporting the development of national AMR action plans, strengthening surveillance of antimicrobial consumption and resistance, implementing infection prevention and control programmes, promoting antibiotic stewardship, stimulating innovation and research, as well as supporting education, awareness and behaviour change campaigns. The European strategic action plan is fully aligned with the Global AMR action plan adopted in 2015.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Provides support to Member States related to the activities of the AMR programme, including the development and implementation of national AMR action plans, development of antibiotic stewardship programmes and educational materials, organize technical workshops and stakeholder meetings, in close collaboration with other relevant programmes within the Regional Office and WHO headquarters.

Key duties\:

Under the supervision of the Programme Manager Control of AMR and in collaboration with all relevant technical staff working on disease control programmes experiencing the emergence of drug resistance, the incumbent will perform the following functions\:

1. Provide support to Member States on the development and implementation of national AMR action plans through the provision of policy options, gathering and sharing state-of-the-art knowledge on successful interventions, assisting in the assessment of capacities and capacity building needs, and facilitating expert support;

2. Provide input to the development of WHO policy documents and briefs on evidence-based interventions for AMR and to scientific publications related to the topic, e.g. epidemiological studies;

3. Develop and support interventions and educational materials targeted at medical and other health care professionals for key AMR-related areas such as antibiotic stewardship and infection prevention and control, incl. further development of the Massive Open Online Courses on antibiotic stewardship;

4. Develop, review and deliver training and information materials relevant for different target audiences and appropriate for the regional context, including organization of expert workshops and stakeholder meetings on intersectoral coordination and national action plan development and implementation, support to global training toolkits developed by headquarters;

5. Support the efforts of the AMR programme to strengthen national AMR surveillance systems and their inclusion in regional and global networks by assisting in the development of technical documents and surveillance reports, organization of national and multi-country surveillance workshops, providing technical and practical support to proof-of-principle projects;

6. Provide support to development and implementation of behaviour change campaigns through the Tailoring Antimicrobial Programmes pilot projects in selected countries (i.e. assist with planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the projects, support the arrangement of the related meetings and workshops), contributing to the cross-programmatic work on Tailoring Health Programmes, and provide support to the planning of national and regional campaigns for the annual World Antibiotic Awareness Week.

7. Support the initiation of the monitoring of the healthcare-associated infections in selected countries, in collaboration with the infection prevention and control units at the Regional Office and headquarters;

8. Participate to, and represent the Regional Office in, technical international fora related to antimicrobial resistance.

9. Perform other duties as required by the supervisor.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential\: University degree (Bachelor's level) in medicine, public health, infectious disease epidemiology or related fields

Desirable\: Master's degree in one of the above mentioned fields. Professional training relevant to AMR (e.g. disease surveillance, pharmaco-epidemiology)

Experience

Essential\: At least five years of experience at the national and international level in infectious disease prevention, surveillance and control. Demonstrated work experience in the field of antimicrobial resistance stewardship or epidemiology.Demonstrated experience in intersectoral collaboration or working with relevant agencies and partners in the area of antimicrobial resistance surveillance or related fields.

Desirable\: Relevant work experience in WHO at regional or country level, or in any other UN agencies in the area of health.

Skills

1. Demonstrated knowledge of the work of WHO/UN system or NGOs in the field of AMR

2. Demonstrated knowledge of health system frameworks in low-and middle-income countries

3. Proven skills in designing, teaching and implementing training programmes

WHO Competencies

Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Producing results
Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond

Use of Language Skills

Essential\: Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable\: Intermediate knowledge of Russian.

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 60,233 (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 2530 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 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.

• For WHO General Service staff who do not meet the minimum educational qualifications, please see e-Manual III.4.1, para 220.