Unit Chief, HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Infections

OBJECTIVE OF THE OFFICE/DEPARTMENT

This requisition is for employment at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO)

The Communicable Diseases and Environmental Determinants of Health Department (CDE) promotes, coordinates, and implements technical cooperation activities directed toward the surveillance, prevention, control, elimination and/or reduction of communicable diseases, zoonosis and environmental threats to health that are technically sound and appropriate for the political and sociocultural context in which they are implemented. It strives to achieve a sustainable impact on health by providing normative guidance, furthering the implementation of evidence-based interventions, fostering alliances that strengthen country capacity, improving the effectiveness of inter-country collaboration, and facilitating policy and decision-making processes.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the general supervision of the Assistant Director (AD) and the direct supervision of the Director, Communicable Diseases and Environmental Determinants of Health (CDE), the incumbent is responsible for, but not necessarily limited to, the following assigned duties:

1. Provide technical, policy and strategic advice, leadership and programmatic direction for all aspects of work related to the HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (HT) Unit by planning, implementing, resourcing, and monitoring work plans consistent with country needs and the Organization’s overall Strategic Plan, with the aim of strengthening public health, evidence-based, data driven and human rights compliant responses to those epidemics in all countries of the Region of the Americas;
2. Provide strategic guidance and advice to Member States for the implementation of interventions aimed at prevention, control and elimination of selected communicable diseases and their comorbidities, as indicated in the Sustainable Development Agenda, in WHO Global Health Sector Strategies for HIV, STI, Viral Hepatitis, and to End TB, in PAHO’s Strategic Plan, and in view of the specific Resolutions endorsed by PAHO Member States;
3. Provide technical and policy advice and oversee the definition and establishment of the objectives, strategies, plans and budgets of each area of work within the HT Unit and related to PAHO’s Elimination Initiative; ensure that the strategies and objectives are aligned with the Organization’s mission, vision, values, policies, strategies, business needs and priorities as well as the Organization’s Strategic Plan in order to guarantee continuing operations and maximize results;
4. Coordinate the management of resources to achieve the short, medium, and long-term objectives identified in PAHO’s Strategic Plan, managing specific portfolio activities, and ensuring the reporting of results, information and analyses;
5. Facilitate and coordinate interdepartmental and interprogrammatic collaboration, including the establishment and coordination of functional teams and technical working groups, whose areas of work relate to goals and objectives of the HT Unit and/or the Organization’s Elimination Initiative;
6. Facilitate and coordinate the functions of technical and strategic advisory groups, comprising regional independent experts who will provide guidance and advice to the Organization on matters related to the areas of work of the HT Unit;
7. Support the development, implementation and dissemination at subregional and country level of evidence based technical standards for the management of communicable diseases, especially HIV, TB, STIs and viral hepatitis;
8. Promote the collection and use of data and information for technical and strategic analysis, interpretation, reporting, and strategic dissemination, including activities aimed towards monitoring and evaluation of programs and projects;
9. Identify, in consultation with all relevant Organizational entities, special areas of interest, options and opportunities for partnerships and alliances and promote, establish, and maintain liaisons with a broad spectrum of partners, including WHO entities, UN Agencies, technical agencies, academic institutions, civil society organizations, foundations, international financial institution’s, regional and subregional integration mechanisms, on matters related to prevention, control and elimination of communicable diseases;
10. Formulate and recommend policies, plans, strategies, and budgets, in support of the Organization’s mandates related to the work of the HT Unit; develop and establish measures, practices and procedures to improve the Unit’s effectiveness and efficiency; report to Governing Bodies, through executive presentations and reports, on the status and results of the Unit’s activities;
11. Administer, allocate and monitor the HT Unit’s financial, logistical and staff resources; oversee the preparation and justification of the annual program and budget proposals; participate in the development of the Department’s biennial work plan (BWP); organize the formulation, development, implementation and control of systems to monitor performance in accordance with the results based management approach;
12. Identify and mobilize financial resources to support the HT Unit and the Organization’s Elimination Initiative, in collaboration with other Departments and Units of the Organization;
13. Promote a culture of ethical behavior and integrity in accordance with the Organization’s Code of Ethical Principles and Conduct in order to ensure a culture of respect, responsibility, accountability, and compliance; provide a stable managerial framework that demonstrates credibility, trust and value to Member States, technical partners, civil society organizations and donors, while optimizing staff performance; provide advice, when called upon, to institutions of Member States in the area of expertise;
14. Represent the Organization in high level events, meetings, negotiations, policy discussions with partners and stakeholders interested andor supporting the public health efforts promoted by PAHO/WHO for the prevention, control, management and elimination of selected communicable diseases;
15. Provide leadership, guidance and monitoring of supervised staff, including regional and subregional advisors, by setting clear work objectives, ensuring timely and effective use of performance reviews and feedback mechanisms, engaging in regular communications, and solving interpersonal or technical conflicts; monitor workloads to ensure equitable distribution of work and maintain job satisfaction, efficiency and output; establish and support a learning environment, to include staff development in the Organization’s fundamentals, managerial competencies and technical expertise;
16. Perform other related duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Essential: A university degree in a health-related discipline, and a master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, infectious diseases or a health science related to the functions of the post, from a recognized institution.

Desirable: A doctoral degree in public health would be an asset

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). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. PAHO will also use the databases of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation http://www.chea.org and College Navigator, found on the website of the National Centre for Educational Statistics, https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator to support the validation process.

Experience:

Essential: Thirteen years of combined national and international progressively responsible experience in management of communicable diseases, including the detection, diagnosis, treatment and control of HIV/AIDS, TB, STI, and Viral Hepatitis. Development and evaluation of policies and programs for prevention, control and elimination of communicable diseases. Experience must also include the application of epidemiological methods to disease surveillance and public health program planning and evaluation.

SKILLS:

PAHO Competencies:

• Overall attitude at work: Maintains integrity and takes a clear ethical approach and stance; demonstrates commitment to the Organization’s mandate and promotes the values of the Organization in daily work and behavior; is accountable for work carried out in line with own role and responsibilities; is respectful towards, and trusted by, colleagues and counterparts.
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences: Relates well to diversity in others and capitalizes on such diversity - Treats all people with dignity and respect. Relates well to people with different cultures, gender, orientations, backgrounds and/or positions; examines own behavior to avoid stereotypical responses; considers issues from the perspective of others and values their diversity.
• Teamwork: Advocates for collaboration across the Organization - Creates and encourages a climate of team- working and collaboration across the Organization; sees cooperation as a key Organizational priority and creates collaborative systems and processes to achieve Organizational goals. Actively identifies and tackles disagreements between internal and external counterparts that compromise the Organization’s goals and mandate; diplomatically facilitates the resolution of conflicts between others and ensures strategic partnerships with a range of key stakeholders; maintains and extends an effective collaborative network of individuals inside and outside the Organization.
• Communication: Share knowledge - Articulates the Organization’s strategic objectives when formulating and delivering information and presentations and adapts presentation methodology to address the needs of different audiences. Shares decisions and directives of senior management and communicates them in a manner that ensures both understanding and acceptance; shares knowledge and best practice at the three Organizational levels (country, regional and global), as necessary.
• Producing Results: Deliver quality results - Tailors Organizational targets to meet changing demands in the global health environment. Positions self and team to meet new challenges and demanding goals, in line with Organizational strategies and Program of Work. Acts as a role model for team and identifies potential when assigning roles to team members in order to successfully achieve expected results. Engages stakeholders as necessary and takes responsibility for work of own department/cluster.
• Ensuring effective use of resources: Strategize and set clear objectives/Monitor progress and use resources well - Sets specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely objectives for own team and/or the Organization; systematically analyses and anticipates priority projects for own team and allocates necessary resources to achieve them; identifies the cross-Organizational resources needed for large- scale projects in line with key Organizational objectives. Anticipates foreseeable changes and adapts own and team’s projects in the face of unforeseen circumstances and/ or challenges; creates measures and criteria to monitor progress of overall projects against key Organizational objectives; creates cost-effective solutions for the Organization.
• Driving the Organization to a successful future: Constructive leadership style/ Set the vision and build commitment - Leads and develops a road map for successfully achieving real progress in the Organization’s mandate, including consultation with key stakeholders; demonstrates respectful, trustworthy, transparent and accountable behavior in order to develop a reliable and coherent identity for the Organization. Creates a coherent Organizational vision of shared and successful goals; fosters a culture of vision and long- term goals, recognizing and rewarding efforts to maximize the Organization’s value.

Technical Expertise:

• Technical: Extensive progressive expertise at a senior decision-making level in prevention, control, management and elimination of diseases, including the management of public health programs at regional, subregional and country level. Extensive experience in management of communicable diseases during the occurrence of natural disasters and outbreaks to prevent the interruption of essential periodic activities aimed towards the control and elimination of priority public health diseases. Wide and varied knowledge of public health problems and the management of projects and programs recommended by PAHO/WHO to effectively prevent andor eliminate selected infectious diseases. Demonstrated skills and experience in building partnerships, managing integrated approaches in public health, resource mobilization, and management in monitoring and evaluation.
• Managerial: Extensive expertise in senior progressively responsible positions in the management of infectious diseases programs, projects andor initiatives; expertise in administrative and technical matters requiring sensitive negotiation with public health and government officials and other national and international bodies. Demonstrated ability to provide professional leadership to strategic, organizational, managerial and analytic work in health; requiring resourcefulness, initiative, highly developed judgment and interpersonal skills to deal with difficult situations and sensitive issues, in order to establish and maintain effective working relations with people of different professional levels, discipline, nationalities, and cultural background.
• Administrative: Skills in the creation and integration of administrative procedures for the delivery of highest quality results from the teams, as well as experience in resource mobilization (including fundraising and partner collaboration) and financial management for the delivery of expected results.

Languages:

Very good knowledge of English or Spanish with a working knowledge of the other language. Knowledge of French and/or Portuguese would be an asset.

IT Skills:

Demonstrated ability to effectively use a computer and utilize software programs such as Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Other IT skills and knowledge of other software programs such as Visio, Microsoft SharePoint and Project would be an asset.

REMUNERATION

Annual Salary: (Net of taxes)

US$ 89,837.00 post adjustment

Post Adjustment: 49.6% of the above figure(s). This percentage is to be considered as indicative since variations may occur each month either upwards or downwards due to currency exchange rate fluctuations or inflation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted. A written test and/or interview will be held for this post as a form of screening. Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to PAHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and e-Manual.

PAHO/WHO is committed to workforce diversity. PAHO/WHO offers an attractive compensation package including an annual net salary and post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station and exchange rates (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance). Other benefits include: 30 days annual leave, dependency benefits, pension plan and health insurance scheme. Benefits for internationally recruited staff may include home leave, travel and removal expenses on appointment and separation, education grant for dependent children, assignment grant and rental subsidy.

The post description is the official documentation for organization purposes.