Team Leader (Nutrition)

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The overall objective of the Nutrition and Food Safety (NUT) Programme is to provide leadership and action to promote national adoption, adaptation, implementation and monitoring of global and regional standards towards universal access to safe, healthy and sustainable diets by people of all ages in the WHO African Region through effective nutrition actions and services. The Programme supports Member States to develop, implement and monitor integrated, evidence-based policies, strategies, multi-sectoral action plans, and programmes to prevent disease and promote health and wellbeing through access to high-impact interventions throughout the individuals' life course. These focus on the prevention of undernutrition, overweight/obesity, diet-related noncommunicable diseases and foodborne diseases. In collaboration with the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Unit, the NUT Programme conducts surveillance on antimicrobial resistance in foodborne bacteria by facilitating collaboration between the agriculture, animal health, human health and environment sectors to deal with food safety aspects of antimicrobial resistance. It promotes preparedness for, and response to, foodborne and nutritional disease outbreaks/emergencies, including in humanitarian settings. The Programme further assists in the generation and use of data for effective programme management and service delivery to address all forms of malnutrition; promotes effective monitoring, evaluation and implementation research for programme strengthening; and ensures the fostering of strategic partnerships and integration with other teams within the organization to enhance people-centred, service delivery and with global and regional partners to ensure harmonized support for nutrition and food safety to Member States. The goal is to enable countries in the WHO African Region to ensure evidence-based policies and strategies are in place to achieve universal access to high-quality, integrated, health services, increase the coverage and quality of effective interventions, and to create mechanisms to measure the impact of those strategies and interventions.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The incumbent will be expected to perform the following duties:--> Lead the NUT Programme and coordinate the development of regional NUT policies, strategies, programmes and activities in collaboration with other WHO technical clusters, and partners, in an integrated manner in the context of Universal Health Coverage. This involves, inter alia, collaborating with the UHC/CN Cluster, Health Promotion and Climate Change and Health teams on strategies to prevent infectious diseases and poverty-related causes of undernutrition; working with the Tobacco and Reduction of other NCD Risk Factors (TNR) team on prevention of obesity and diet-related NCDs; working with the EPR Cluster to integrate nutrition and food safety actions in emergency preparedness planning and response and facilitating linkages between the Health and Nutrition Emergency Clusters; collaborating with UHC/LC to integrate essential nutrition actions in established health service delivery platforms across the life course; working with the ARD and UHC/LC to integrate nutrition indicators in national and regional surveillance systems; --> Develop and manage the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of NUT work plans and budgets within the framework of WHO Staff Rules and Regulations, financial rules and AFRO accepted procedures, while promoting integration of similar intervention in the NUT Team;--> Provide leadership to and manage the NUT staff under his/her responsibility; ensure their performance, continuous development and engagement, promoting a culture of working across boundaries, while promoting the principles of integrity, equity, value for money and a respectful workplace in accordance with the Organization's policies, rules, procedures, and values;--> Drive the team members' collaboration with other clusters and programmes to ensure that NUT interventions are integrated in strategies on universal health coverage, primary health care, sexual and reproductive health, and communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases programmes;--> Oversee the provision of coordinated support for the adaptation and implementation of the WHO policies and strategies on NUT and related service delivery models at primary care level, including the development of national protocols and guidelines for their integrated management;--> Oversee the development and implementation of regional and country capacity-building policies, strategies and approaches towards the implementation of best practices on all aspects of nutrition and food safety, while focusing on universal access to safe, healthy and sustainable diets;--> Facilitate the sourcing and provision of expert technical assistance to country NUT programmes, including promoting the use of technical resource networks and leveraging in-country institutional capacities to enhance sustainability;--> Conduct high level advocacy and policy dialogue and establish/strengthen partnerships, including with academia, professional associations, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations and institutions, for the harmonization and alignment of actors and resources in the formulation and implementation of national action plans, as an integral part of strengthened and resilient national health systems, in order to improve access to quality essential nutrition and food safety services at all levels;--> Identify research needs and priorities aimed at improving universal access to NUT and Food Safety services at country level, including promotion and strengthening of research capabilities, and support the addition of new knowledge and technologies into country health systems;--> Oversee the collaborative and proactive support to countries in the development and implementation of surveillance, monitoring and evaluation policies and strategies to facilitate reporting on progress towards regional and national NUT and Food Safety, including promoting the dissemination of lessons learned and good practices and providing technical inputs into the global road safety surveys and reports;--> Support the Cluster Director in communicating the achievements and results of the work of the NUT Programme, in collaboration with the Communication and Programme Budget Management Units;--> Contribute to resource mobilization for the UHC/HP Cluster's programmes, including but not limited to drafting proposals and proactively participating in resource mobilization campaigns, in collaboration with other technical clusters, External Relations, Partnerships and Governing Bodies and WHO Country Offices;--> Provide expertise and technical advice to the Regional Director, the Cluster Director and Senior Management in the areas of Nutrition and Food Safety;--> Perform other related responsibilities as assigned, including replacing and backstopping for others as required.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: Advanced degree in Nutrition, Food Safety, Public Health, Medicine or other relevant discipline related to the functions of the position.
Desirable:

Experience

Essential: A minimum of ten years' experience in the management of nutrition or food safety and food systems and programmes, requiring multiple stakeholder engagement.
Desirable: Work experiences that are diverse, incorporating private sector, NGOs, other UN or governmental Health related agencies will be an advantage.

Skills

--> Globally respected level of technical expertise and knowledge in public health Nutrition and Food Safety with broad practical knowledge of related programmes, policies and strategies and their application in developing and developed countries;--> Proven leadership skills in the planning and coordination of multidisciplinary public health programmes, which should include the implementation of a public health/disease control programmes.--> Strong skills in the area of developing and establishing polices and strategies;--> Excellent skills and ability in resource mobilization and in managing diverse teams and financial resources;--> Proven skills in developing a strong partnership across multiple groups, organizations and individuals to work towards a common goal but with different capabilities and methodologies;--> Strong capabilities in relationship building with core implementing partners (e.g. UNICEF) and especially critical to develop strong working relationship in Nutrition and Food Safety;--> Ability to engage, build consensus and communicate effectively and diplomatically with Member States, donors, country governments, partners and media.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
Driving the Organization to a Successful Future
Creating an empowering and motivating environment

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Expert knowledge of French.
Desirable:
The above language requirements are interchangeable.

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 89,837 (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 4874 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 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.

• 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.