Subregional Program Director, Central America (CAM)

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 PAHO Subregional Program for Central America (CAM) is responsible for the strategic positioning of health within the highest political organs of the Subregional Integration Mechanisms in Central America; for providing subregional technical cooperation to advance the public health agenda within the Central American Subregion; and for building synergistic partnerships with the subregional institutions. PAHO’s subregional technical cooperation specifically focuses on public health issues which would benefit from economies of scale and for which agreement on proposed collective responses and actions would produce a far greater impact rather than individual country responses. The Subregional Program also plays a role in coordinating technical cooperation among the different PAHO country offices.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the direct supervision of the Director, the incumbent is responsible for, but not necessarily limited to, the following assigned duties:

1. Provide strategic leadership and coordination between PAHO and the major Integration Mechanisms within the subregion through active engagement and dynamic dialogue at the highest levels within the respective national authorities, in order to effectively position the regional and subregional public health agenda and enhance the implementation of the Organization’s Strategic Plan;
2. Lead PAHO’s work and specifically the health diplomacy and political interactions with the Subregional Integration Mechanisms in order to coordinate global, regional and subregional policy solutions to improve health outcomes; ensure that PAHO continues to lead the health agenda by supporting the countries to achieve the targets for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on SDG 3 and the determinants of health, and ensuring that PAHO’s Governing Bodies resolutions of other critical determinants of health are kept high on the regional priorities and aligned with PAHO’s mandates;
3. Develop and implement strategies aimed at influencing the political decision-making level to advance subregional adoption of the Organization’s mandates; strengthen political engagement to enable the renewed positioning of health and its determinants as a priority on the political and developmental agenda within the different integration mechanisms;
4. Position PAHO as the lead health agency among the highest political organs of the Subregional Integration Systems involving the Member States of Central America, including but not limited to the Summit of Heads of States, the Presidente pro-tempore, the Meeting of Ministers of Health, and the General Secretariat of SICA, CEPREDENAC and Proyecto Mesoamérica;
5. Work closely and collaborate with the subregional intergration mechanisms to ensure that their health agenda is well positioned on the global arena (G-7, G-20, G-77);
6. Lead the networking and cross-fertilization among the subregions to promote solutions to health problems that may be common to all;
7. Identify and promote potential or actual opportunities for cooperation in health development among all subregions through the Cooperation among Countries for Health Development (CCHD) initiative;
8. Identify the challenges and opportunities for strengthening or reorienting the subregional technical cooperation to address the public health agenda within the subregional integration mechanisms; develop corresponding strategies to add value and deliver on subregional expected outcomes;
9. Determine the viability of, and recommend projects and activities for the Central American Subregional Program, as well as determine strategies for implementation, including suitable financing, financial resources mobilization and executing arrangements; ensure the timely monitoring, reporting and evaluation of results and accomplishments for the benefit of the Member States and the Organization; administer, allocate and monitor the financial, logistical and staff resources assigned; prepare and justify the program and budget proposals;
10. Lead and coordinate the development of the subregional biennial work plan (BWP), including the development of the human resources plan, and the allocation and mobilization of resources, ensuring alignment with the SCS and fostering interprogrammatic and intersectoral work; manage the programmatic and financial execution of the BWP, developing new, and strengthening existing partnerships; identify and secure voluntary contributions, and advance other resource mobilization efforts to enable the efficient and effective implementation of the BWP;
11. Provide leadership and guidance to staff; ensure guidance and monitoring of staff though setting of clear work objectives, use of performance reviews and feedback mechanisms, regular communications, and solving interpersonal or technical conflicts;
12. Promote a culture of ethical behavior and integrity in accordance with the Organization’s Code of Ethical Principles and Conduct to ensure a culture of respect, responsibility, accountability and compliance;
13. Provide a stable managerial framework that demonstrates credibility, trust and value to Member States, clients and humanitarian and other donors, while optimizing staff performance;
14. Perform other related duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Essential: A bachelor’s degree in a health, social or management science and a master’s degree in public health, business administration, political science, public administration, or any other discipline related to the functions of the post, from an accredited institution.

Desirable: A doctoral degree in public health, international relations, or management 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), 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/. 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: Fifteen years of combined and progressive national and international experience in any of the following areas of work: public health, epidemiology, health planning, program or project management, monitoring and evaluation, including experience in policy and strategy formulation, and health diplomacy.

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 - 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.
• Creating an empowering and motivating environment: Provide direction/Support, motivate and empower others - Oversees and provides teams and departments with clear managerial directions which are translated from Organizational strategy. Builds a performance culture in the Organization; contributes to setting Organizational performance goals and standards; monitors Organizational performance against milestones and strategic goals; identifies and nurtures talent as appropriate. Promotes autonomy and empowerment throughout the Organization; inspires enthusiasm and a positive attitude in people towards their work and contribution to the Organization’s success.
• 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: Expertise at a senior level in public health diplomacy and policy formulation, development of health strategies and programs in particular in managing complex health programs at both national and international levels. Wide and varied knowledge of public health problems and health management processes, including monitoring and performance assessment of technical cooperation in health.
• Managerial: Extensive expertise in progressively responsible positions in the management of technical and administrative matters in large public or private health agencies, requiring sensitive negotiations and analytic, timely decision-making often taken under emergency situations. Demonstrated ability to provide professional leadership to strategic, organizational, managerial, and analytic work in health; courtesy, tact, sensitivity to manage confidential information, and ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people of different professional levels, disciplines, nationalities, and cultural backgrounds; resourcefulness, initiative, highly developed judgment and interpersonal skills to deal with difficult situations and sensitive areas.
• Administrative: Skills in managing people and maintaining a high-functioning team; resource mobilization (including fundraising and partner collaboration); and financial management for delivery of expected results.

Languages:

Very good knowledge of Spanish or English 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, SharePoint and Outlook. Other IT skills and knowledge of other software programs such as Visio and Project would be an asset.

REMUNERATION

Annual Salary: (Net of taxes)

$US 102,715.00 post adjustment

Post Adjustment: 41.5% 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

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.

Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to PAHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and e-Manual.

For information on PAHO please visit: http://www.paho.org

PAHO/WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

PAHO/WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

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.

Candidates appointed to an international post with PAHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.

All applicants are required to complete an on-line profile to be considered for this post.

Candidates will be contacted only if they are under serious consideration. A written test and/or interview will be held for this post. The post description is the official documentation for organization purposes.