Director, Country Strategy and Support

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The department’s value proposition is to build leadership capacity of WHO country teams; coordinate and ensure quality assurance of harmonized tools and strategies; collect, analyze and disseminate country intelligence globally; lead WHO’s corporate approach to strategic policy dialogue and technical cooperation to drive impact in every country. The department will achieve these objectives through excellent alignment and coordination of work with the regional Country Support Unit (CSU) network; leveraging experiences; successes and learning from across regions in country support and cooperation towards developing corporate approaches; robust and well-maintained information from and for countries – the Country Presence Portal, Department Intranet, online guide for WHO Representatives (WRs); foster regular communications and collaboration with WRs across regions through a range of means to amplify their voice and position of WRs in relevant forums; and active participation in all corporate-level discussions and processes concerning countries.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

• Leads the Department in providing technical expertise to Member States and other Stakeholders with guidance and technical data required for the development, implementation, and monitoring of national and/or global policies and programmes.
• Provides the overall leadership, management accountability, and direction of the Department in delivering its objectives through managing and galvanizing a diverse workforce and financial resources to optimize the department deliverables and mandate.
• Provides senior level technical advice and expertise to Senior Management in the area of area of assigned responsibilities in order to position the Department and Organization as a leader in the respective area.
• Directs and leads overall establishment and development of the Department’s evidence-based policies and strategies for roll out and delivery for Regional and Country Office implementation.
• Oversees the monitoring and evaluation and reporting of the Department’s area of work to ensure development of key performance indicators and global reporting requirements and mechanisms to ensure optimal performance of Department deliverables.
• Serves as the scientific/technical reference among UN Agencies and other key players in the respective areas.
• Promotes the integration of Regional Country Office perspectives and operational capacities into the Department’s programme area of work.
• Builds strong partnerships and fosters consensus building with External Partners, Member States, UN Agencies, Donor, cutting edge research institutions and other stakeholders in the subject area to politically position the technical area of work and implementation into national and/or global policies.
• Represent the Organization and Department area of work in a diverse array of global fora to position WHO as a leader in the global health community.
• Perform all other related duties as assigned.

Specific duties:

• Globally facilitates and coordinates across regions the strategic policy dialogue process with countries using evidence and information to drive change.
• Ensures enhanced WHO’s leadership and capacity to convene as neutral broker to effectively manage complex stakeholder environment, advocate for health-related SDGs based on national health and development priorities and speak with authority as the representative of the organization to promote and protect health and serve the vulnerable.
• Fosters, catalyzes, analyzes, monitors & oversees the organization’s shift to put ‘countries at the center’ and reports to the Director General.
• Provides country intelligence to the Director General on political, technical and partnership environment through collection of data on WHO’s work, presence and results in country and shares decisions, policy guidance from the Director general with regions and WHO Representatives.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential:

• An advanced level university degree in public health, social science, business administration or a field related to the functions of the position.
  

Desirable:

• A PhD level in one of the above-mentioned fields.

Experience

Essential:

• A minimum of 15 years of senior professional experience in country support, country office capacity building, country strategy development and collection and analysis of WHO’s work in countries, including experience providing senior level advice and guidance to Senior Management/Decision makers, managing human and financial resources, as well as experience in the area of developing and establishing policies and strategies.
• Demonstrated experience at the international level. Work experience at country level in WHO, the UN Common System or other international organizations.

Skills

• Strong skills in the area of developing and establishing polices and strategies.
• Excellent skills and ability in managing diverse teams and financial resources.
• Strong understanding and skills in mobilizing resources.
• Ability to engage, build consensus and communicate effectively and diplomatically with Member States, partners and media.
• Commitment to collaborate effectively with other key partners in the Health Subject area.
• Globally-respected level of technical expertise and knowledge in health planning, health system and health policy analysis.
• Proven leadership skills in the planning and coordination of multidisciplinary public health programmes, which may include the implementation of a public health/disease control programmes.

WHO Competencies

• Teamwork
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Communication
• Driving the Organization to a Successful Future
• Moving forward in a changing environment
• Creating an empowering and motivating environment

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 114,666 (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 7950 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.
• 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 workforce. 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 [email protected]
• 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 Charterinto 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 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.
• For information on WHO’s operations please visit: http://www.who.int
• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.
• Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with WHO and an underlying premise of the international civil service.
• Candidates appointed to a fixed-term position in the Professional category with WHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.
• Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at [email protected]
• In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click this link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates