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OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The mission of the WHO Health Emergencies (WHE) Programme is to help countries to establish emergency readiness and response capacity, and to coordinate national action to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The objectives of WHO’s Emergency Preparedness and Response is to support member states develop and sustain the capacity and a robust system to detect, analyze, report and promptly respond to disease outbreaks and other events of potential public health impact. It also aims at building capacity of member states to identify major hazards and take necessary measure to mitigate and reduce possible impacts during emergencies. The incumbent will be assigned the following duties;

1.    Provides technical expertise and guidance in the field of Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) including provision of expertise and authoritative advice for the collection, validation, analysis and dissemination of data, the design and implementation of Early Warning and Response System, and the coordination of related activities.
2.    Establishes and maintain close collaboration with a broad range of staff from MOH, health facilities, county health offices and partners to promote and facilitate effective cooperation for the implementation of related policies and procedures,
3.    Provides elaborate strategies and guidelines to ensure the quality and usefulness of EPR interventions including the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response(IDSR), monitoring and rapid assessments when required during emergencies;
4.    Provides support in capacity building in the country to meet the core IHR competencies. Monitor progress, identify critical gaps and support the review and re-planning for meeting the required core competencies.
5.    Ensure that humanitarian health needs are identified by planning and coordinating joint, inter-cluster, initial rapid assessments adapting to the local context the IRA tool, as well as follow-on more in-depth health sub-sector assessments, as needed.
6.    Mobilize Health Cluster Partners to contribute to establishing and maintaining an appropriate Early Warning and Response System, and regularly report on health services delivered to the affected population and the situation in the areas where they work.
7.    Ensures a close contact and collaboration with MOH and state health offices to ensure timely communication of events of potential health risks including disease outbreaks. Monitor trends and report potential emergencies to ensure timely and coordinated response.
8.    Monitor internal WHO capacity to implement the WHO Emergency Response Framework (ERF) in collaboration with the other units within WHO. Participate in the development of strategies and implementation of interventions to build the WCO capacity to implement ERF.
9.    Support the MOH in collaboration with the regional office and HQ to strengthen cross border collaboration, capacity building and information exchange.
10.    Support the health cluster to Identify and make contact with health sector stakeholders and existing health coordination mechanism, including national health authorities, national and international organizations and civil society.
11.    Secure information from a broad range of health sectors, analysing and recommending actions and guidelines for the elaboration of medium- and long-term plans of work and strategies, including consolidating health data in trends and trends assessment, with particular attention to surveillance, monitoring and early warning;
12.    Lead and promote the effective coordination of surveillance and assessment activities with Regional Offices and HQ as well as local, regional and national health entities and other international health partners including UN agencies and NGOs;
13.    Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the WR.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: Degree in medicine, health related discipline and/or postgraduate degree in Public Health epidemiology, mathematics, or statistics, with specialization in public health and studies in computer sciences.

Desirable:  Additional training on disaster management and essential statistical packages and information management system

Experience

Essential: Five years of professional experience with an emphasis on disease surveillance and emergency preparedness and response. Demonstrable experience of working in Kenya in the last three years. Sound knowledge of the operations of Health Cluster principles and mechanisms

Desirable: Good knowledge of WHO health surveillance system and programme management an end-to-end business processes as designed in the Global Management system; experience in project management, ideally in the UN system and/or a public health context; Good knowledge of GSM system or similar ERP systems; experience with staff training in surveillance and health management information systems

Skills

⦁    preparedness and response, complemented by skills in the field of epidemiological or statistical data collection, assessment, analysis and the evaluation and monitoring in a public health context.
⦁    Familiarity with polio eradication, measles mortality reduction, neonatal tetanus elimination activities and strategies as well as key routine and supplemental immunization activities.
⦁    Ability to conceptualize and promote innovative strategies and policies.
⦁    Ability to communicate and write in a clear and concise manner, and to develop effective guidelines.
⦁    Excellent negotiation and interpersonal skills complemented by ability to motivate and lead others, and to promote consensus.
⦁    Ability for research and innovations to address critical gaps

WHO Competencies

1.    Producing Results
2.    Fostering integration and teamwork
3.    Creating an empowering and motivating environment
4.    Building and promoting partnerships across organization and beyond.
5.    Respecting and promoting individual and cultural difference.

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English

REMUNERATION

Remuneration comprises an annual base salary starting at KES 9,077,797 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable) and 30 days of annual leave.

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 staff. 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 reasonableaccommodation@who.int
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 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.
For information on WHO’s operations please visit: http://www.who.int.
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.
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 shws@who.int.
This is a National Professional Officer position. Therefore, only applications from nationals of the country where the duty station is located will be accepted. Applicants who are not nationals of this country will not be considered.
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