Occupational Safety and Health and Training Specialist

The United Nations is increasingly called upon to implement programmes in complex, dynamic, high risk and often remote locations, placing United Nations personnel at potential risk of injury with minimal medical and first response support available. Balancing the need to implement United Nations programmes with the safety of United Nations personnel requires an understanding of potential threats and appropriate contingency plans in the event medical-related incidents do occur.

It has been evident that a prompt first response medical intervention has the greatest impact on the survival rate of casualties. It is therefore an essential security risk management measure whenever United Nations personnel are deployed to high and very high security risk areas, remote locations, or locations with limited host Government emergency medical resources. 

The incumbent reports technically to the Division of Health-Care Management and Occupational Safety & Health (DHMOSH) and administratively to the UN Clinic Health Manager.

Within delegated authority, the Occupational Safety & Health and Training Specialist will be responsible for the following duties:

Identify, develop, coordinate, implement, and monitor the United Nations and other appropriate medical training courses. Ensure that training operations and development activities are implemented in accordance with the training plan and established standards. Coordinate with trainers to determine training standards to be achieved, reviews country submissions for eligibility of nominees, recommend trainees for selection and maintain a trainee database. Coordinate and report on Training Needs Analysis visits. Organize all activities at the training location(s); liaises between training location(s) and Headquarters staff on all training and administrative matters. Support the organizations of the UN on matters relating to medical training, and acts as a resource person and a training instructor when needed. Identifies risks and develops the risk register. Coordinate with UN Clinic Team and UNDSS on Mass Casualty Incidence training drills in compliance with the standing Mass Casualty Incident SOPs.

Undertake surveillance for preventable health and safety hazards in the work environment. 

Provide occupational health support to assess Health and Safety Risks. Progress of the UN’s Occupational Safety and Health Management System. Provide occupational safety and health and Emergency Medical Response training and capacity development by ensuring that personnel are aware of their roles and responsibilities in all aspects of health and safety work, including compliance with health and safety policy. Complete preparedness and implementation of measures for general safety of emergency and disaster incident operations with a specific focus on responder safety. Develop training content and educational materials on Safety & Health and emergency response educational and facilitate and provide trainings to all levels of personnel.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

• Ensures that training operations and development activities are implemented in accordance with the training plan and established standards.
• Coordinates with trainers to determine training standards to be achieved, reviews country submissions for eligibility of nominees, recommends trainees for selection, and maintains a trainee database.
• Ensure that training materials address gender-specific concerns. For example, discuss ergonomic considerations for female healthcare workers or mental health support for male nurses.

Coordinates, implements, and monitors the United Nations and other appropriate medical training operations.

• Facilitates the organizations of the UN on matters relating to medical training, and acts as a resource person and a training instructor when needed. 
• Identifies risks and develops the risk register. 
• Coordinate with UN Clinic Team and UNDSS on Mass Casualty Incidence training drills in compliance with the standing mass casualty incident Standard Operating Procedures.
• Identify any gender-related gaps in existing training content & training reports.

Undertake surveillance for preventable health and safety hazards in the work environment.

• Sampling, measuring, or testing for physical, chemical, and biological exposures in the workplace environment that may generate risks to the health of workers.
• Evaluating ergonomic factors that may affect workers’ health through surveys and direct inspections. 
• Reviewing incidents. 
• Assessing general working conditions and behaviors.
• Collect data on workplace accidents, injuries, and illnesses by gender. Analyze this information to identify any gender-specific patterns.

• Guide with the development of local OSH policy, standards, and guidance.
• Provide occupational health and safety advice to local OSH committee.
• Develop occupational health and safety programs such as road safety, workplace safety, etc.
• Develop occupational health and safety aspects of business continuity plans.
• Ensure that all operations follow the UN OSH Policy.
• When assessing risks, ensure that both male and female workers’ experiences and vulnerabilities are considered.

• Ensure that personnel are aware of their roles and responsibilities in all aspects of health and safety work, including compliance with health and safety policy.
• Complete preparedness and implementation of measures for general safety of emergency and disaster incident operations with a specific focus on responder safety.
• Develop training content and educational materials on Safety & Health and emergency response educational and       facilitate and provide training to all levels of personnel.
• Ensure that training materials address gender-specific concerns. Cover topics such as reproductive health, mental well-being, and safety protocols for all genders.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

• Core Competencies:

Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact.

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems.

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands 

Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

• Cross Functional and  Technical Competencies:

Business Direction & Strategy – System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.