Project Support Specialist

PAHO Country Offices are responsible for ensuring that the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) country program of technical cooperation and its country presence provides adequate support to the national health development process and, at the same time, enables countries to shape the subregional, regional, and global health agendas. The PAHO/WHO Country Office is the basic organizational unit for technical cooperation with the country, drawing on PAHO/WHO resources from all levels and all parts of the Organization.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the general guidance of the PAHO/WHO Representative (PWR), and the direct supervision of the Advisor, Health Promotion, Life Course and Determinants (DHE), the incumbent is responsible for, but not necessarily limited to, the following assigned duties:

• Provide support and coordinate the Project “Extension of access and coverage in maternal and child health to dispersed rural areas, indigenous communities and border areas of the Paraguayan Chaco” of the UN-India fund, working under the technical guidance of the project coordinator;
• Provide support to national, departmental, and local authorities in the Paraguayan Chaco region to strengthen the management of health services based on Primary Health Care, with emphasis on first level of care;
• Provide support to national, departmental, and local authorities in the Paraguayan Chaco region to advance toward the elimination of infectious diseases including vaccine-preventable diseases based on Primary Health Care;
• Provide support to national, departmental, and local authorities in the Paraguayan Chaco region to accelerate the integration of health care services for non-communicable diseases, mental health, and disabilities within the public health care service network (RIIS) based on Primary Health Care, with emphasis on the first level of care;
• Provide support to national, departmental, and local authorities in the Paraguayan Chaco region to prepare and respond to health emergencies;
• Provide technical support to national, departmental, and local authorities in the Paraguayan Chaco region to address effectively social and determinants of health to improve equity in health;
• Provide support to the direct technical cooperation to develop, implement and follow up on the operational plans of the health regions and Local Health Councils in the Chaco region;
• Contribute to the strengthening of local governance through coordinated work with the health regions, municipal teams, local and regional health councils, the education sector, the productive sector, indigenous grassroots organizations, and other community organizations;
• Support the implementation and monitoring of activities aimed to assure fairness, interculturality, gender equity and human rights as cross-cutting elements;
• Maintain good communication and working relationships with other UN agencies, cooperation agencies, NGOs or other institutions that implement projects and/or actions in the Chaco region;
• Support the preparation of monthly reports following the logical framework matrix of results, indicators and project activities, with emphasis on documenting good practices, achievements and challenges;
• Identify technical assistance issues (needs, options and resources); supervise/coordinate the technical assistance for the Projects and Terms of Cooperation under areas of responsibilities, and with implementing partners in the Chaco region;
• Provide technical assistance on knowledge management for areas of work assigned, using all the available means for the dissemination of relevant scientific information;
• Serve as communication link between the Organization and the intersectoral teams on matters of technical and strategic project implementation and evaluation;
• Collaborate with national and international technical teams in the preparation of technical cooperation requests and on-site support for the submission of documentation to the Organization, as per agreed upon operating procedures;
• Prepare and maintain all documents and progress reports pertaining to the projects being implemented in the Chaco Region;
• Provide support for the implementation and evaluation of the overall performance of the Projects/Programs/Terms of Cooperation;
• Perform other related duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Essential: A bachelor’s degree in a health science, medicine, nursing and/or obstetrics, psychology, social work or any other field related to the functions of the post, from an accredited university.
• 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).

Experience:

• Essential: Three years of national professional experience working in public health and implementation of the Primary Health Care approach, populations in vulnerable situations and multicultural populations, and working with populations in the most vulnerable situations.

Technical Expertise:

• Strong knowledge of all aspects related to public health and implementation of the Primary Health Care approach in multicultural dispersed rural areas, indigenous communities, and border areas of the Paraguayan Chaco region with emphasis on maternal and child health.
• Technical knowledge of the principles and application of standard and innovative practices, methods, and techniques in public health and implementation of the Primary Health Care approach in multicultural dispersed rural areas, indigenous communities, and border areas of the Paraguayan Chaco with emphasis on maternal and child health.
• Ability to transfer knowledge and technology to counterparts and to promote the adoption and/or application of appropriate knowledge and technology that would be responsive to the different social, cultural, and economic realities.
• Knowledge of planning, monitoring, evaluation, and control of technical cooperation actions designed for national levels.
• Knowledge and skills in the formulation of technical cooperation interventions and in the development of criteria for evaluating program interventions.
• Skills for the development, implementation and analysis of technical cooperation programs and activities, including budget programming and control.
• Ability to integrate managerial and administrative inputs into recommendations for decision-making processes; ability to work independently and to manage multiple assignments simultaneously in a complex organizational environment.

Languages:

• Essential: Very good knowledge of Spanish.  Basic knowledge of the Guarani language would be an asset.
• Desirable:  Knowledge of English would be an asset

Source: https://careers.who.int/careersection/ex/jobdetail.ftl?job=2403104&tz=GMT%2B05%3A30&tzname=Asia%2FCalcutta