Technical Officer

The WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) provides technical guidance and operational support to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies. WHE assists countries to contain and mitigate the risk of high-threat diseases and infectious hazards; to detect and assess emergency health threats and inform public health decision-making; and to respond rapidly and effectively to emergencies under a coordinated Incident Management System. It ensures WHO’s work in emergencies is effectively managed, sustainably financed, adequately staffed and operationally ready to fulfil its mission. Its hub-and-spoke structure ensures country-specific and inter-country activities in priority countries.

The objectives of WHO’s emergency programme are to design and implement programmes that prepare the health sector to deal with emergencies and that improve health during and after crises. Within the emergency programme, the objectives of WHO’s emergency response team are to support Member States by: (1) promptly assessing health needs of populations affected by crisis, identifying priority causes of ill-health and death; preparing damage estimates and emergency response and rehabilitation plans; providing prompt, credible health information and ensuring the continuity of essential health services; (2) ensuring that critical gaps in the health response to outbreaks are rapidly identified and filled; (3) revitalizing and building the capacity of national health systems to deal with preparedness, mitigation and response to outbreaks of communicablediseases.

Duties:

Within the WHO emergency response programme in Turkiye, and under the direct supervision of the WHE Lead, the incumbent will provide technical and strategic support to the whole WHO and HC team toward setup and run of the Health Information Management Unit. The incumbent will:

• Lead the team and be responsible for overseeing the work of the Information Management unit and/or coordinate the work of Information Management assets and HR located throughout disparate units.
• Manage the timely and high-quality collection, analysis, production and dissemination of data/information. This includes response specific information (what, where, who, how many, how quickly, current status), internal and external situation reports (SitReps), bulletins, rapid needs assessments, health risk assessments, and the Public Health Situation Analysis; interactive dashboards and maps, and strategic response plans (SRP).
• Collect and monitor WHO’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and advice the head of office on the interpretation of the trends.
• Oversee health cluster information management tools and products including health sector 4Ws, technical working groups service mapping databases and data collection. And the relevant information management products.
• Maintain the ongoing health resources and services availability monitoring system; provide the guidance to health sector partners, validate data contributions and coordinate; including the data system from the Health System Strengthening (e.g. on harmonization processes, on EPI/Immunization program).
• Support HIS unit development and progress by provide technical support, capacity building, and coordinate with stakeholders to ensure development and continuity of HIS in Northwest Syria.
• Advise SSA focal point on the documentation of incidents and potential attacks on health care with periodic briefing to the head of office.
• Lead the development of project documentation based on the overall strategy and plan, for use by the emergency leadership to mobilize resources. And provide advice on data governance policies and standards to ensure safe and consistent data usability.
• Continually adapt planning and project documents based on available information and revolving emergency situation, as required; this includes planning and management of human and material resources, expenditure, status of interventions and partner activities, progress towards achieving objectives, etc.
• Develop to Information management preparedness and response plans for epidemiological events in addition to improve field information management procedures at the local and regional levels to ensure that information management in the field provides the best possible functionality and usability to stakeholders.
• Ensure inter-cluster communication and information sharing.
• Oversee and design field epidemiological surveys if/where needed, such as mortality and vaccination coverage surveys, with support from epidemiologists as needed.
• Design capacity development plan for the team members and partners involved in the planning and data/information management process based on technical requirements; provide ongoing technical guidance and training on data gathering and analysis, quality assurance, performance monitoring, information dissemination and management.
• Represent Northwest Syria and Support, advise WoS structure in sharing Information, health inputs into the Humanitarian Program Cycle components, including People in Need (PiN) and Severity calculations, humanitarian needs overviews (HNO), Humanitarian Response Plan HRP.
• Perform any other related duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

Education

Essential:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s level or above) in Information Management; or in Public Health, or Epidemiology; Business or Public Administration from an accredited/recognized institute.

Experience:

Essential:

• At least 7 years of related experience in information management, monitoring, needs assessment, project management, data management and information dissemination in the public health sector or health development sector, at national and international levels, part of which in emergency management or humanitarian context in leadership positions.

Skills:

• Demonstrated supervisory and leadership skills, negotiation skills.
• Advanced ability to design, manage, analyse and coordinate complex information system projects, computer-based applications and databases, web-based tools.
• High level of analytical skills.
• Knowledge of programme management and functioning of WHO and the UN system is an asset.
• Advanced use of MS Office, particularly spreadsheets, data visualization and analysis tools, and databases, design and management of information systems.

Source: https://careers.who.int/careersection/ex/jobdetail.ftl?job=2404383