Technical Officer Production and Access to Medical Devices

The Department of Innovation, Access to Medicines and Health Technologies (IMT) is responsible for promoting, coordinating, and implementing the Organization’s technical cooperation in access to and rational use of quality medicines and other health technologies. IMT works across all categories of medicines and health technologies, including medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, medical equipment, blood products, and organs for transplantation. IMT supports countries in addressing barriers to access, addressing challenges across the medical product full life cycle, strengthening regulatory capacity and supporting evidence-based decision making and rational use through health technology assessment. IMT consolidates action in the development of pharmaceutical and other health technology related services and leads efforts in innovation through the regional platform to advance the manufacturing of vaccines and other health technologies, increasing regional capacity in the research and development of priority health products, and supporting the generation of ecosystems to enable development, production and access to medicines and other health technologies. IMT is comprised of the following units and Special Program: Access to Medicines and Health Technologies (IMT/AH), Quality and Regulation of Medicines and Health Technologies (IMT/QR) and Special Program, Innovation and the Regional Production Platform (IMT/RP).

The technical officer is a member of the Special Program, Innovation and the Regional Production Platform (IMT/RP), providing technical support for the implementation of technical cooperation activities in countries in the Region of the Americas, coherent with strategic orientations provided through Resolutions of the PAHO Governing Bodies, the Strategic Plan, and the Biennial Program Budget (BWP). The incumbent will provide technical support to Member States to strengthen their development and manufacturing capacities to improve access to essential medicines and health technologies and will also represent PAHO on multiple projects related to this objective.

Duties:

Under the general supervision of the Director, Innovation and Access to Medicines and Health Technologies (IMT) and the direct supervision of the of the Chief, Special Program, Innovation and the Regional Production Platform (IMT/RP), the incumbent is responsible for, but not necessarily limited to, the following assigned duties:

• Provide support for the development and strengthening of manufacturing capacities to improve access to essential medicines and health technologies in the Region;
• Provide technical support for the development and implementation of tools for mapping the production capacity for selected medical devices and assistive products in the region; identify and analyze experiences related to local production to identify bottlenecks, assess their impact and derive lessons for future initiatives;
• Support the implementation of sub-regional hubs for quality control of personal protective equipment (PPE) produced in Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Colombia and El Salvador;
• Provide technical support to Member States for specific queries related to increasing capacities for the local development and production of medical devices and assistive technologies;
• Provide technical support on strategies to increase access to medical devices and to strengthen health technology management in the region;
• Support the identification of priority medical devices with access and innovation or local manufacturing gaps, in coordination with other areas of the organization;
• Support the development of lists of priority medical devices according to the levels of care;
• Participate in meetings with internal and/or external stakeholders, including national and regional meetings with PAHO Member states, to provide technical recommendations related to local development and production of medical devices and assistive technologies;
• Participate in the implementation and development of the technical activities of the IMT/RP and collaborate with the implementation of related inter-programmatic technical activities with other units and departments as defined in the Biennial Work Plan (BWP);
• Support the development of corporate work plans, progress reports, budget monitoring, outcomes evaluation, and communication;
• Provide support for the organization of technical meetings, webinars, and other related activities;
• Liaise with technical counterparts in WHO and WHO’s Regional Offices to share experiences regarding manufacturing value chains of medical devices;
• Perform any other related duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Essential:

• A bachelor’s degree in a health science, biomedical engineering or any other area related to the functions of the post from a recognized 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.  PAHO, considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in one of the following databases:
• World Higher Education Database (WHED), 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/
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation http://www.chea.org/search/default.asp
• College Navigator, found on the website of the National Centre for Educational Statistics, https://nces.ed.gov/ college navigator to support the validation process.
• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to PAHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and e-Manual.

Experience:

Essential:

• Five years of combined national and international experience in programs or activities related to health technologies, medical devices management, regulatory systems, quality management systems, including experience on quality assurance of medical devices, including in-vitro diagnostics

Source:  https://careers.who.int/careersection/ex/jobdetail.ftl?job=2404003