Back National Professional Officer (Public Health Surveillance)

P.N. 379018 

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The mission of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to help countries, and to coordinate international action, when needed, in order to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and other public health emergencies.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Working closely with the relevant national/provincial health authorities, the incumbent:

1. Coordinate health activities for enhancing surveillance and response for emerging diseases, diseases with epidemic potentials and other high threat pathogens at national/provincial level
2. Co-develop the guidelines, tools and indicators for effective disease surveillance at the national, subnational and community level.
3. Develop plan for enhancing surveillance for early detection of health threats from infectious diseases with epidemic and pandemic potentials.
4. Strengthen the capacities of surveillance teams for the effective and sustained surveillance of epidemic prone diseases through training courses on field investigation, detection, data management, and rapid response to epidemics and health outbreaks.
5. Promote the effective coordination for rapid assessment, surveillance and response activities for epidemic-prone diseases in consultation with Regional Office and HQ as well as local, regional and national health entities and other international health partners including UN agencies and NGOs.
6. Undertake regular field supervision visits to assess and evaluate the implementation of surveillance activities, identify gaps and recommend corrective actions based on key performance indicators;
7. Coordinate and manage emergency response operations for outbreaks and other public health crisis;
8. Collect required epidemiological descriptive data and other public health indicators in order to assess and monitor the quality and effectiveness of ongoing public health interventions for outbreak containment;
9. Analyse, systematize, and disseminate scientific and evidence-based technical information and knowledge; support the development of the WHO Situation Reports, other related regular and ad-hoc surveillance reports; and disseminate these reports to all concerned; and provide feedbacks on the prevailing situation to the supervisors on a regular basis;
10. Monitor the implementation of public health programmes for prevention and control of emerging and epidemic diseases;
11. Assess and periodically review health threats from epidemic diseases and periodically conduct public health risk analysis for health threats and develop a public health risk profile for epidemic and other potential health threats
12. Identify hot spots and other high risk geographic areas for transmission and circulation of high threat pathogens using a host of historical epidemiological surveillance data and also using innovative technology (GIS Mapping)
13. Identify training needs and prepare training materials for improving surveillance capacity and response.
14. Coordinate with the local health authority to ensure that quality disease surveillance and response is in place.
15. Perform any other relevant tasks as assigned by the supervisors.

    REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

    Education

    Essential: First level university degree in medicine and/or public health planning and administration, complemented by training in public health/epidemiology/health science.
    Desirable: Master's degree in public health or equivalent. Training on epidemiology and/or outbreak investigation will be asset.

    Experience

    Essential: At least 5 years of experience required in public health surveillance with emphasis on emergency response relief and/or the management of epidemic-prone diseases.
    Desirable: Experience in the areas of outbreak investigation and response for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, particularly in developing countries.

    Skills

    > Demonstrated knowledge, competency and professional skills on the public health aspects of infectious disease control, epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response with particular attention to application of an all-hazard approach in the context of the International Health Regulations (2005) and the use of event based and indicator-based surveillance, as well as descriptive epidemiology and principles of public health in communicable disease surveillance and response;

    > Managerial skills for the development, implementation, monitoring and analysis of public health programmes for infectious diseases within a highly demanding work environments;

    > Sound knowledge and skills in database management and statistical analysis, secondary data review, survey designing and implementation, monitoring and evaluation systems design or use, and public health information management

    📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔, 𝗜𝗢𝗠 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🌐

    ⚠️ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐖!

    > Strong professional oral and writing skills including the development of reports, oral presentations and technical guidance and advocacy documents.

    WHO Competencies

    Enhanced WHO Global Competency Model: 
    who-enhanced-competence.pdf

    Teamwork
    Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
    Communication
    Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
    Knowing and managing yourself

    Use of Language Skills

    Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Expert knowledge of Urdu.

    REMUNERATION

    Remuneration comprises an annual base salary starting at PKR 9,257,882 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable) and 30 days of annual leave.

    ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

16. This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level
17. Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
18. A written test and/or an asynchronous video assessment may be used as a form of screening.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. 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
25. 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.
26. 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.
27. WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
28. For information on WHO's operations please visit: http://www.who.int.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. 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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