Infectious Hazard Management (IHM) Officer at World Health Organization

Job description

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The mission of the WHE Programme is to help countries to establish emergency readiness and response capacity, and to coordinate national action to prevent,prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies.

Description Of Duties

In the context of the WHO Health Emergencies (WHE) Programme, the incumbent will manage the Infectious Hazard Management (IHM) activities at the country level and will support the prevention and control of high threatdiseases of pandemic & epidemic potential through coordinating the forecasting, characterization of diseases and/or infectious risks and theimplementation of evidence-based strategies to manage infectious hazards. The incumbent will be deployed to emergency operations when required. 1.Advise on the development, implementation and evaluation of the national strategies and workplans pertaining to the prevention and control of high threat diseases of pandemic & epidemic potential or infectious risks and the implementation of evidence-based strategies tomanage infectious hazards, interventions in high-risks groups and recommend measures for special attention, ensuring compliance with organization-wide IHM strategies.

• In close collaboration with the risk assessment, health information management and other teams in HQ and the respective RegionalOffice, monitor the early prevention, detection, verification, assessment and investigation of any risks of outbreaks and the dissemination of data related to the occurrence of outbreaks.
• Adapt IHM global policies, concepts, tools and strategies and manage their implementation at the country level, for the prevention and, where feasible, elimination of diseases/epidemic risks. Work with partners, to improve approaches and methods of controlling epidemics indifferent epidemiological situations.
• .Conduct the periodic reporting of infectious hazard activities, support the information systems and the monitoring facilitating integration with the national health information systems, as required.
• Contribute to the surveillance and risk analysis of infectious diseases; participate in the rapid response teams responsible forthe rapid investigation of alerts, field risk assessments and early detection and response.
• Ensure that risk communication messages are technically sound and socio-culturally appropriate to induce, engage and empower stakeholders in the prevention, mitigation and control of infectious hazards.7.Make recommendations and give guidance on relevant courses of actions to be taken in affected as well as non-affected areas inorder to prevent and/or control cause of excess morbidity and mortality
• In close collaboration with other technical teams, provide technical assistance on vaccination, enhanced surveillance, infection control (including personal protection), enhanced sanitation and hygiene, increased provision of water and/or nutrients, prepositioning of drugs andmedical supplies, vector control etc.
• Request the activation of technical expert networks at global or regional level to characterize the pathogen and the disease in case of unknown infection. 10. Represent the Country Office at official meetings as needed.
• .Perform any other related duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

Required Qualifications

Education
Essential: Firstuniversity degreein medicine, public health or health related field from an accredited/recognized institute.
Desirable: Specialized training in epidemiology. Specialized training in infectious diseases.Advanced university degree in medicine, public health or health related field from an accredited/recognized institute.

Experience

Essential: At least5 years of national professional experience in planning, developing and implementing the control and preventionof infectious diseases programme including outbreak prevention and control,infectious hazard management and/or dangerous pathogens. Relevant experiencewith the inter-agency mechanisms used to coordinate international preparednessfor and response to health emergencies.

Desirable:

Relevant work experience in WHO, other UNagencies; experience working in relevant non-governmental or humanitarianorganizations. Experience in developing countries.

Skills

• Demonstrated knowledge of infectious diseases, particularly in those areas critical for promoting a public health perspectiveand approach, such as infectious disease epidemiology, prevention or control,clinical management and significant practical application of this knowledge inan international context.
• Proven ability to coordinate and manage projects, build partnerships with multiple partners in the context of health emergencies.
• Sound tactical thinking with ability to formulate clear comprehensive strategies and plans.
• Demonstrated organizational skills with ability tomulti-task and produce results under pressure

WHO Competencies

• Teamwork
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Communication
• Communication
  Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable

REMUNERATION

Remuneration comprises an annual base salary starting at KES 6,418,012 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable) and 30 days of annual leave.

Additional Information

This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level

Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

A written test may be used as a form of screening.

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.