WHE External Emergency Roster - Toxic Chemicals and/or Pathogenic Biological Materials (CB) Technical Specialist at World Health Organization

Purpose of the WHE External Emergency Roster

• The purpose of the roster is to provide short-term support during acute events for a period of up to six (6) months which may be extended up to one year depending on operational needs. Placement on the roster entails a general commitment from the external candidate to deploy within 2 to 4 weeks from the time a request for availability is made.

Purpose of the Position

• The mission of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to help countries, and coordinate international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies. The team objective is to support the Incident Management team in Operation Support and logistics related to response operations. The scope of the work will be aligned with the WHO principles of work and strategic documents on the health system infrastructure and health care services provision, public health essential operations and public health emergency preparedness and response principles.
• The incumbent will work under the supervision of the Incident manager or the operation manager in close collaboration with the WHO CO technical officers within specific technical programme areas: health system, public health, environmental health etc., in consultation with the HQ and RO focal points and coordination within the Health Cluster with the international partners.
• The incumbent will provide technical guidance to the MOH by providing technical expertise and when required, onsite support to ensure applicability and appropriate implementation of the recommended guidance on public health and health care facilities. S/he will also be responsible for reporting, performance assessment and evaluation of the planned activities, ensuring proper communication with MoH, national counterparts and partners and as appropriate.

Organizational context

• The Technical specialist is intended to serve as a deployable capacity and capability for WHO to augment existing alert and response operations and procedures, and mainly to deploy alone for a first assessment or to lead a mission composed of members from the internal surge capacity. Therefore, the incumbent provides the competency and capacity for pre-clinical management of victims of chemical or biological deliberate events (CBDE).

Summary of Assigned Duties

• Develop a thorough understanding of the Chemical and Biological risks and provide country offices management with hazards identification and risk assessments of the likely impact of C and B events on staff and civilians in affected areas
• Liaise, if possible, with relevant international or national organizations to better characterize the scope and impact of the DE.
• Develop the ability of the member state to pursue the continued delivery of essential health services in preparedness for a potential CBDE in the area.
• Design targeted training curricula and deliver the training programs in order to improve the CB emergency response capabilities of the member states.
• Provide assessment, analyses and monitoring of CB contamination needs (actual and anticipated), including planning for the impact of new risks and ensuring that in older contexts continuing needs are addressed
• Develop and maintain Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) and other guidelines for related activities on CB operational response
• Set up and manage CB Base of Operations in case of deployment to a CB DE.
• Provide technical support and work closely with the MoH, WHO CC and other relevant institutions to coordinate and implement the WHO’s actions to increase designated region(s) health sector in preparedness and response capacity for chemical and radiological events.
• Support regional and country actions related to all-hazards preparedness, readiness and response through needs assessment, technical support, and project proposal development.
• Engage in assessments with designated region(s) health sector authorities for support in preparedness for chemical and biological emergencies.
• Advise on supplies and needs for chemical, biological and technological response, and on their appropriate distribution. Identify needs for local and international procurement.
• Support the development and co-facilitate trainings on all-hazards emergency preparedness and response with focus on chemical, biological and technological hazards planning in health facilities.
• Be the WHO focal point for staff protection matters related to chemical, biological and technological events in designated region(s) in conjunction with Staff Health and Well-being officer, for awareness trainings for WHO, UN agencies and NGOs.
• Maintain regular correspondence with national counterparts and the partners with regards to the health system strengthening and developing.
• Perform any other related incident-specific duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

Competencies

• Producing results
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Ensuring the effective use of resources
• Teamwork
• Excellent diplomatic skills when engaging with internal and external interlocutors
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to work within and lead a team with respect of cultural diversity
• A demonstrated ability to establish effective working relationships at all levels both internally and externally
• Very good managerial skills
• Strong representation, communication, and negotiation skills

Functional Knowledge and Skills

• Excellent knowledge of public health emergency preparedness and response, including ones related to chemical, biological and technological hazards.
• Demonstrated ability to provide sound methodological, technical advice and guidance in chemical, biological and technological hazards.
• Excellent analytical, planning, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work in complex national or international settings in support of international emergency health interventions to often insecure and geographically hostile environments.
• Demonstrated ability to work in multicultural and multidisciplinary settings and excellent inter-personal skills.
• Ability to monitor and communicate progress in terms of process and results.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and report-writing skills.
• Innovative, creative, and proactive with an analytical and solution-focused approach for achieving mission objectives
• Ability to exercise sound judgement and make independent decisions as appropriate
• Ability to meet deadlines and work collaboratively under pressure

Education
Essential

• A master's degree in the life sciences (e.g., microbiology, virology, chemistry), health physics, veterinary, pharmacology, toxicology, epidemiology), or in CBRN response/ Emergency management/ public health.
• Recognized training in CBRN reconnaissance, sampling, decontamination, or having a previous operational experience in a CBRN context (e.g., Ebola response, Chemical leak /chemical weapon use, Fukushima)

Desirable

• Specialization or training in the delivery of emergency health response / disaster management in public health.

Experience
Essential

• At least 7 years of relevant CBRN operational experience within recognized organizations such as OPCW, Civil defence/ paramedic, fire fighters, police, military, ICRC
• Relevant experience in emergency management in the field of public health and or experience in health operations, with proven experience in managing chemical events and health emergencies.
• Related experience in managing human and financial resources.
• Previous work experience in supporting member state capacity building in CBDE preparedness and response
• Willingness to deploy worldwide.
• Able to work in a personal protective equipment appropriate to the event

Desirable

• Experience in WHO, the UN System and/or NGOs in the area of health operation, outbreak response and planning of emergency interventions in the context of public health and/or humanitarian actions.
• Knowledge in biosecurity
• Qualification and licensing to pack and ship biological and medical samples according to IATA Category A – Infectious Substance 6.2 and Category B - Biological Substance

Languages
Essential: Excellent language skills in at least 2 WHO official languages.
Desirable: Other languages at national or regional levels desirable where applicable.
Other Skills (e.g. IT)

• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office applications.
• Knowledge of ERP/Oracle applications is an asset.