WHE Global Emergency Roster - OSL Lead - Logistics & Operations Support (OSL) at World Health Organization

Purpose of the position

• In line with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) mandate and in the context of the deployment of qualified emergency personnel to support response teams during health emergencies, the purpose of this vacancy announcement is to identify suitable candidates for the WHO emergency Operations Support and Logistics (OSL) roster.
• The OSL Lead coordinates and manages any emergency operations support and logistics work areas or all, for emergency field Operations (OPS), emergency supply management, and technical health logistics, for emergency preparedness, response and recovery activities.
• As a member of the WHO OSL roster, the incumbent will be deployed to contribute to emergency operations when required in a position, at a rank, and for the roles compatible with her/his expertise and experience. 

Objectives of the Programme and of the immediate Strategic Objective

• The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme is to strengthen emergency technical capacities of countries, and to act as a backstop to coordinate international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies.

Organizational context:

• Under the supervision of the Incident Manager, and guidance by the Head of WHO Country Office, working closely with relevant counterparts including WHO, partners, and national personnel, the incumbent is responsible for the provision of support to WHO emergency and partners’ team on the ground and to the Ministry of Health of the host country.
• Activities involve regular contact and information sharing with relevant WHO responders as well as with a broad range of partners and other actors of the Ministry of Health (MOH), to provide emergency technical support and to contribute to the development and implementation of logistics plans of action pertaining to health emergencies priority actions agreed upon with the emergency response leadership, partners, and recipients.

Organizational context 

The incumbent will report to the Incident Manager and Head of WHO Country office, under the overall guidance of the OSL HQ and/or of the respective Regional Office Operations Leads. S/he will act as the field Operations Support and Logistics Lead and has front-line responsibility for supervising and coordinating any or all the following activities:

• The operational setup of adequate working, moving and living facilities means and installations to support WHO (and partners when required) field emergencies activities
• The establishment of an efficient end to end emergency supply chain for the provision and delivery of emergency goods and services required to support WHO (and when required partner’s) activities in adequate quantity, quality and in a timely manner
• The provision of technical health logistics expertise, guidance and when required hands on support to the WHO health activities during managing/supporting health facilities
• The guidance and support and eventually of all WHO health logistics partners to ensure coordinated global logistics capacities

Successful completion of assignment requires establishment of a solid partnership with other UN actors and NGO’s contributing to the emergency response, together with ongoing contacts with counterparts at HQ, Global Service Center (GSC), Regional and Country Offices to exchange information, obtain services and follow-up on supplies delivery, as well as with technical staff engaged in field operations to provide support and services.  The work also involves ongoing contact and negotiations with officials from local authorities related to operations support and logistics management.

Summary of Assigned Duties:

• During deployment, the duty station may change, and duties may be modified, based upon the needs of the Programme.

Strategy & management

• Actively participate in the overall management of the WHO emergency response through providing the incident manager with an OSL strategy to ensure the effective integration of logistics operations into WHO's and the Health Cluster’s overall incident management system. Plan an end to end, timely and efficient provision of quality and adequate equipment and consumables to support emergency response operations, aiming to reduce the consequences of crises on health systems and populations.
• Establish partnerships, operational synergies, and coordination of the logistics response, at national level, to ensure an effective management of an outbreak and/or health emergency incident, ensuring close engagement with the national authorities and partners in both the Health and Logistics Cluster (or similar coordination structures).  
• Lead and manage the OSL field incident management team, ensuring compliance of the services provided with the OSL procedures and the WHO/OSL quality standards. 

Supply chains management

In compliance with WHO rules and regulations, based on a comprehensive forecast of the supply needs and whenever possible with the support of the UN partners present (WFP and logistics cluster):

• Plan and oversee the effective procurement, transportation, delivery and storage of national and international operational support and programme supplies, for WHO's incident management operations in the field.
• Liaise with responsible officials for the timely and efficient customs clearance, reception of international supplies; adapt existing or develop, and implement inventory/stock control management mechanisms; develop and apply monitoring tools and reporting systems.
• Supervise the maintenance of the required stockpiles of essential incident management equipment, e.g., personal deployment material, radios, satellite telephones, IT equipment, etc.
• When required, support the national authorities in leading and coordinating the national distribution plan of essential items to the health facilities network.

Operation’s support

• In close collaboration with the WHO Administrative Officer, coordinate the establishment of the required field offices and telecommunication network capacity in compliance with WHO rules and procedures. 
• Ensure adequate staff transportation means and organizational set up. In compliance with WHO standards, supervise the fleet management procedures including planning, maintenance, monitoring and reporting.
• In close cooperation with the Field Security Officer, ensure that appropriate and safe living conditions are provided to WHO deployed staff and responders.

Health logistics

• Manage a robust organizational model and adequate means to support WHO mobile/ambulatory health activities.
• Oversee that health facilities supported by the WHO are adequately set up and equipped up to standard to sustain the medical activities conducted.
• Provide adequate support to the laboratories (supported by WHO) including adequate supply of renewable items and safe transportation of sample when required.
• Ensure, for all health activities supported by the WHO, that water, sanitation and infection control required activities are in place and up to standards. 

Security support

• Cooperate with the Field Security Officer in ensuring the well-being, security and safety of the WHO team members and responders providing the organization with the required means and setup to ensure applicability of the WHO site event risk reduction policy.

Assessment and monitoring

• Proactively participate in regular field assessments to monitor supply management, stock movements and storage conditions.
• Conduct field visits to assess locations/buildings to be selected for establishment of WHO field offices in compliance with MOSS rules and procedures. 

Other

• Perform any other related incident-specific duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

Competencies

• Communication
• Create an empowering work environment
• Teamwork
• Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences 
• Produce results
• Ensuring the effective use of resources

Functional Knowledge and Skills

• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to coordinate activities and multitask
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to negotiate with and convince officials with tact and diplomacy
• Ability to write in a clear and concise manner, and to present factual information
• Knowledge or understanding of WHO mandate and goals in the emergency incident management context

Education Qualifications

Essential
P4 and P5: Master’s degree in public or business administration, logistics management or engineering from an accredited/recognized institute. 

Desirable

• Professional certification/qualification in areas such as transport, distribution and supply chain management
• Certification or training in information management and application to monitoring and reporting
• Good Clinical Practice certificate (GCP)

Experience

Essential
P4 level: At least seven years – P5 level At least 10 years of extensive experience, at both national and international levels, managing emergency logistics operations and supply operations (preferably in the domain of health logistics), with a significant portion being dedicated to providing field support for emergency humanitarian operations.

Desirable

• Related working experience with WHO, UN agencies, Health Clusters partners, recognized humanitarian organizations or with an international nongovernmental organization.
• Experience and knowledge of joint strategic and operational planning for emergency and/or humanitarian response with multiple actors, including representatives of national Ministry of Health and Civil Society.
• Experience with UN risk management framework, standards and actors to achieve Occupational Health and Safety of Personnel operating in high-risk environments.
• Experience with WHO enterprise resource planning (ERP) processes and application.

Use of Language Skills

• Excellent knowledge of English and/or French (depending on the country of assignment)
• Working knowledge of another WHO official language (Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Chinese) would be an asset
• Working knowledge of Hindi, Portuguese, or Swahili also an asset

Other Skills

• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office applications
• Demonstrated computer skills with emphasis on database management tools
• Demonstrated skills in using dashboarding tools and applications
• Demonstrated skills for the development of communication products