Public Health Officer (health promotion and determinants) at World Health Organization: (Deadline 30 April 2024)

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The WHO Country Office is working with the government and relevant stakeholders as part of the Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) to actively support the development, implementation and evaluation of interventions to reduce the burden of diseases, to address health determinants, to promote health across sectors through partnerships, advocacy, intersectoral action, strengthen public health and enhance policy coherence to support health and well-being of the population. Health promotion and social determinants of health is a core function of WHO AFRO to implement regional strategies in prevention and control of priority burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases, support health system strengthening, and public health emergencies, as well as to implement the Global Plan of Action to Promote Healthier Populations.Health promotion and social determinants of health is a cross-cutting program that supports all WHO programs. The National Professional Officer (NPO), Health promotion and Social Determinants of health will coordinate with other programmes to implement WHO guidelines and relevant documents to strengthen national strategies to promote health and well-being, and strategically address the determinants of health while ensuring the interventions are reaching the needed population particularly the hard-to-reach groups. The incumbent will coordinate with government, partner agencies, and stakeholder to generate strategic evidence and utilize the evidence for policy advocacy, designing appropriate interventions for health promotion, prevention, and protection, and addressing its determinants.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The incumbent will perform all, or part of the following, and other related responsibilities as required by the needs of the office. Strengthen institutional capacity to develop Health Promotion policies, strategies and implement appropriate programmes. Maintain partnerships and networks to strengthen multidisciplinary and multisectoral collaboration to combat communicable and noncommunicable diseases and their risk factors including nutrition and promote healthier life styles. Increase the capacity of National institutions to use Health Promotion (HP) strategies to address the broad determinants of health and assist communities gain control over, and improve their health through integrated action. Analyze and undertake research on the public health topics to support the country teams in the development and implementation of multisectoral national plans for the prevention and control of communicable and noncommuable diseases and their risk factors. Technically assist in the monitoring of work plans and budgets, including resources mobilized for the work programme and following up on the implementation of planned activities. Technically support the promotion of health in all policies, including for the development of healthy cities, other healthy settings and the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity. Analyze information on best practices in public health and health systems and report findings to responsible officer. Utilize understanding of national and subnational cultural norms to inform community outreach activities concerning the extension of health-care networks. Contribute to the drafting of public health reports and act as a focal point to public health topics in the area of work and strength media engagement Ensure collaboration, and work with international and national partners to improve surveillance, monitoring and evaluation of noncommunicable diseases and their risk factors. Technically assist the ministry of health and its partners in the development, implementation and evaluation of policies, strategies and action plans, in line with the Global Action Plans Contribute to the development and implementation of Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) in emergencies and public health events.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

Essential: A university degree (bachelor’s) in a relevant field (such as health, public health, social sciences, communication).Training in epidemiology or social epidemiology and/or good knowledge of theory and the practice of health promotion and the determinants of health
Desirable: Master’s in Communications, Health promotion or other related field.

EXPERIENCE

Essential: A minimum of two years of work experience relevant to the position (in public health and disease-control programme management, working with national/international organizations involved in health promotion, public health or communication).
Desirable: Experience in planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of major disease control programmes, and experience with the United Nations or international non-governmental organizations

SKILLS

Policies, strategies and guidelines in the field of public health, particularly in health promotion and the determinants of health and risk communication and community engagement.• The prevention of communicable disease outbreaks and health protection through community engagement and multisectoral action.• Good understanding of country office needs, priorities and policies,along with WHO’s policies, practices, guidelines and procedures in the related areas and ability to apply them in the country office setting.• Basic understanding of Risk Communication and Community Engagement(RCCE).• Excellent oral and written communication.• Ability to maintain relationships and network with national authorities and other stakeholders in relevant sectors.• Conducting research and analyzing results, identifying issues,formulating opinions, drawing conclusions and recommendations for strengthening health care systems.• Ability to draft policies and objectives of assigned programme and activities.

WHO COMPETENCIES

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

USE OF LANGUAGE SKILLS

Essential: Expert knowledge of English.
Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of French.

REMUNERATION

Remuneration comprises an annual base salary starting at RWF 34,447,000 (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 and/or an asynchronous video assessment 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.

• 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.

• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.

• 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.
• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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.

• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

• For information on WHO’s operations please visit: http://www.who.int.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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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