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Job Title:   Emergency Technical Officer/Epidemiologist  

Organisation: United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO)

Duty Station:  Kampala, Kasese, Arua, Hoima, Soroti, Uganda

About WHO:

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations (UN) system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.

Job Summary:  In the context of the Health Emergencies Incident Management System (IMS), at the country level, the incumbent will provide technical expertise to the team members, national authorities, related health and non-health partners in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of surveillance programs and activities throughout the full cycle of the incident, in line with WHO’s related policies and strategies.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Incident Manager, and under the overall guidance of Incident Manager and Head of the WHO country office, and in close collaboration with the technical leads in the respective WCO Uganda, the incumbent will:

• Provide technical support and assist in the development of tailored monitoring/surveillance systems for detection, verification and response to public health incidents; ensuring efficiency of data collection, correlation, analysis, interpretation and timely reporting at health facility at the district levels.
• Collate and verify data on reported outbreaks or rumors received from multiple sources, conduct retrospective analysis of reported incidents: determine trends, distribution patterns, and efficiency of the verification mechanism.
• Work with local surveillance teams to improved data quality and use of data for monitoring of trends, ALERT and ACTION thresholds (triggers), as well as methodologies for performing Data Quality Audit (DQA) at district and health facility level.
• Provide technical assistance for the establishment and functionality of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) and designing a response system for potential hazards such as infectious diseases, zoonotic events, food safety events and chemical events at the district level as per the national guidance and standards.
• Contribute in building the core surveillance, alert and response district capacities in accordance with the requirement for IHR 2005; provide trainings for subnational incident management team and health facility level staff, support the team in the supervision and on-the-job training at health facility level.
• Support the development of early warning systems (including event based and indicator-based surveillance) for epidemic and pandemic-prone diseases for early detection and response to public health incidents; conduct field investigation. Provide technical support for vulnerability assessment, risk mapping and development of preparedness/contingency plan at district level.
• Maintain a local incident management system database of all reported outbreaks and public health incidents, at the district level, and document all steps taken in the verification and response process.
• Facilitate the district surveillance monthly review meetings including the tracking of the surveillance performance indicators. In cooperation with the team, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the planned surveillance activities, as well as alert and response capacities for incidents detection, verification and response in compliance with IHR 2005.
• Prepare and disseminate disease outbreak news, technical documents, updates and assessments to key decision-makers in the organizational hierarchy and to the national health authorities, as required using standard tools and templates
• Perform any other incident-specific related duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

Results/expected outputs:

• The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Program (The Program) is to help countries, and to coordinate international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies;
• The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counterparts, including Implementing Partners (IPs);
• Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment;
• A final statement of achievements towards the assignment, such as reporting on the progress/achievement of project activities, activities participated in and capacities developed.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The applicant for the United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Technical Officer/Epidemiologist must hold a first university degree in epidemiology, statistics, database management or public health from an accredited/recognized institute.
• An advanced university degree in health-related field or quantitative epidemiology, specialized training in communicable diseases is desirable
• At least five years related experience, at the national and international levels, in implementation of public health surveillance, outbreak investigation and response.
• Previous experience in implementation of Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) is a requirement.
• Experience in the areas in developing countries is desired
• Previous experience working in collaboration with multiple actors in public health surveillance is desirable.
• Prior humanitarian working experience at field level with WHO/UN, health cluster partners, recognized humanitarian organization or with an international nongovernmental organization with expertise in disaster and outbreak response.
• 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.
• Proven ability to multitask across various planning and implementation processes within a highly demanding environment
• 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 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.
• Language skills: Fluency in English language; Working knowledge of one of the official UN languages.

Competencies and values:

• Building and promoting partnerships across the Organization and beyond: develops and strengthens internal and external partnerships that can provide information, assistance and support to the Organization. Identifies and uses synergies across the Organization and with external partners.
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences: demonstrate ability to work constructively with people with different backgrounds and orientations. Respects differences and ensures that all can contribute.
• Ensuring the effective use of resources identifies priorities in accordance with the Organization’s strategic directions. Develops and implements action plans, organizes the necessary resources and monitors outcomes.
• Teamwork: develops and promotes effective relationships with colleagues and team members. Deals constructively with conflicts.
• Communication: expresses oneself clearly in conversation and interaction with others; actively listens. Produces effective written communications. Ensures that information is shared.

How to Apply:

All applicants who wish to join the United Nations should apply online at the link below .

Click Here

Deadline: 1^st August 2022

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