Unit Head (Networks And Collaboration)

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The mission of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to build the capacity of Member States to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations. The Health Emergency Intelligence and Surveillance Systems division (WSE) is responsible for building a system of collaborative intelligence to enable better decisions to avert and manage public health threats and risks. Its goal is to enable, strengthen and support countries, regional and global actors in averting and managing public health threats and risks through collaborative problem solving and decision-making for short-term action and long-term policies, informed by better data and analytics. The WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence is a new office of WHO, located in Berlin. It works with partners to support the generation of relevant public health information to provide timely actionable insights and improve decision making to prepare for, avert and respond to public health threats. It also aims to reduce fragmentation and inefficiency by creating an ecosystem that promotes collaboration across multiple professional disciplines, sectors, and initiatives; and empower decision makers, public health professionals, and civil society to make informed public health decisions.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

• Provides technical leadership, coordination and managerial support within the Department/Programme, in the Unit of Networks and Collaboration ensuring that activities in this area are carried out efficiently and effectively.
• Develops and proposes technical health policies and strategies for implementation through collaboration with Headquarters, Regional and Country Offices and provides advice in developing further the area of Networks and Collaboration for strengthening and improving technical capacity of target clienteles.
• Oversees a unit of staff specialized in various domains and facilitates the strong teamwork.
• Manages the programme area in delivering its objectives through efficient management of staff and financial resources as well as effective work planning to optimize the programme's deliverables in line with the mandate of the Organization.
• Leads and conducts research on best practices in implementing programmes and activities and dissemination of information for capacity building in the respective area of work.
• Manages the monitoring, evaluation and reporting of key performance indicators and reporting requirements and mechanisms to optimize performance of programme deliverables.
• Serves as the technical reference among the peer community, UN Agencies, and other stakeholders at the technical levels in the respective area of expertise.
• Liaises with and utilizes partnerships in other UN Agencies, Donor, or research institutions in Networks and Collaboration to position the area of work and implementation into global and/or national policies.
• Represents the programme at various meetings to advocate for Networks and Collaboration in collaborative surveillance.
• Performs all other related duties as assigned.

Specific duties:

• Develops and manages an external engagement framework for WSE, to facilitate an efficient and predictable approach to its collaborations.
• Provides guidance for the development of Networks and Collaborations across the division.
• Identifies and develops a set of diverse partnerships with Member States, External Partners, and UN Agencies in support of WSE's objectives, and in particular to enable the implementation of the Collaborative Surveillance concept, in the context of HEPR (https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/strengthening-the-global-architecture-for-health-emergency-prevention--preparedness--response-and-resilience).
• Advocates for the financing of Collaborative Surveillance activities, in the context of HEPR, in collaboration with WHO HQ's External Relations Division, WHE's Strategic Planning and Partnerships department.
• Facilitates the engagement of the WHO Hub with German stakeholders, in close collaboration with WHO HQ's External Relations Division.
• Contributes to raising WSE and the WHO Hub's visibility and impact in line with its strategic goals and objectives.
• Provides strategic guidance to the Director, Collaborative Intelligence and WSE senior management teams to identify funding, technical and other support from partner organizations.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: An advanced university degree (Masters level or above) in public health, international policy, international relations, development studies, management or economics related to the functions of the position.
Desirable: A PhD in one of the above-mentioned fields.

Experience

Essential: A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in the management of Networks and Collaboration, including experience providing senior level advice and guidance to Senior Management/Decision makers, managing human and financial resources, as well as experience in the area of developing and establishing policies and strategies. Demonstrated experience at the international level.
Desirable:

Skills

• Concrete skills in the planning and coordination of multidisciplinary public health programmes, which may include the implementation of public health/disease control programmes.
• Strong skills in the area of developing and establishing polices and strategies.
• Excellent skills and ability in managing diverse teams and financial resources.
• Demonstrated skills in mobilizing resources.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills.
• Proven leadership skills in the design, development and management of multistakeholder partnerships.
• Ability to engage and communicate effectively and diplomatically with external partners including Ministries of Health, Donor institutions, Civil Society, and other stakeholders.
• Commitment to collaborate effectively with other key partners in the Health Subject area.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
Moving forward in a changing environment
Creating an empowering and motivating environment

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English.
Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of another UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish).

REMUNERATION

WHO salaries for staff in the Professional category are calculated in US dollars. The remuneration for the above position comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 92,731 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable), a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 3725 per month for the duty station indicated above. Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.

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.

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

• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.

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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

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