Purpose of the PositionIn the context of the WHO Health Emergencies Incident Management System (IMS), at WHO Sudan the incumbent will provide leadership, technical support and guidance to the Ministry of Health and partners on strategic, organizational and operational aspects of a comprehensive Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) response and recovery activities to the public health effects of emergencies and disasters including disease outbreaks at the country level. S/he will manage IPC activities, provide technical guidance to ensure alignment with WHO IPC standard precautions and transmission-based precautions applicable to the current threat(s). The incumbent will provide monitoring and evaluation support for WHO IPC programme activities throughout the full cycle of incident management. Objectives of the Programme and of the immediate Strategic ObjectiveThe mission of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to help countries, and to coordinate international action, to prevent, prepare for, be operationally ready for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies. Organizational Context (Describe the individual role of incumbent within the team, focusing on work environment within and outside the organization)Supervised by the Incident Manager, and under the overall guidance of the Deputy WHO Country Representative and Head of the WHO Country office and working closely with counterparts at the respective regional office and HQ, the incumbent will act as the incident management's technical lead for IPC. S/he will manage the IPC component of the incident management system, assessment, support the revision and update of the IPC measures and practices, and provide technical guidance to the Ministry of Health (MOH) and partners. S/he will establish and maintain good collaboration with partners, provide supportive supervision and oversight of response activities for WHO deployed IPC specialist(s), liaise with other units/teams within the country office and across the organization as well as partners to facilitate the development of a detailed work plan and budget for WHO operations.The incumbent will be responsible for coordinating the implementation of the approved activities and to ensure alignment of purpose between headquarters and the regional office on matters related to IPC. S/he will also be responsible for reporting, performance assessment and evaluation of the planned activities, for monitoring the availability and flow of financial resources and ensure proper communication with partners and as appropriate. Summary of Assigned Duties (Describe what the incumbent has to do to achieve main objectives; include main achievements expected): 1) Revitalize the IPC working group or task force led by national or sub-national MoH authorities with the involvement of implementing partners. i. Ensure a consistent and evidence-based IPC strategy is adopted by all response personnel ii. Follow up with FMOH to ensure consistency of the biweekly IPC TWG meetings 2) Coordinate and/or perform healthcare facility and/or treatment unit assessments of IPC measures in the affected areas and advise on actions, systems, and associated material, infrastructure, and human resources needed to enable appropriate implementation of standard precautions and transmission-based precautions i. Continue coordination of data collection in close collaboration with FMOH and SMOHs. ii. Perform data cleaning and data analysis in close collaboration with information management colleagues, FMOH. iii. Contributed to writing a report for the national IPCAF assessment iv. Disseminate findings of the IPCAF/IPC RAT assessment through workshops and other forums together with FMOH and SMOHs and partners in order to reach different stakeholders of different categories. 3) Reinforce training efforts , revie training strategy and using available training materials, compliance assessments, and evaluations, and conduct IPC training and supportive supervision for staff and surge personnel at district hospitals and health facilities with priority to implementing standard precautions and transmission-based precautions applicable to the cholera and other infectious diseases i. Follow up with FMOH and SMOH on the cascade of training by the trainers ii. Conduct the supervision of training cascades in different states iii. Colead the training for MOH staff and WHO partners to build up local competences and ease the implementation the water, hygiene, sanitation and waste management standards for all health activities. 4) In coordination with national level IPC emergency response representative or national IPC focal point, develop and support implementation of infection prevention and control (IPC) standard operating procedures and an action plan contextual to the situation of the incident and known or anticipated infectious risks to health workers, patients, and visitors. i. Follow up with FMOH on the cascade of trainings on IPC checklist and scorecard ii. Follow-up on the implementation of the IPC checklist and scorecard with FMOH and partners iii. Resource mapping of supplies and PPEs for CTC's/CTU's in collaboration with partners and FMOH 5) Advise, and when required provide onsite support to the health partners on IPC, proactively co-design and coordinate the implementation of plans to build up or rehabilitate cholera CTCs and other infectious disease management facilities. 6) Represent IPC in different meetings and forums including; WHO 3-level call, IMS meetings, Cholera cell meeting, health cluster meeting, zonal hub meeting, etc 7) Contributed to various information products and resource mobilization efforts including evaluation or situation reports and donor proposals 8) Perform any other related incident-specific duties, as required by the functional supervisorCompetencies· Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences· Moving forward in a changing environment· Ensuring the effective use of resources· Teamwork· Communication Functional Knowledge and SkillsDemonstrated knowledge of WHO's core competencies for infection prevention and control professionals at senior level.Proven knowledge and skills in infection prevention and control during public health emergencies, with experience performing IPC risk assessments and outbreak investigations in health-care settings during acute and protracted emergencies.Familiarity with WHO Framework and toolkit for infection prevention and control in outbreak preparedness, readiness, and response and WHO minimum requirements and core components of infection prevention and control programmes at national and health care facility levels.Ability to perform, explain, train, and supervise practical infection prevention and control procedures relevant to standard and transmission-based precautions according to WHO standards (e.g. 5 moments for hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfection, medical device reprocessing, patient placement and bed flow, use of personal protective equipment).Strong organizational and communication skills including ability to negotiate with national and international authorities and partners.Demonstrated ability to work effectively with colleagues at national and international levels.Strong ability to execute and manage national health programme. Education QualificationsAdvanced University degree (Master's level or above) in nursing, medicine, microbiology, epidemiology, or public health from an accredited/recognized institute, with specialty training (certificate or diploma) in the area of IPC. Master's of Public Health or related field. ExperienceAt least seven years of related experience in the field of IPC, at the national and international levels, in managing programmes to improve quality and safety of health services. Some experience with outbreaks and health emergencies in developing countries. Experience working with multiple partners in implementing IPC measures in low resource settings.Experience and expertise performing infection prevention and control in the context of the disease/threat of the current incident is strongly desirable. Experience in WHO with an understanding of its mandate, goals and procedures an advantage, or experience in the UN system, health cluster partners or recognized humanitarian organizations.Experience with evaluation of national IPC programmes in developing countries. Language SkillsExcellent knowledge of English or French (depending on the country of assignment). Working knowledge of another WHO official language would be an asset. Other Skills (e.g. IT)Good computer skills in Microsoft Office, SPSS etc. Swiss citizenship or a 'C' residence permit for Switzerland is mandatory. MiscellaneousFor reasons of duty of care (increased risks due to other privileges and immunities) and to avoid conflicts of interest and potential bias, employees and their accompanying persons who hold dual or multiple citizenships shall, as a matter of principle, not be assigned to countries of which they are nationals. Duty stationPort Sudan, Sudan Starting date and durationAsap (or after mutual agreement) for 6 months Contract: SHA-contract P-Level / Salary scale: P4 / LK24 (tbc) Thank you for sending your application by email to Lotti Roth (lotti.roth@eda.admin.ch)
