Date of last update: 01/07/2021 2021-07-01
WHO began when our Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948 – a date we now celebrate every year as World Health Day. We are now more than 7000 people from more than 150 countries working in 150 country offices, in 6 regional offices and at our headquarters in Geneva.
Our primary role is to direct and coordinate international health within the United Nations system and our main areas of work are health systems; health through the life-course; noncommunicable and communicable diseases; preparedness, surveillance and response; and corporate services.
We support countries as they coordinate the efforts of governments and partners – including bi- and multilaterals, funds and foundations, civil society organizations and the private sector.
Working together, we attain health objectives by supporting national health policies and strategies.
WHO works worldwide to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable.
Our goal is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and well-being.
Please note that not all types of contracts and advertisements are listed in cinfoPoste. Find all of them, including consultancies as well as specific programmes here. For UNV positions with WHO please refer to the UNV page on cinfoPoste or here.
Find in-depth information on careers with WHO and related cinfo's support on cinfo.ch: Visit the organisation's profile
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME
The mission of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to build the capacities of Member States to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations. The Programme supports countries and coordinates international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies. The objectives of the Country Readiness Strengthening Department include the development and strengthening of core national capacities necessary to mitigate and respond to emergency risks and vulnerabilities. The Department prioritizes support to the most vulnerable and low capacity countries. The Public Health Laboratory Strengthening (PHL) Unit develops global strategies, mechanisms, guidance documents, manuals, and learning programmes aiming at strengthening public health laboratory policies, governance and regulations, infrastructure, workforce, networking, quality, safety, and diagnostic capacity for epidemic-prone diseases. The unit provides leadership and coordination across partners and regional offices to propose interventions aiming at ensuring that public health laboratory systems are ready to operate in a safe, secure, timely and reliable manner for the detection of, and response to disease outbreaks and other emergencies.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES
Within the framework of the delegated authority, the incumbent is assigned all or part of the following responsibilities:
1.Manage and implement activities related to the strengthening of public health laboratory systems for alert and response, through:
i) Organization and participation in meetings and conferences to share and disseminate best practices, guidance and tools produced by the Unit in order to promote their adaptation and implementation at global, regional or country-level.
ii) Development, revision and dissemination of guidelines, training materials and new tools, particularly in the field of bacteriology and virology, public health laboratory networks organization and governance, laboratory quality and safety, workforce development.
iii) Provision of technical expertise for their further implementation at regional and country levels which will ensure Member States to improve their public health laboratory capacity.
2. Design and perform/participate in laboratory evaluations, trainings, or workshops in support to public health laboratory capacity strengthening activities.
3. Develop projects proposals and technical reports to support the technical duties mentioned above and monitor projects' technical and financial implementation.
4. Promote multi-disciplinary and cross-cutting approaches and activities to facilitate full participation of internal stakeholders within and outside WHO/WHE and of key external partners.
5. Contribute to the laboratory component of public health events alert and response mechanisms.
6. Perform other related responsibilities, including replacing and/or backstopping.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education
Essential:
Advanced level university degree in medicine, pharmacy or related sciences.
Desirable:
Advanced training in public health or epidemiology and control of communicable diseases.
Experience
Essential:
At least seven years of experience in clinical, public health or research microbiology laboratories of which 3 years of international exposure, including at least 1 year of experience in resource-limited countries.
Desirable:
Experience of work in an international organization.
Skills
Excellent knowledge in clinical or public health microbiology.
Knowledge of national public health laboratory systems and networks, especially in developing countries.
Knowledge of WHO mandate, policies and processes.
Ability to assess laboratory capacity and to find solutions to fill gaps.
Planning and analytical skills, with the ability to foster consensus and team spirit.
Interpersonal and diplomatic skills.
Strong commitment to international health.
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.
Use of Language Skills
Essential:
Expert knowledge of English.
Desirable:
Intermediate knowledge of French.
Intermediate knowledge of other WHO language.
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 74,913 (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 3203 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 is how cinfo can support you in the application process for this specific position:
Interested in a career with multilateral institutions? Read more:
Working with the United Nations
Working with International Financial Institutions
For Swiss nationals
________________________________________________________________________
Type of contract: Staff (Permanent and Fixed Term)
Macro-area: Western and Central Europe without Switzerland
Level of experience: Senior Professional, more than 5 years
Area of work Definition: Health and Nutrition
Type of organisation: Multilateral Organisations