Public Health Officer (Position No. 328624; Stationed in Jerusalem) Grade: P5

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME : The health sector as a whole remains highly fragmented with a continued geographical and political split, with a multitude of actors, requiring clear and strong stewardship pf national authorities. As a leading agency in the health sector, WHO focuses on four main functions: Technical assistance to the Ministry of Health (MoH); Coordination of support to the health sector with the MoH, UN agencies, donors, NGOs and other stakeholders including humanitarian assistance where required; Monitoring and reporting on the health situation; Advocacy for access to health care.
Description of duties: Under the direct supervision of the WHO Head of Office, the incumbent is responsible for key public health programmes and activities within the overall country cooperation strategy, particularly those related to health policy and systems development, health information as well as coordination of the UN development agenda in the health sector in support of the Palestinian Authority. He/she also acts as deputy to the Head of Office and as the principal adviser on public health issues. He/she is based in Jerusalem and spends 40% of his/her time in Gaza and the West Bank, according to needs. The incumbent will perform the following duties: 1. Exercises overall responsibility for a number of WHO programs, including a European Commission (EC) funded project to support the East Jerusalem hospitals; 2. Ensures that substantive work programmes and programmed activities at the WHO office are carried out in a timely fashion and coordinated in liason with other relevant organizations of the UN system, donors and agencies, as appropriate; 3. Ensures that technical assistance provided by the WHO technical officers to the Ministry of Health is reliable in terms of its evidence based, planning and service delivery aspects; 4. Acts as Deputy of the Head of the Office; Institutional Capacity Building and Health Systems Strengthening 5. Manages a quality management programme and accreditation with a focus on patients' safety at the six East Jerusalem Hospitals and promotes the introduction of a national quality management programme for hospital care; 6. Manages and advises the MoH on health systems strengthening, e.g. health care financing and human resources management; Health Information Management 7. Responsible for strengthening the national health information system in order to support the development of evidence based policies and strategies; Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) 8. Responsible for WHO technical support to the national NCD prevention and control programme. Tasks include: a. Supporting the MoH in implementing the national policy, strategy and action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs, in line with the National Strategic Health Plan; b. Ensuring that priority interventions are addressed such as the national role out of the Package of Essential Non-Comunicable (PRN) Diseases Interventions for Primary Health Care (PHC) and the alignment of the national anti-smoking law with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC); c. Overseeing the implementation of complimentary activities such as the risk factor surveillance (STEP) and the Global School Health Survey (GHSS). Communicable Diseases and Influenza 9. Responsible for overseeing technical support to the implementation of the Global Plan of Action on Communicable Diseases. Tasks include advising the Palestinian MoH on policy issues and the development and implementation of strategic plans for the overall control of diseases, including the review of the national Pandemic Influenza preparedness plan; and facilitating recognition of Palestine as a state party within the International Health Regulations; Partnership and Representation 10. Represents WHO at interagency meetings and international, regional and national meetings; 11. Responsible for producing and monitoring health plan of the UN's Mid-Term Response Plan; 12. Facilitates dialogue and collaboration between national authorities, the donor community and other partners; 13. Responsible for establishing and maintaining WHO standards in regard to: Road Safety, Health Promotion, Eradication of Poliomyelitis and introductions of new vaccines, etc.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Essential: University degree in medicine and a master's degree in public health or related field.
Skills: Competencies: 1. Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences; 2. Producing results; 3. Fostering integration and team work; 4. Creating an empowering and motivating environment (managerial); 5. Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond (managerial). Functional Skills and Knowledge: - Demonstrated management and leadership ability - Proven ability to plan and organize work requiring and in-depth understanding of its strategic direction - Familiarity with health problems in the region - Excellent knowledge of the principles of public health - Excellent drafting ability - Ability to work in a team, to lead and gain assistance of others in a team endeavor Other skills (e.g. IT): - MS Word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software.
Experience: Essential: At least 10 years of work experience combined at national and international level in the field of public health in developing countries, complex emergencies or fragile states. Experience in health systems development and policy and strategy development.
Languages: Excellent knowledge of English. Knowledge of Arabic would be an asset.
Additional Information: - Applicants are kindly requested to pay attention to the screening questions as they will be used to screen out unqualified candidates. - Only qualified applicants with the relevant experience will be considered. - A written test/presentation and interviews will be used as a form of screening. The written test might be used as an eliminating tool. - Other similar positions at the same level may be filled from this vacancy notice (this could be the base for rosters). - Interviews will include competency-based questions. Please note that the post adjustment for this position is 59.9% of the annual salary figure(s). This percentage is to be considered as indicative since variations may occur each month either upwards or downwards due to currency exchange rate fluctuations or inflation.
Annual salary: (Net of tax) 80629.00 USD at single rate 86791.00 USD with primary dependants	Post Adjustment: % of the above figure(s). This percentage is to be considered as indicative since variations may occur each month either upwards or downwards due to currency exchange rate fluctuations or inflation.
A written test and interviews may be used as a form of screening
Online applications are strongly encouraged to enable WHO to store your profile in a permanent database. Please visit WHO's e-Recruitment website at: www.who.int/employment. The system provides instructions for online application procedures.
All applicants are encouraged to apply online as soon as possible after the vacancy has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the vacancy announcement.