National Professional Officer

NPO (Health Emergency Operations & Logistics – HEOL), NO-B – (2205557)

Grade: NO-B
Contractual Arrangement: Fixed-term appointment
Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days): 2 Years
Closing Date: Jul 8, 2022, 3:44:00 AM
Primary Location: Nepal-Kathmandu
Organization: SE_NEP WR Office, Nepal
Schedule: Full-time

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that the deadline for receipt of applications indicated above reflects your personal device’s system settings.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME
The objective of the WHO Nepal Country Office is to implement the Country Cooperation Strategy by supporting the Government of Nepal in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of national health policies, strategies and plans and developing and managing WHO’s technical cooperation programmes at the country level. The Country Office collaborates with the Government of Nepal and relevant stakeholders in support of their efforts of achieving national health goals; of ensuring the attainment of universal health coverage and of contributing to global and regional public health action by providing needs-based technical assistance in national level policy formulation, setting norms and standards, improving knowledge dissemination and management, monitoring country health situation and building sustainable institutional capacity, to play a greater leadership role in different national level policy and technical forums. WHO provides guidance and technical support in organizing the humanitarian health response following multi-hazard emergencies and in revitalizing the capacity of the health sector to rebuild and recover from multi-hazard emergencies in appropriate and sustainable ways. In the inter-emergency period the objectives are to increase the capacity and resilience of the Nepal Health System to reduce risk, prevent and prepare for disasters, to mitigate adverse health consequences, through supporting the Emergency Risk Management interventions prioritized in the national plan for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030); and the health security interventions for enhancement of core capacities required to comply with the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 as prioritized in the National Action Plan on Health Security. WHO strives to integrate and harmonize the actions undertaken for enhanced ERM and Health Security with the interventions implemented to achieve the health-related sustainable development goals and health systems strengthening through appropriate capacity building and co-ordination mechanisms and partnerships.The WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) supports the MoHP to direct and co-ordinate the rapid provision of life-saving emergency health interventions at scale in the aftermath of multi-hazard emergencies and disasters and subsequently assists in the rapid recovery of the health system in collaboration with national and international partners. Thereupon it provides technical support to the MoHP and partners to enhance health sector emergency risk management through risk reduction or mitigation; preparedness and response readiness to build a health system that is resilient to multi-hazard disasters including due to public health emergencies.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES
Under the overall guidance of the WHO Representative and the direct supervision of the Team Lead /Medical Officer – WHE and close coordination with other members of the WHE team of WCO Nepal and WHO SEARO and in collaboration with other teams within WCO Nepal and relevant external stakeholders, the NPO-HEOL will perform the following to enhance Health Sector Emergency Risk Management and Health Security capacity in Nepal:

Risk Reduction, Country Preparedness and IHR:

1. Provide technical assistance and support capacity and capability building interventions aimed at Health Sector Emergency Risk Reduction, Preparedness & Response Readiness focused on critical risks and capacity gaps for operations and logistics prioritized based on WHO SEAR Benchmarks Assessment; State Party Annual Reports (SPAR) and Joint External Evaluation (Joint External Evaluation) of IHR; WHO Hospital Safety Index (HIS) assessments; and other relevant M&E frameworks.

2. Support the design and execution of effective advocacy, communication and programing strategies to facilitate mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reduction and Health Systems Resilience interventions (as outlined in the national plan for the implementation of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction), and Health Security enhancement interventions (as outlined in the National Action Plan on Health Security – NAPHS) in all Health Systems Development and Strengthening initiatives including the emergency components of the basic health services package and the emergency health services package of the MoHP, including identification of strategic sites for stockpiling emergency health logistics and medical supplies in close coordination with the Multi sectoral National Supply Chain Management Working Group.

3. Support in the development of an inventory and radiation risk mapping of radioactive sources for the potential risk via multisectoral approach to strengthen the surveillance, alert and response for Chemical and Radiation emergencies.

Emergency Management and Operations:

4. Enable WHO Country Office for Nepal with optimum preparedness and response readiness to all hazard emergencies through development/review/ regular update Emergency logistic and supply chain management system/mechanism at national intermediate and local level to adequately handle the health emergencies at all the levels

5. Lead the maintenance of emergency warehouses in adherence to all safety requirements as per the organization’s policy, bringing any issue affecting the safety and security of staff and the warehouses to the immediate attention of the supervisors for remedial action including forecasting and ordering of resources based on risk assessment during peace times and establish and maintain the communication and message center for communication hardware and other equipment for quick response with logistic management plans and SOPs.

6. Support technical focal points of WHE Programme, Ministry of Health and Population and other UN agencies through mobilization of emergency health logistics and medical supplies to effectively respond to public health emergencies.

Infectious Hazards Management and Anti-Microbial Resistance Containment:

7. Facilitate the operations and logistics support for effective implementation of the National Action Plan on Anti-Microbial Resistance (NAP-AMR) especially focusing on a well performing National AMR Surveillance System and for effective implementation of scalable one-health based operations projects such as ESBL+ E.coli surveillance and operations research capacity building initiatives such as SORT-IT AMR; and the necessary operations and logistics support for effective development and phased implementation of a national strategy for comprehensive information, communication and education on AMR for all critical stakeholders.

8. Support in strengthening the sustainable referral and transport system of specimen organized for diagnostics and/or confirmation of the most priority diseases including all levels (subnational, national and international level).

Emergency Health Information Management:

9. Collaborate with the Epidemiologist, Technical Officer (Health Information Management) and the National Professional Officer (Health Information Management – Emergency) to provide operations and logistics support for the ready availability of relevant and up-to-date information for comprehensive analysis of risk profiles in terms of vulnerabilities and coping capacities to all types of hazards (natural: hydro-meteorological, geological & biological; and human-induced: technological & societal) – at the national and subnational levels.

10. Facilitate the required procurement and installation of required IT equipment and accessories in support of surge capacity in routine health information management and disease surveillance systems for emergencies and promote optimal synergy between legacy/routine information management and surveillance mechanisms and emergency information management and surveillance mechanisms avoiding duplication and overriding of legacy/routine systems.

11. Assist the Team Lead – WHE in developing, testing and support scaling up of proven and cost-effective – monitoring & evaluation, learning and knowledge management, and documentation & knowledge diffusion mechanisms to improve the performance of and adapt current operations and logistics component of the health sector ERM and Health Security enhancement strategies and interventions and design new ones as needed.

12. Assist the Team Lead – WHE and other mandated managerial colleagues to facilitate office-wide operations and logistics support to ensure the resilience, preparedness and response readiness of the WCO to internal and external emergencies and disasters in line with WHO Contingency & Business Continuity Planning guidelines and the WHO Emergency Risk Management & Response Frameworks.

13. Perform any additional duties and discharge any additional responsibilities assigned by the Team Lead – WHE or the WHO Representative as needed including deployment to other WCOs for emergency surge response when requested by WHE-RO or HQ.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education
Essential: University degree from a recognized university in Administration, Management, Social Sciences or related fields.
Desirable: Advanced university degree in Health Sciences or Social Sciences will be an added advantage. Recognized/validated Logistics Training courses, especially in stockpile management, procurement and supply chain will be an advantage.

Experience
Essential: At least 2 years of relevant experience in the area of delivery of health logistics support to emergency operations with focus on field operations or project management for public health emergency response.
Desirable: At least 3 years of experience in governmental or intergovernmental organizations, UN or NGOs. Deployment experience at international level would be an advantage.

Skills

• In-depth knowledge of the operationsand logistics aspect of key health security risks; situation, needs andpriorities in all-hazards public health emergency preparedness, response readiness and operational mechanisms in federated Nepal.
• Demonstrated operational planning and organizational skills complemented by a thorough understanding of emergency response mechanisms with track record in providing field logistics and operational support for outbreak/response in the context of public health emergencies.
• Strong programme management, organization and coordination skills.
• Ability to generate options, decide, prioritize and execute and multi-task under pressure.
• Excellent analytical skills, strategic thinking and good judgement.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, tact, discretion and diplomacy.
• Ability to effectively work with government, development partners/donors and collaborating agencies.
• High level of technical expertise and excellent overall attitude at work.
• Adapting to change effectively.

WHO Competencies

• Teamwork
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Communication
• Producing results
• Ensuring the effective use of resources

Use of Language Skills
Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Expert knowledge of Nepalese.

REMUNERATION
Remuneration comprises an annual base salary starting at NPR 2,982,903 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable) and 30 days of annual leave.

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 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.
• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.
• For information on WHO’s operations please visit: http://www.who.int.
• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.
• WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.
• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• This is a National Professional Officer position. Therefore, only applications from nationals of the country where the duty station is located will be accepted. Applicants who are not nationals of this country will not be considered.

Tagged as: NGO INGO, World Health Organization