Public Health Specialist (Disease Control)

Key duties:

The incumbent will perform all or part of the following, and other related responsibilities as required by the needs of the office:

• Work under the direct supervision of the respective (Sr) public health officer and/or the head of the WHO country office.
• Establish innovative action plans for high-risk groups and environments, and the inclusion of disease prevention and control interventions across the life course and continuum of care.
• Advise on and ensure the adoption of norms, standards, guidelines and tools to support the implementation of disease control projects.
• Manage the operational aspects of related operational research, surveillance, epidemiology and health surveys.
• Guide or facilitate the implementation of projects for the control of the respective diseases, including the procurement of safe, efficacious, and affordable medicines and technologies. Guide the documenting and dissemination of best practices and partners’ experiences.
• Analyze and evaluate a diverse range of data and information related to communicable diseases and outbreaks; identify disease sources and provide recommendations and reports on the appropriate response to identified risks, and the implementation of preventative and control measures.
• Monitor the national burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases or factors, especially through health information systems and health research activities.
• Oversee the development or enhancement of existing information systems on communicable and noncommunicable diseases and the monitoring of progress towards universal health coverage.
• Act as a technical advisor to the public concerning communicable diseases in the country; and establish new community outreach activities concerning the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
• Advocate, build and strengthen partnerships and networks to enhance multi-sectoral collaboration and mobilize resources to address integrated, communicable and noncommunicable disease prevention and control.

Competencies:

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

Functional Knowledge and Skills:

• In-depth knowledge of transmissions, specialized methods of diagnosis, development and treatment of communicable diseases, including HIV infection and other communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
• Technical and programmatic knowledge of the prevention and control of a range of communicable and/or noncommunicable diseases.
• Expertise to strategically plan, coordinate, and support the implementation of health programme interventions.
• Working knowledge of district hospital care, Universal health coverage, in-service and pre-service training, essential noncommunicable disease drugs, primary health care delivery systems.
• In-depth knowledge of country situation in communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
• In-depth knowledge of international best practice in the related disease control areas, ideally of WHO’s policies, practices, guidelines and procedures, and ability to apply them in the country office setting.
• Excellent knowledge of health and safety regulations.
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills.
• Skills in developing and promoting collaborative multisectoral partnerships and mobilizing resources.
• Demonstrated ability to provide clear advice and guidance to multiple stakeholders and partners and to negotiate in the context of diverse views.
• Proficiency in computers and office software packages, handling of web-based management systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and Cloud
  Management Enterprise System such as Workday.
• Ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as helping others to do the same.

Educational Qualifications:

• Essential: An advanced university degree (master’s level) in a relevant field (such as medicine, public health, epidemiology or statistics).
• Desirable: PhD in public health or related medical field. Training or specialization in communicable diseases and noncommunicable diseases.

Experience:

• Essential: A minimum of seven years of work experience relevant to the position (in communicable and noncommunicable diseases, focusing on disease investigation, surveillance, and control, as well as developing strategies and action plans for implementing capacity building and disease prevention programmes), with some of it obtained in an international work environment. Demonstrated professional experience providing technical advice and services to national counterparts, ministries of health, and other partners on communicable disease related issues.