Entry Level UN Jobs – Associate Public Health Officer – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Job Title: Associate Public Health Officer (Fresher UN Job Opportunities)
Organisation: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Duty Station: Uganda
About UNHCR:
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a UN agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. UNHCR was created in 1950 to address the refugee crisis that resulted from World War II. The 1951 Refugee Convention established the scope and legal framework of the agency’s work, which initially focused on Europeans uprooted by the war. Beginning in the late 1950s, displacement caused by other conflicts, from the Hungarian Uprising to the decolonization of Africa and Asia, broadened the scope of UNHCR’s operations. Commensurate with the 1967 Protocol to the Refugee Convention, which expanded the geographic and temporal scope of refugee assistance, UNHCR operated across the world, with the bulk of its activities in developing countries.
Job Summary: The Associate Public Health Officer is a member of a multidisciplinary team and will ensure that UNHCR’s public health programmes meet minimum UNHCR and global health standards in order to minimise avoidable morbidity and mortality among populations of concern (POC) and towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The incumbent provides strong and timely technical guidance to UNHCR senior management and partners including on the design and scope of UNHCR’s responses in health and nutrition, catalyses the engagement of other actors, supports resource mobilisation efforts including with the private sector and monitors the response. S/he has close contacts with internal and external stakeholders such as government counterparts, UN Agencies and embassies/donors. The Associate Public Health Officer should also ensure consultation with communities seeking the diverse views of men, women, girls and boys, adolescents, youth, older persons, LGBTI persons, persons with disabilities , including people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, in assessing needs, designing, implementing and monitoring responses in line with UNHCR’s policy on age, gender and diversity mainstreaming.
Public Health programmes include primary health care, secondary health care, community health, reproductive health (including HIV), nutrition, MHPSS and health information systems. In addition to public health staff, major operations may also have dedicated staff focusing on any of these components but public health professionals are expected to be very conversant with reproductive health programming and ensure that minimum standards are met. Depending on the size of the operation the incumbent may be expected to have major responsibilities for nutrition and MHPSS responses. The incumbent will work with the (Senior) Programme Officer (or other designated staff member) to support operational collaboration and joint programming with WFP on nutrition and food security.
The Associate Public Health Officer is normally supervised by a Senior Public Health Officer or in the absence of such a position, by the Senior Operations/ Assistant Representative (Operations). The incumbent has a functional line with the Public Health Section in Geneva regarding authoritative guidance and support in technical matters and is expected to maintain regular contact with the PHS and the Regional Bureau.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Coordination and Partnership
- In the absence of more senior public health staff, co-ordinate public health, reproductive health, nutrition and HIV activities within the Area of Responsibility (AOR) in support of the government¿s responses and in conjunction with other UN agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other partners, including development actors to ensure delivery of public health and nutrition services to beneficiaries (POC and host community) meet UNHCR and /or nationally recognised and most up-to-date standards and policies.
- With support from the supervisor and Public Health Section in HQ, support the Operation to define the level and scope of UNHCR¿s involvement in public health and nutrition responses in terms of overall and operational objectives during emergency situations and beyond.
- Support the Operation¿s engagement in the public health related aspects of contributions of major donors to refugee responses, including the World Bank; taking part in assessments, design of projects, monitoring and evaluation.
- In line with the Global Compact on Refugees work with governments and humanitarian and development partners to ensure a complementary approach to meet the health needs of POCs.
- Represent UNHCR in health coordination and other meetings including inter-sectoral groups such as Technical Working Groups for MHPSS and nutrition.
- Engage in relevant partnership fora, including in line with UNHCR’s role as a UNAIDS co-sponsor of the Joint Programme on AIDS and co-lead with WFP of the Division of Labour area of HIV in Humanitarian Settings.
- Support operational collaboration with WFP including the implementation of Joint Assessment Missions and corresponding Joint Plans of Action in line with global commitments on targeting of assistance to meet basic needs and data sharing to support assistance distribution (in collaboration with programme and protection colleagues),
- Support robust and timely emergency responses to new refugee influxes or outbreaks or other situations in line with the Public Health Emergency Toolkit and UNHCR’s Emergency Handbook and the SPHERE Handbook.
Strategic planning and development
- Contribute to the implementation of UNHCR¿s Strategic Plan for Public Health and adaptation at country level.
- Work with others in UNHCR to advocate for refugees¿, returnees¿ and other POC’s access to local public health, reproductive health (RH) and HIV, MHPSS and nutrition services (including food assistance where relevant) and lobby for inclusion of refugees, returnees and other POC as a specific group in government policies and plans related to health, RH and HIV as well as major donor programmes such as the Global Fund for HIV, TB and Malaria.
- Make recommendations on the overall strategy and focus of public health and nutrition programmes within the AOR, including ensuring public health strategic approaches are developed in a multi-sectoral and co-ordinated manner.
- Provide up to date assessments and identification of needs for public health strategies, recognise and support the contributions of governments and other actors align with and support national health system as much as possible;
- Contribute to public health strategies addressing known gaps in health and nutrition programming based on country-specific needs assessments with due consideration to neonatal and maternal health care, TB, HIV and viral hepatitis, non-communicable diseases including mental health; palliative care, health services for LGBTI individuals, health and protection services for persons selling sex and programming for persons with disabilities including access to assistive technologies and appropriate associated services, adolescents and the elderly.
- Support the development and monitoring of country specific medium to long term inclusion plans in support of the Ministry of Health and other relevant Ministries (e.g. Social Welfare) and in partnership with development and other actors.
- Work with stakeholders, including UN agencies, NGOs, Ministries of Health and academic institutions in the development of public health response plans associated with refugee movements (including in repatriation programmes).
- Maintain and update contingency plans within the AOR for potential epidemics, refugee and returnee movements.
Technical integrity and risk mitigation
- Update and disseminate standard practices on public health, MHPSS, nutrition, HIV and reproductive health among partners.
- Support the prioritization of primary health care (including preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care)
- Monitor, in close co-ordination with other humanitarian actors, that health care services provided to POC are based on Ministry of Health, UNHCR and/or internationally recognized and most up-to-date standards and policies.
- Adapt UNHCR internal operating procedures to ensure they are in line with UNHCR and/or international standards and improve efficiency of programme activities; this includes – but is not limited to – referral health care, medicines and medical supplies procurement and management, medical resettlement and resettlement of persons with health needs, cash-based assistance for health care coverage and referral between units and inter-sectoral collaboration.
- Monitor and support compliance with, and integrity of, all public health standard operating procedures in conjunction with Project Control and Programme staff and in line with delegated authorities, including flagging to senior managers when these are not in line with global guidance or not being followed.
Collaboration
- Support linkages of public health to WASH programmes throughout all stages of the programme cycle including in outbreak preparedness and response, emergency responses to refugee influxes, WASH in health facilities, and menstrual hygiene management.
- Support inter-sector collaboration throughout all stages of programme cycle between public health and nutrition with WASH, education, environment, shelter, and protection in order to promote synergies and maximise impact.
- Participate in the review and analysis of relevant project proposals and budgetary submissions presented by UNHCR partners within the context of the UNHCR programming cycle and highlight divergence from internationally accepted standards.
- Seek the diverse views of men, women, girls and boys, adolescents, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities and LGBTI in assessing needs, designing, implementing and monitoring responses in line with UNHCR’s policy on age, gender and diversity mainstreaming.
- Support the implementation of the UNHCR Health Information System and other relevant data collection tools including the balanced scorecard, maternal and neonatal death audits, Health Access and Utilisation Survey and other corporate tools where relevant; support the analysis, interpretation and use of public health data.
- Advocate for the inclusion of refugees and other POC in national surveys such as demographic and health surveys, multi-indicator cluster surveys, AIDS indicator surveys including where possible a separate sample for refugees allowing for comparisons and trend analysis over time.
- Support national health systems to disaggregate data by refugee and nationals in key areas based on country specific needs in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- Support the monitoring of public health and nutrition programmes against standard UNHCR and international indicators, to ensure that programmes are evidence-based and implemented in a comprehensive and cost-effective manner.
- Support the planning, implementation, analysis, dissemination and use of nutritional surveys (Standardized Expanded Nutrition Surveys, SENS), health-related surveys and post-distribution monitoring exercises (in collaboration with WFP).
- In line with policies for Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) ensure POC have access to feedback and accountability mechanisms relating to public health and nutrition services including the collection and analysis of data on their satisfaction with regards to public health and nutrition services.
- Prepare regular sectoral reports and submit material for preparation of periodic project monitoring reports as required by the office at country level.
- Provide timely updates to enable adequate reporting and briefings to donors and management.
Capacity Building
- Support capacity strengthening of UNHCR and its implementing partners to address public health, nutrition, reproductive health, HIV, MHPSS programming in a co-ordinated, multi-sectoral way and disseminate relevant guidelines and information materials.
- Undertake and/or support capacity building needs assessments of UNHCR staff and partners and develop approaches to address capacity gaps including identifying internal and external training opportunities.
- Perform other related duties as required.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The ideal applicant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Associate Public Health Officer should hold For P2/NOB – 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree in Medicine, Medical Science, Medical Doctor, Nursing, Public Health or other relevant field.
- Knowledge of public health, reproductive health and nutrition in humanitarian situations.
- Exposure to UNHCR mandate, its priorities and principles.
- Good communicator with strong interpersonal and negotiations skills.
- MS-Monitoring & Evaluation
- MD-Public Health Epidemiology
- MD-Reproductive Health
- MD-Community Health – Health Data Collection/Analysis/Interpretation
- UN-UNHCR’s Mandate/Policy and Global Strategic Priorities
- EX-Experience in complex field emergencies
- Language: Please also note that English is essential for this Job Opening.
Desirable
- Additional qualifications in Nutrition and WASH and a thorough understanding of the linkages with public health and food security.
- Ability to coordinate a range of diverse actors and activities to achieve a common objective in the area of Public Health.
Competencies
Core Competencies
- Accountability
- Communication
- Organizational Awareness
- Teamwork & Collaboration
- Commitment to Continuous Learning
- Client & Result Orientation
Managerial Competencies
- Empowering and Building Trust
- Judgement and Decision Making
- Managing Performance
- Managing Resources
Cross-Functional Competencies
- Analytical Thinking
- Planning and Organizing
- Stakeholder Management
How to Apply:
All candidates who wish to join the United Nations in this capacity should apply online at the link below.
Deadline: 19th August 2021
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