Unit Head

**Grade**: P5

**Contractual Arrangement**: Fixed-term appointment

**Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days)**: 2 Years

**Job Posting**: Feb 8, 2024, 9:11:10 AM

**Closing Date**: Mar 1, 2024, 4:59:00 PM

**Primary Location**: Switzerland-Geneva

**Organization**: HQ/HSP Health Security Preparedness

**Schedule**: Full-time

**OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME**:
Health emergencies continue to have significant and sometimes catastrophic impacts on countries' health, economies and development. Both recent and ongoing public health events have demonstrated that the many communities remain at the high risk, and that strong levels of national preparedness across all relevant sectors are crucial to ensuring the effective management of health emergencies, when they occur. They also illustrate the need for scaling up the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) that requires countries to build and maintain the capacities to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to, and recover from public health emergencies, anchored on strong and resilient health systems. The Emergency Preparedness Division contributes to the implementation of the WHO Global Programme of Work (GPW 13) and is guided by WHO strategic priorities to “keep the world safe, improve health and serve the vulnerable”. The WHO strategic priorities drive the progress in health towards Universal Health Coverage, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and speaks particularly to SDG 3, to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. The Health Security Preparedness (HSP) department supports Member States in enhancing national preparedness across the IHR core capacities to manage all-hazard risks and emergencies, and to build multisectoral approaches for health security. It ensures that WHO supports Member States to build sustainable preparedness capacities and scale up the implementation of the IHR (2005), and support the implementation of the Sendai Framework, the WHO Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Framework, Paris Agreement on Climate Change and other related global and regional frameworks. The department also establishes strategic links to, and supports the advancement of global initiatives such as GPMB, GHSA, EU ACP, Health and Security Alliance, Foreign Affairs for Global Health initiative and the UN System Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience. HSP works with partners and the broader global heath security community to ensure that the most vulnerable communities in all countries are protected from the impact of health emergencies.

**DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES**:

- Provides technical leadership, coordination and managerial support within the Department/Programme, in the Unit of Country Simulation Exercise & Review (CER) ensuring that activities in this area are carried out efficiently and effectively.
- Develops and proposes technical health policies and strategies for implementation through collaboration with Regional and Country Offices and provides advice in developing further the Country Simulation Exercise & After Action Reviews (AAR) for strengthening and improving technical capacity of target clienteles.
- Oversees a unit of technical teams specialized in various domains within their area of expertise and facilitates the efficient flow of team synergies.
- Manages the programme area in delivering its objectives through efficient managing a team of technical staff, financial resources and effective work planning to optimize the programme's deliverables in line with the mandate of the Organization.
- Leads and conducts research on best practices in implementing programmes and activities and dissemination of information for capacity building in the respective area of work.
- Serves as the technical reference among the peer community, UN Agencies and other stakeholders at the technical levels for simulation exercises and after action reviews.
- Liaises with and utilizes partnerships in other UN Agencies, Donor, or research institutions in the Simulation Exercise & After Action Reviews to position the technical area of work and implementation into Global and/or National policies.
- Represents the programme area of work at various meetings to advocate for Country Simulation Exercise & After Action Reviews.
- Perform all other related duties as assigned.Specific duties:1
- Lead the elaboration of state-of-the-art processes to critically document, monitor and evaluate performance and results, as well as the demonstrated value of simulations and AARs in capacities building; proactively share information on lessons learned in the implementation of AAR and Simulation exercises.
- Lead the WHO Corporate strategy for simulation exercises and the Cross-cutting Task Team for Simulation Exercises to ensure a harmonized one-WHE approach through all levels of the organization, and lead the work on institutionalizing AAR at the national, regional and global levels

**REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS**:
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