Regional Adviser, Emergency & Humanitarian Action (RA/EHA) Job in Egypt at WHO

Grade: P5

Contract type: Fixed-Term Appointment

Duration of contract:  2 years

Application Deadline: 1 December 2011 

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME : The objectives of WHO's emergency programme are to design and implement programmes that prepare the health sector within our member states, to deal with emergencies and that improve health during and after crises. Within the emergency programme, the objectives of WHO's emergency response team are to support Member States by: (1) promptly assessing health needs of populations affected by crisis, identifying priority causes of ill-health and death; preparing damage estimates and emergency response and rehabilitation plans; providing prompt, credible health information and ensuring the continuity of essential health services; (2) coordinating and monitoring emergency health relief efforts under the aegis of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Health Cluster, of which WHO is the lead agency; 3) ensuring that critical gaps in the health response are rapidly identified and filled; 4) revitalizing and building the capacity of national health systems to deal with preparedness, disaster risk reduction, response and recovery To promote the development of national legislation and national policy for disaster reduction and risk management and promote the development of key plans and standard operating procedures for the management of major emergencies as well as mechanisms for internal and external coordination.
Description of duties: The purpose of the RA/EHA position is to serve as the operational and strategic focal point in the Regional Office on all emergency management issues and lead on strategic planning for WHO's overall emergency preparedness, response and recovery operations/programmes in coordination with the emergency humanitarian action (EHA) unit, as well as providing technical advice on emergency response and recovery, national disaster reduction and risk management to the EM Member States, partners and all stakeholders. Summary of Assigned Duties: Under the general guidance and supervision of the Assistant Regional Director, the incumbent will: - Position/contribute to WHO's development of global and interagency policies (Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) of the United Nations for coordination of humanitarian assistance, International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), and other interagency networks and policy bodies) and oversee the preparation of position papers and reports for presentation to such bodies. - Guide and support countries at risk to be able to respond and recover from emergencies and disasters through advocating for preparedness and disaster risk reduction policies, guidelines and strategies, ensuring the integration of humanitarian action and emergency risk management. - Ensure the development/update of functioning organizational Standard Organizational Procedures (SOPs) for humanitarian action for all levels and types of emergencies. - Provide guidance to the Regional Office and Member States on the development of health cluster approach, response strategies, action plans and appeals, while establishing/strengthening existing regional partnerships for improved coordination of humanitarian action. - Initiate and promote interagency deployment for response, preparedness and recovery activities, while developing a functional HR roster for use in humanitarian action and emergency risk management, facilitating inter-regional mechanisms for rapid deployment of surge capacity, and defining team composition and functions. - Build capacity and provide support to Member States on strengthening the application of policies, standards and guidance at country level and to advise on actions required to dovetail with evolving national laws and policies for disaster management. - Provide guidance on operational emergency programming including financial and human resources. - Guide and lead the implementation of response operations, ensuring close coordination and smooth functioning between the operational and technical/programmatic components, establishing clear lines of communications, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and taking corrective actions as necessary and drawing lessons to be learnt. - Lead and facilitate the coordination for the organization ensuring strong links internally with other Regional Advisors (technical units) and HQ upon a declaration of a disaster or request for humanitarian assistance in order to identify needs, mobilize and allocate resources (human, financial, material); - Oversee the readiness of the regional office to respond to major disasters and ensuring timely and appropriate management of the SHOC. - Provide policy guidance on conceptual strategy development and management of the implementation of overall strategies within intra and inter divisional policies and procedures related to emergency preparedness, disaster risk reduction, response and recovery.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Essential: University degree in health related sciences with a Masters Degree in public health with specialization in disaster/ emergency management.
Skills: Competencies: 1) Producing results 2) Ensure the effective use of resources 3) Moving forward in a changing environment 4) Fostering integration and teamwork 5) Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond Functional Skills and Knowledge: - Excellent knowledge of disaster preparedness, disaster risk reduction, response and recovery programmes. - Proven skills in project management, planning, leading a team, coordination, personnel management, negotiation, data analysis and information management, resource mobilization, and running training programmes. - Ability to lead inter-agency dialogue and coordination. - Knowledge of policy and practice of the UN system, donor agencies, and NGOs in the area of emergency relief. Other Skills: Computer literacy. Excellent presentation skills
Experience: Essential: At least ten years of combined national and international experience in public health including humanitarian relief, disaster management and training. Desirable: Relevant experience in a complex emergency. Experience in operational research.
Languages: Excellent knowledge of English. Working knowledge of Arabic and/or French is 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 eliminatory tool. Other similar positions at the same level may be filled from this vacancy notice (this could be the base for rosters) o Candidates will be interviewed using a competency based approach. This vacancy is published in English only.
Annual salary: (Net of tax) USD80629 at single rate USD86791 with primary dependants	Post Adjustment: 37.3 % 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.
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