Operational Planning and Performance Management Officer (NOC) at World Health Organization (WHO)

Job ID: 2205421
Contractual Arrangement: Special Services Agreement (SSA)
Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days): 6 Months
Organization: AF_NGA Nigeria

Purpose of the Position

• The mission of WHO’s Emergencies Management and Response Programme (EMR) is to assist Nigeria in responding to public health emergencies and build the capacity of responders to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, lead, and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide adequate relief and recovery to affected populations. 
• WCO has supported 37 States of the federations to enhance their preparedness and response capacities and capabilities through the Incident Management Support Teams (IMST). The emergency response operations and technical expertise (HOTE) unit have been managing acute and protracted events in support of States. 
• The HOTE unit is within the EPR Team. It focuses on providing efficient coordination and management support to the program activities in acute and protracted events management to achieve the programme objectives in line with the organisation’s mission.

Objectives of the Programme

• The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to help countries, and coordinate international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and other public health.

Description of Duties

• In the context of the WHO country office in Nigeria, the Emergencies Preparedness and Response programme and Incident Management System (IMS), at the National level, the incumbent support and reports directly to the Health Operations and Technical Expertise Programme Manager under the overall guidance of the EPR Cluster Lead to ensure the technical pertinence and scientific soundness of the operations. 
• S/he works closely with the other members of the Incident Management Team and the technical leads of the WCO EPR team at the three levels of the organisation to facilitate strategic and operational planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of the emergency preparedness, response, and recovery activities.

Summary of Assigned Duties

• Support the HOTE officer in the development of WHO’s incident management work plans and associated budgets outlining the activities and resources (staffing, equipment, funding) required for State EOCs to perform their role as the lead technical agency in health emergencies and more specifically as the leader of the Health Cluster in humanitarian crises and outbreaks.
• Contribute information to the drafting of all relevant planning documents including project proposals, appeals, reports, dashboards, etc.
• Collaborate with relevant internal EPR teams and critical operational clusters in the development of a strategic response framework and joint operations plan (in the case of States) to outline the response strategies, ensure the requirements of reporting are understood and adhered to for timely and accurate submission of reports, completeness, and transparency.
• Ensures that the response plan is based on accurate data and that the expected results with the associated inputs (competencies and financial resources) are clearly defined.
• Support compiling of mid-year and year-end reviews of progress against plans and coordinating input from colleagues to produce a transparent, robust, realistic view of organisational progress.
• Support monitoring of the implementation of Incident Action Plans (IAP) by the incident management support team (IMST) action points, EPR projects and grants, ensuring that performance, expenditure, and reporting are consistent with plans and projects.
• Scheduling and management of HOTE team meetings and EPR coordination meetings, attending, coordinating relevant activities, and ensuring predictable follow-up on agreed action points with relevant stakeholders to ensure tracking of all response tasks for close follow up with colleagues.
• Ensure HOTE unit & EPR cluster meeting minutes and reports are appropriately documented and uploaded to the shared drive.
• Support documentation of performance standards of health emergencies and other events.
• Follow up with EPR colleagues for their weekly activity reports, collate and submit to first level supervisor.
• Work with relevant WHO teams and key operational partners on the preparation of a transition and response demobilisation plan
• Perform any other related duties as the functional supervisor requires.

Educational Qualifications
Essential:

• Master's Degree or equivalent level in Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Epidemiology, Pharmacy, Public Health Planning, Management, Administration, Health Policy / Planning, International Relations, Social Sciences, or the Humanities complemented by training in a health-related field from an accredited/recognised institution. 

Desirable:

• PhD or formal specialisation training / certification in project management or humanitarian interventions and emergency management; specific training in humanitarian response; Training on Filed Epidemiology practice and outbreak investigation will be an asset

Experience:
Essential:

• At the national and state levels, a minimum of five (5) years of relevant work experience in planning, developing, managing, and monitoring technical programmes or operations or financial reporting, in public health or humanitarian context. Demonstrated experience in coordinating with and reporting on the work of diverse teams and financial resources at the National/State level.

Desirable:

• Proven skills in experience planning public health programmes
• Strong analytical skills and ability to analyse and synthesise information from multiple sources
• Excellent knowledge and expertise in project design, monitoring and evaluation
• Strong professional skills in the development of reports and persuasive documents
• Related experience in the development and strategies and action plans within WHO and UN agencies
• Experience working in relevant non-governmental health cluster partners or humanitarian organisation. 

Essential knowledge and the skills specific to the position:

• Technical knowledge with demonstrated capacity to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines
• Demonstrated excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills in English complemented by the ability to adapt to a variety of styles
• Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for an experienced development
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment.

Computer Skills:

• Strong knowledge of computer skills in Microsoft software office applications (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and email/internet familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment.

Competencies:

• Teamwork
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Communication
• Building and promoting partnerships across the organisation and beyond
• Knowing and managing yourself
• Creating an empowering and motivating environment.

Use of Language and Skills:

• Expert knowledge of English language