Organization: WHO – World Health Organization
Location: Dhaka
Grade: Level not specified – Level not specified
Occupational Groups:
Project and Programme Management
Malaria, Tuberculosis and other infectious diseases
Closing Date: 2024-06-07

Objective of the programme

WHO is the specialized agency of the United Nations with the objectives to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. The Communicable Diseases Surveillance (CDS) Unit of WHO seeks to address the pledge of leaving no one behind in the programmatic areas of communicable diseases and support the government to achieve the national health goals by providing needs-based technical assistance in policy formulation, setting norms and standards, knowledge dissemination, monitoring and building sustainable institutional capacity.

The WHO CDS unit plays a greater leadership role in different national technical forums as well as contribute to regional and global public health platforms in the area of communicable diseases such as HIV, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Neglected Tropical Diseases such as Kala-azar, Lymphatic Filariasis, Leprosy, Soil transmitted helminthiasis, Rabies,Snake bite envenoming, Dengue and Chikungunya, and Viral Hepatitis, Cholera, and other vector and food borne diseases. The unit also closely supports and leads prevention and response activities during outbreaks in the country.

The WHO CDS unit provides normative expertise to the Ministry of Health, Government of Bangladesh, especially in the realms of prevention, treatment, care through research, training, and epidemiological assessments, to strengthen national capacity. It assists the government to build innovative frameworks for public health action to address communicable diseases and achieve sustainable development goals. The CDS works closely the national communicable diseases programs and assists their effort to inform national decision-making during outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics.

The CDS unit works through a multi-sectoral approach collaborating with various ministries and departments, development partners, implementing partners, among others. The team collaborates with WHO teams at all levels such as health systems, NCDs, Maternal and Child Health Programs, WHE among others, to optimize efficiencies to reach their goals.

Bangladesh has made an impressive achievement during the last five years. The country has achieved the certification for elimination of lymphatic filariasis and Kala-azar as public health problems. The CDS team of WHO Bangladesh has been supporting all NTD programs to achieve the target related to NTD roadmap and SDG.

Description of duties

Under the guidance of the WHO Medical Officer-CDS and direct supervision of National Professional Officer-NTD the incumbent will have to perform the activities for National Programs and the WHO CDS unit, Bangladesh as described below:

1. Provide Technical guidance for:

• Successful implementation of NTD control programs to achieve the SDG targets, particularly the National Leprosy Elimination Program.
• Developing and updating technical documents such as policies, strategic plans, guidelines, training manuals, and monitoring & evaluation tools for NTD programs.
• Promoting cost-effective and innovative approaches for NTD prevention, diagnosis, and treatment and facilitate the implementation of integrated approaches for NTD control, such as the integrated skin NTD approach.

2. Support Data Management and Surveillance:

• Contribute to strengthening disease surveillance systems for NTDs, including electronic data management and case registration.
• Monitor progress towards national and international targets (SDGs and NTD roadmap) for NTD control.
• Support monitoring, supervision, and evaluation efforts at all levels:
• Analyze program data and provide regular feedback to national programs for informed decision-making.
• Provide onsite monitoring and feedback for strengthening program implementation at the community and service delivery levels.
• Engage in program evaluations, assessments, studies to gather technical evidence to inform the national programs and develop technical publications for wider dissemination.
• Assist in drafting progress reports, donor reports, and other program-related reports

3. Capacity Building and Collaboration:

• Support training and capacity building initiatives for national NTD programs at all levels (district, divisional, and national), and other stakeholders as required.
• Foster collaboration among various stakeholders, including public and private sectors, NGOs, CBOs, development partners, and faith-based organizations.

4. Advocacy and Communication:

• Develop advocacy materials tailored to the socio-cultural context of target audiences and at-risk populations.

5. Additional Duties:

• Perform other relevant tasks as assigned by the supervisors.

Required Qualifications:

Education:

Essential: MBBS or four years bachelor’s degree in relevant field and Postgraduate / Master’s degree in relevant field.

Desirable: Training in epidemiology, statistics, and infectious diseases preferably tropical diseases.

Experience:

Essential: At least 5 years of experience in the public health field.

Desirable: Working experience in government programs, UN agencies, or international NGOs is desirable

Functional Knowledge and skills:

• Technical expertise and skills in communicable disease surveillance, communication and multi-partner engagement, and facilitating coordination.
• Strong professional writing, presentation and oratory skills including technical, analytical, and conceptual skills; demonstrated ability to assess, analyze, synthesize, and provide recommendations on key technical issues. Excellent database management and ability to collect, analyze and interpret information.
• Ability to integrate managerial and technical inputs into recommendations for decision-making processes and policy formation; ability to manage multiple issues and tasks in a complex organizational environment.
• Ability to provide quick updates and summaries to supervisors in the form of presentations, talking points and technical briefs.
• Knowledge and skills in providing technical support for the development of strategic plans and guidelines. Experience with the development of policy/strategy/guideline formulation and knowledge of Bangladesh’s health system
• Thorough knowledge of implementation and management of country-wide health-related WHO-GoB collaborative programme. Demonstrated ability to work in harmony with national/international staff/experts and produce results.

Additional functional knowledge and skill:

Good knowledge of WHO/UN/Government/NGO administrative and financial rules, processes, and procedures

Competencies:

• Teamwork
• Promoting Innovation and Organizational Learning
• Communication
• Producing Results
• Knowing and managing yourself

Languages:

Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English and local language (Bangla)

Duty Station: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Computer Literacy:

MS Office Packages. Basic knowledge in Office 2010 or more. Familiarity with MS office environment. Presentation skills and or training skills in an asset

Salary & others benefits:

WHO offers locally competitive packages such as:

• Monthly salary: BDT 159,996.00 (SSA – 8, Step I) (non-negotiable)
• Insurance, Leave and Holidays as per WHO rules.

Additional Information:

• This Vacancy Notice may be used to fill similar positions at the same level.
• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• A written test and interviews may be used as a form of screening.
• If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
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• This post is subject to local recruitment and will be filled by persons recruited in the local commuting area of the duty station.
• Any extension of appointment would be subject to programmatic requirements, performance of the incumbent and availability of funds.
• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.