UNHCR Assistant Public Health Officer Job

Assistant Public Health Officer Job, Current Public Health Jobs In Kenya,

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

The Assistant 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 to minimise avoidable morbidity and mortality among populations of concern (POC) and towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The Assistant Public Health Officer is normally supervised by a (Senior) Public Health Officer or by the Head of Office/ 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.

Duties and Responsibilities

Coordination and Partnership

• Assist in the coordination of public health, reproductive health, nutrition and HIV activities within the Area of Responsibility (AOR) in support of the government 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, 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 emergencies and beyond.
• 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 assistance to meet basic needs and data sharing to support assistance distribution (in collaboration with programme and protection colleagues),
• Support emergency responses to new refugee influxes or outbreaks or other situations in line with the Public Health Emergency Toolkit 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 the country level.
• Work with others in UNHCR to advocate for refugees, returnees and other POCs’ access to local public health, reproductive health (RH) 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.
• 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 and viral hepatitis, 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.
• Support the 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 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 coordination with other humanitarian actors, that health care services provided to POC are based on the Ministry of Health, UNHCR and/or internationally recognized and most up-to-date standards and policies.
• Support the adaptation of UNHCR internal operating procedures to ensure they are in line with UNHCR and/or international standards and improve the 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 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 the programme cycle between public health and nutrition with WASH, education, environment, shelter, and protection to promote synergies and maximise impact.
• Assist with the review and analysis of relevant project proposals and budgetary submissions presented by UNHCR partners within the context of the UNHCR programming cycle.
• 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.
• Contribute to 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, and 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 refugees and nationals in key areas based on country-specific needs in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 
• Assist in the monitoring of public health and nutrition programmes against standard UNHCR and international indicators, to ensure that programmes are evidence-based and implemented comprehensively and cost-effectively.
• 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.
• Draft regular sectoral reports and submit material for the preparation of periodic project monitoring reports as required by the office at the 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, and MHPSS programming in a coordinated, 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.

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level

• For P1/NOA 1 year relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or no experience with Graduate degree; or no experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education 

• Medicine, Medical Science, Medical Doctor, Nursing, Public Health or other relevant field.
• (Field(s) of Education marked with an asterisk* are essential) 

Certificates and/or Licenses 

• Not specified
• (Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential) 

Relevant Job Experience
Essential

• Knowledge of public health, reproductive health and nutrition
• Good communicator with strong interpersonal and negotiation skills.

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.

Functional Skills 

• EL-Monitoring and Evaluation
• PHPublic Health Epidemiology
• MD-Reproductive Health
• PH-Community Health-Health Data Collection/Analysis/Interpretation
• UN-UN/UNHCR Mandate and Global Strategic Priorities
• (Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential) 

Language Requirements 

• For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and the UN working language of the duty station if not English.
• For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
• For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

• EL-Monitoring and Evaluation, MD-Reproductive Health, PH-Community Health-Health Data Collection/Analysis/Interpretation, PHPublic Health Epidemiology, UN-UN/UNHCR Mandate and Global Strategic Priorities

Education

• Bachelor of Arts (BA): Medical Doctor, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Medical Science, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Medicine, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Nursing, Bachelor of Arts (BA): Public Health Certifications

Work Experience

Competencies

• Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Judgement & decision making, Managing resources, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, Stakeholder management, Teamwork & collaboration

How To Apply

Click Here To Apply

Closing Date: November 15, 2023