Public Health Officer
In the context of WHO’s Incident Management System (IMS), Public Health Officers provide technical and operational guidance in response to outbreaks and public health emergencies at the country level. This includes the coordination of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of disease response, prevention, and control activities. Public Health Officers are responsible for providing effective technical management, guidance and expertise to respond appropriately to disease outbreaks. They work with a wide range of stakeholders, including national and local health authorities, other public sector ministries, emergency and development partners, UN Agencies, civil society organisations and research institutions. They are also responsible for coordinating and integrating their work with related public health programs. Tasks may include, for example:
- Strengthening emergency response and preparedness activities to reduce mortality especially due to the impact of outbreaks and/or public health emergencies;
- Advising national and international actors on public health issues related to emergency response;
- Strengthening the health system and enhancing health equity;
- Advocating the utilisation of reliable information, evidence, innovation and knowledge for improving population health outcomes, throughout the full cycle of the emergency response;
- Providing technical public health input for strategic planning, project management and reporting.
Specific profile requirements for Public Health Officer
- University degree in Medicine or Public Health and/or health-related fields;
- Post-graduate studies or specialised training in emergency response or disaster management in the context of public health;
- Specialised training in humanitarian response and in preventing and managing outbreaks and health emergencies;
- At least five years of relevant experience, at the national level, in public health in emergencies response, with proven experience in managing outbreaks and health emergencies, risk assessment, and ongoing analysis of outbreak evolution and effectiveness of the response to it;
- Demonstrated knowledge of public health programmes with a focus on prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases and major risk factors for national health systems;
- Demonstrated skills in capacity building, proposal and report writing, knowledge of and experience with needs assessments in emergency settings, strategic information analysis, planning and promoting collaborative partnerships;
- Managerial skills for the development, implementation and analysis of technical cooperation programmes and activities, including the development of programmatic indicators;
- Relevant work experience in WHO, other UN agencies, health cluster/sector partners, and relevant NGOs or humanitarian organisations;
- Experience with resource mobilisation in emergency settings.