National Professional Officer (Malaria and VBD)
( 2307097 )
Grade : NO-C
Contractual Arrangement : Fixed-term appointment
Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days) : 1 Year
Job Posting: Aug 7, 2023, 7:42:19 AM
Malaria remains a majorcause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria accounting significantly to majorcause of illness and death in the country. The goal of the NMSP, 20121-2025 isto achieve a parasite prevalence of less than 10% and reduce mortalityattributable to malaria to less than 50 deaths per 1,000 livebirths by 2025. TheNational Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) has prioritized the delivery ofrobust multi-stakeholder, multisectoral and appropriate strategy mixes based onthe stratification of Nigeria into low, medium, high and very high epidemiological areas to achieve a rapid reduction in malaria burden and deaths while maintaining consistency with the key principles and pillars of the National Strategic Health Development Plan.The WHO Malaria programme priorities are aligned to the National Program strategic direction which are to;I. Improve integration of delivery of prevention, treatment and care interventions;II. Improve Prevention and Treatment of Malaria through development of programmes that promote equitable access to essential medicines and their rational use by prescribers;III. Strengthen surveillance, monitoring &evaluation systems to provide strategic and timely information;IV. Sustain political commitment, resource mobilization and partnership through advocacy, communication and social mobilization(ACSM) and increased new knowledge, intervention tools and strategies fromoperational researchThese priorities servethe objectives of 1)Improve access and utilization of vector control interventions to at least 80% of targeted population by 2025 2) Ensureprovision of chemoprevention, diagnosis and appropriate treatment for 80% ofthe target populations at risk by 2025 3) Improve generation of evidence fordecision making and impact through reporting of quality malaria data and information from at least 80% of health facilities (public and private) andother data sources including surveillance, surveys and operations research by2025 4) Strengthen coordination, collaboration, and strategic partnership topromote efficiency and effectiveness of malaria control activities towards achieving at least 75% improvement from baseline using a standardized OCA tooland 5)Improve funding for malaria control by at least 25% annually through predictable and innovative sources to ensure sustainability at federal andsub-national levelsThe Malaria and VBD unit is domiciled within the UCN Clusterin the WHO country office in Nigeria and supports efforts of the national programme to control/eliminate malaria acrossthe country, in the context of a strengthened health system and integrated service delivery
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES
Under the directsupervision of the UCN Cluster Lead, The incumbent will performthe following duties: Strengthen national malaria and other vector borne disease surveillance systems, including other health information systems for generation of strategic information for evidence-based targeting of malaria interventions for enhanced malaria burden reduction, through adoption, adaptation and application of relevantWHO norms and standards, guidelines, manuals and tools and appropriatetechnologies and e-platformsEnsure availability of quality data, and use of analytics for planning and decision making at national and sub-national levelsBuild capacity on the use of surveillance, monitoring and evaluation andother health data for malaria subnational tailoring of intervention using data triangulationfor stratificationGuide evidence-based targeting and micro-stratification at community or high-riskareas with appropriate antimalarial interventions. Monitor the impact of interventions, performance of programme at nationaland sub-national levels to guide programmatic strategies for enhanced impact.Contribute to documentation and publication of best practices on the useof available evidence for targeting interventions at national and subnationallevels
- Undertake any other functions assigned
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education
Essential: University degree in health sciences, including medicine, pharmacy,microbiology, entomology, epidemiology or public health.Desirable: Master’sdegree in epidemiology or biostatistics, or other relevant health-relatedfields.
Experience
Essential: At least five (5) years experience in the development and evaluation of national disease surveillance systems.Desirable: Expert knowledge in modelling and geospatial analysis. Experience in the field of malaria and other tropical and VBDs control. Relevant working experience with the WHO/UN or other INGOexperience would be an asset.
Skills
Broad knowledge of the principles and practices of communicable disease epidemiology with specific experience in malaria surveillance and operational researchExperience with spatial statistical methods and epidemiological data analysis for infectious diseasesProven skills in the analysis of routine disease surveillance dataProven experience in the development and evaluation of systems, policies, strategies, guidelines and tools for disease control and/or eliminationProvens kills and knowledge in the development and evaluation of disease surveillance systems in a public health settingDemonstrated skills in capacity building, especially the training of health workersPresentation and communication skills Proven skills in modeling and use of analytics for programme decisionsWHO Competencies
TeamworkRespecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Producing results
Moving forward in a changing environment
Use of Language Skills
Essential: Expert knowledge of English.Desirable: REMUNERATION
Remuneration comprises an annual base salary starting at NGN 28,030,973 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable) and 30 days of annual leave.ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level
- Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
- A written test may be used as a form of screening.
- In the event that your candidature is retained for an 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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- The statutory retirement age for staff appointments is 65 years. For external applicants, only those who are expected to complete the term of appointment will normally be considered.
- This is a National Professional Officer position. Therefore, only applications from nationals of the country where the duty station is located will be accepted. Applicants who are not nationals of this country will not be considered.
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