The Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPProgramme is part of and contributes to the work of the Universal Health Coverage/Communicable and Noncommunicable diseases (UHC/UCcluster in the WHO African region. The strategic agenda of the cluster is to reduce disease burden in the WHO African Region, by guiding disease control agenda in Africa, and using analytics to inform strategic investments and tailored interventions for disease control. This approach is underpinned by the guiding principles of comprehensive whole of society, peoplecentered, integrated approaches to disease control. The comprehensive whole of society approaches to disease control involve:(coherent implementation of triple responsetechnical response: implementing diseasespecific normative guidance, promoting intervention mixes and deploying medical commodities; health systems response: building capacities of district, servicedelivery systems in disease mapping and stratification, interventions tailoring, and sector/subsector planning; and multisectoral response: addressing socioeconomic and environmental determinants of diseases through mobilizing nonhealth sectors, communities, and stakeholders.(disease control partnership of public and private sectors, health, and nonhealth sectors; and (community involvement in targeted highrisk communities, focused on managing determinants ofdiseases, health services demand creation and accountability by local health stewards. The people centered, integrated approaches to disease control involve: (integrated guidance on disease control for each health service delivery platform, a move away fromstandalone disease specific guidance; and (integrated and efficient disease control investments in strengthening the capacity of appropriatehealth services delivery platforms, through deployment of appropriate technologies and analytics, to guide stratification of disease risks across population groups, to develop and deploy comprehensive packages of interventions appropriate to each targeted population group and health service delivery platform, as well as monitor population access, coverage and impact to leave no one behind.The specific objectives of the UCN cluster to which the VPD programme contributes, are to: (provide leadership on disease control coordination, partnership and resource mobilization; (icontribute to the development of WHO diseasecontrol technical products, services and tools including adoption of new technologies and innovations; (iisupport generation and use of strategic information for action and decision making including optimizing investment; and (iprovide or facilitate provision of technical support in deployment of WHO technical products and services and institutional capacity building, including support to national disease programmes and regulatory authorities.
The incumbent will be expected to perform the following duties:• Provide specialized technical assistance on integrating COVID 19 vaccine into routine immunization and planning the delivery of integrated immunization services.• Coordinate with partners to improve coverage, monitor the implementation of activities and ensure equity of covid 19 vaccination.• Support the implementation of highimpact COVID 19 vaccination of priority target groups and identify appropriate strategies to reach underserved populations.• Support the organization of an IntraAction Review of covid immunization at national and regional levels.• Develop and update norms and standards related to new vaccines, with attention to informationsharing, education, and communication, toward a good understanding of their benefits and acceptance by communities, health workers and families.• Provide expertise and develop/revise guidelines and proactively facilitate their implementation to enable.• Develop and implement capacity building for the identification of adverse events to align strategies.• Coordinate the provision of guidance and technical support to countries in:determining and setting policies for the introduction of new vaccines and related technologies, including strengthening country capacity to assess the burden of preventable diseases;developing and implementing harmonized protocols to facilitate policy decisions and organize regional training on new vaccine introduction;in the submission of applications to GAVI to receive financial support (for GAVI eligible countrie, planning, vaccine forecast, country readiness, assessment on logistics, training of immunization staff at all levels, advocacy, development of key messages for social mobilization, launching of the vaccines and evaluation of the introductions;• Develop partnerships with maternal, child and adolescent health departments (within WHO and other organizationto tackle vaccinepreventable diseases in addition to other interventions, e.g. Pneumonia, diarrhoea, liver cancer, cervical cancer; and in providing support to countries for the integration of adolescent health interventions with HPV vaccination which target 914 year old girls.• Support the coordination and monitoring of the RTSS, Malaria Vaccine rollout, Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine and other new vaccines as may arise. • Support the development of related workplans and budgetary proposals as required within the framework of WHO staff Rules and Regulations, financial rules and AFRO accepted procedures.• Contribute to resource mobilization for the Cluster’s programmes, in collaboration with EPG, ORD and WCOSs.• Perform other related responsibilities as assigned, including replacing and backstopping for others as required.
Essential: Medical degree with postgraduate degree/training in public health, epidemiology or infectious or communicable diseases.
Desirable: Postgraduate training in vaccinology, immunology.
Essential: A minimum of seven (07) years of practical national and international experience in new vaccines introduction, vaccine logistics management and related activities;• Eexperience in project management, analysis and development of capacity building tools and databases for monitoring and evaluation purposes.
Desirable: Diverse work experience incorporating private sector, NGOs, other UN, or governmental Health related agencies will be an advantage.• Experience in policy formulation and strategic planning • A track record of research, with publications at senior authorship level in peer reviewed journals, would be an asset.
Demonstrated knowledge of the introduction of new vaccines projects.• Proven ability to think independently and strategically, plan, coordinate and implement strategies, activities, and capacity building together with monitoring and reporting on results, progress, lessons learnt and obstacles;• Proven skills in the surveillance of adverse events complemented by track record in the development and implementation of norms and standards and effective reporting mechanisms and systems, and M&E;• Demonstrated ability to strengthen partnerships and resource mobilization.• Proven writing and communication skills.
Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Producing results
Ensuring the effective use of resources
Essential: Expert knowledge of French.
Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of English.
WHO salaries for staff in the Professional category are calculated in US dollars. The remuneration for the above position comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 77,326 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicabl, a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 3860 per month for the duty station indicated above. Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.