Head of Project & Change Management Office

The Head of Project & Change Management Office leads the WHO Health Emergencies Preparedness and Response Programme's project and change management efforts. This role manages a team to ensure effective project delivery, change management, and strategic alignment of digital ecosystems, supporting global health security through coordinated risk reduction and response efforts.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of project managers, change managers, project support officers and other relevant resources by ensuring their application of the established project management methodology and standards, effective management of scope-time-resource triple constraint, quality delivery of expected outcomes and outputs, and active engagement with stakeholders.
• Perform change management and mapping of customer experience journeys in projects, products, and services. Work closely with business units to define their change management approach, identify and plan for impact on business operating model, and design their training approach and continuous user adoption.
• Manage, improve and expand the WHE portfolio of projects by creating visibility on project plans, status, dependencies, collaborations, risks, and issues. Actively manage and track status and milestones across projects. Ensure timely, relevant, and sufficient reporting to senior management in order to make informed decisions.
• Oversee the WHE Digital Ecosystem ensuring coherence, impact, value for money and strategic alignment.
• Monitor the performance and support the implementation of strategic cross-cutting projects such as the Pandemic Fund.
• Drive and lead the implementation and operation of a project management discipline and culture across WHE by promoting a standard project management methodology, establishing relevant governance mechanisms, encouraging the use of templates, establishing a project management platform for sharing and collaboration, providing guidance on executing projects, and enforcing tracking and reporting of progress.
• Provide strategic analysis and guidance to the EXD and leadership team on elements related to portfolio management and strategic delivery.
• Serve as the principal advisor on data, digital, and platform matters to WHE leadership, programme teams, and cross-divisional counterparts. Provide structured, evidence-based guidance on digital architecture, technology selection, data strategy, and digital transformation. Represent WHE's digital and data interests in inter-agency and external forums as required.
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Requirements

• An advanced level university degree (Master's level degree) in Business Administration, Project Management, Engineering, Computer Science or related discipline.
• Professional qualification or foundation certification in project management methodologies such as PMI and Prince 2.
• Training in Software Development Life Cycles, ITIL 4 or other technology related methodologies.
• Certification or formal training in enterprise architecture, data governance, or digital health (e.g. TOGAF, DAMA-DMBOK, or equivalent).
• At least 10 years of professional experience in portfolio, programme and project planning, management and successful delivery of complex cross functional or interdependent projects, some of which should be at the international level.
• Demonstrated professional experience working with senior- level or executive-level management.
• Proven experience in leading and managing a Project Management Office (global or local) or managing large scale and complex programmes.
• Proven experience in implementing tracking systems, reporting mechanisms and operational improvement initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience defining and implementing a data or digital strategy at programme or organizational level.
• Experience in digital ecosystem governance, including platform lifecycle management, data architecture, and interoperability.
• Successful experience working, adapting and delivering results in fast-paced and rapidly shifting environments such as health emergencies.
• Experience in management consulting.
• Experience in managing complex projects within a UN and health context with an understanding of public health surveillance and intelligence concepts.
• Experience in change management, quality assurance, and communications.
• Proven leadership skills and decision making; proven skills in the areas of Project and Portfolio Management, planning, organizing, budget, and finance with careful attention to detail to continuously monitor progress, actions and initiatives.
• Ability to adapt and manage deliverables and resources in a climate of change and to think and act quickly, sometimes under pressure, yet remain effective.
• Ability to effectively collaborate with teams in an international, multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral environment; separated by geographical locations and working under different time-zones.
• Ability to promote best practices with pragmatic implementation, advise on improvements, independently perform research, and apply information from a broad range of sources.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to influence, negotiate, advocate, motivate, resolve conflict, and adapt relevant leadership styles to a variety of situations.
• Excellent communication (both oral and written), problem solving and analytical skills.
• Strong supervisory, organizational, management, and consultancy skills.
• Proactive, flexible, resourceful and able to work independently with limited supervision.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and communicate data and digital strategy to diverse audiences, including non-technical senior leaders.
• Familiarity with emerging technologies relevant to health emergencies, including AI/ML applications, interoperability platforms, and cloud-based infrastructure.
• Expert knowledge of English.
• Intermediate knowledge of French.
• Intermediate knowledge of Other WHO Language.

Skills

• Project Management
• Portfolio Management
• Programme Management
• PMI Methodology
• Prince 2 Methodology
• Software Development Life Cycle Management
• ITIL 4
• Enterprise Architecture
• Data Governance
• Digital Health
• TOGAF
• DAMA-DMBOK
• Project Management Office Leadership
• Tracking System Implementation
• Reporting Mechanisms
• Operational Performance Improvement
• Digital Strategy Design
• Digital Ecosystem Governance
• Platform Lifecycle Management
• Data Architecture
• Interoperability
• Change Management
• Quality Assurance
• Management Consulting
• Public Health Surveillance
• Health Emergencies
• Budget Management
• Finance Management
• Cross-functional Project Delivery
• International Project Management
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Communications Skills
• Negotiation
• Conflict Resolution
• Leadership
• Supervisory Abilities
• Organizational Skills
• Consultancy Skills
• AI/ML Applications
• Cloud-based Infrastructure

Languages

English, French, Other WHO Language