Public Health Officer (Disease Control)

The Public Health Officer (Disease Control) supports the WHO Representative office for Samoa and neighboring territories in preventing and controlling communicable and non-communicable diseases. The role involves providing technical advice, coordinating disease control projects, managing surveillance and epidemiology activities, and strengthening partnerships for integrated disease prevention and control.

Responsibilities

• Work under the direct supervision of the Head of the WHO country office.
• Facilitate efficient and effective management, as well as coordination of expertise, to provide technical advice on the development of sustainable, multi-sectoral, and integrated national strategies, policies, interventions, and plans for improvements in health systems and capacity building in the area of communicable disease control and non-communicable disease management.
• Recommend action plans for the inclusion of disease prevention and control interventions across the life course and continuum of care.
• Coordinate the adoption of norms, standards, guidelines and tools to support the implementation of disease control projects.
• Manage the operational aspects of communicable disease related operational research, surveillance, epidemiology, and health surveys.
• Facilitate the implementation of projects for the control of the respective diseases, including setting annual priorities, key performance targets, monitoring and evaluation of the work plans, budgets, and team performance.
• Analyse and evaluate a diverse range of data and information related to communicable diseases and outbreaks; identify disease sources and provide recommendations and reports on the appropriate response to identified risks, and the implementation of preventative and control measures.
• Monitor the national burden of communicable diseases or factors, especially through health information systems and health research activities.
• Coordinate the development or enhancement of existing information systems on communicable and noncommunicable diseases and the monitoring of progress towards universal health coverage (UHC).
• Serve as technical communication focal point on communicable diseases in the country; and support strengthened community activities concerning the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of communicable diseases.
• Provide technical guidance to improve access to safe, efficacious and affordable medicines and technologies.
• Advocate, build and strengthen partnerships and networks to enhance multi-sectoral collaboration and mobilize resources to address integrated, communicable disease prevention and control.

Requirements

• A university degree (bachelor’s) in public health, epidemiology, medicine or similar field.
• Training or specialization in communicable diseases and/or noncommunicable diseases is desirable.
• A minimum of five years relevant work experience, including relevant international exposure, in communicable and noncommunicable diseases- NCD management and communicable disease investigation, surveillance and control.
• Experience developing and implementing national or regional strategies or action plans which focus on communicable disease prevention and control, NCD management is desirable.
• Demonstrated professional experience providing technical services to national counterparts, ministries of health, and other partners.
• Relevant work experience with WHO and/or UN agencies, health cluster partners, nongovernmental or humanitarian organizations.
• Relevant experience working in the Pacific islands.
• Knowledge of transmissions, specialized methods of diagnosis, development and treatment of communicable diseases, including HIV infection and other communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
• Technical and programmatic knowledge of the prevention and control of a range of communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
• Knowledge of universal health coverage, primary health care, in-service and pre-service training, essential drugs for noncommunicable diseases, primary health care delivery systems.
• Expertise to strategically plan, coordinate and support the implementation of health programme interventions.
• Knowledge of country situation in relation to communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
• Knowledge of WHO's policies, practices, guidelines and procedures in the related disease control areas, and ability to apply them in the country office setting.
• Knowledge of health and safety regulations.
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills.
• Ability to develop and promote collaborative multi-sectoral partnerships and mobilize resources.
• Ability to provide clear advice and guidance to multiple stakeholders and partners.
• Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English.

Skills

• Communicable Disease Control
• Disease Surveillance
• Epidemiology
• Public health programme implementation
• Technical Advisory
• Health Program Coordination
• National Health Strategy
• Health Partnership Development
• Resource Mobilization
• Primary Health Care
• HIV Infection Control
• Health Systems Knowledge
• Analytical Skills
• Organizational Skills
• WHO Policies Application
• Health and Safety Regulations
• Health Training
• Non-Communicable Disease Management

Languages

English