1. Background and Justification
   • Purpose of the Position:

To promote and uphold the humanitarian principles by leading a coordinated and effective health sector response, at subnational level, together with the national and international community, with specific attention to vulnerable and marginalized population, through effectuating WHO's commitment to work within the framework of the Interagency Standing Committee (IASC) and the Cluster Approach.  The incumbent will be responsible for performing dedicated coordination, needs assessments, strategy adaptation, resource mobilization, supporting the implementation and monitoring of the joint incident management system and advocacy function.

2. Job Description
   • Objectives of the Programme and of the immediate Strategic Objective

The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to help countries, and to coordinator international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies.
 

Organizational context (Describe the individual role of incumbent within the team, focusing on work environment within and outside the organization)

Reporting to the National Health Cluster Coordinator, under the overall guidance of the Head of WHO Country Office who has final accountability for the performance of WHO as Cluster Lead Agency, and working closely with the Incident manager, counterparts at the respective Regional Office and HQ, the incumbent is expected to discharge WHO's lead role in the health cluster and to impartially represent the interests of the members of the health cluster, at the subnational level, in support of the national cluster, including working groups which may be coordinated by other agencies. The Cluster Support Officer leads an interagency team in an environment that requires high standards of accountability and demonstrable leadership, coordination, negotiation and conflict resolution skills, and in which the principles of partnership, collaboration and collective results are essential.
The subnational Health Cluster Coordinator plays a strong role in promoting agreed national and international standards in all areas of healthcare, and strives for the best attainable health status for the populations that the cluster serves. S/he identifies and utilizes existing coordination mechanisms, including engagement with national health authorities, national and international organizations and local partners including civil society; represents the Health Cluster in Inter-Cluster Coordination mechanisms and in other relevant sectors/clusters such as WASH, Logistics, Nutrition, at the subnational level, maintaining neutrality vis‑a‑vis all partners including WHO.

 

Summary of Assigned Duties (Describe what the incumbent has to do to achieve main objectives; include main achievements expected):

 

During deployment, the duty station may change, and duties may be modified, based upon the technical needs of the Programme.

Health Cluster localisation strategy for Gaza and the West Bank
 

1. Lead the development of a localisation strategy and action plans for both Gaza and the West Bank, in close consultation and collaboration with health cluster partners and stakeholders that upholds meaningful engagement of local and national actors and is in alignment with the IASC guidance on strengthening participation, representation and leadership of local and national actors in coordination mechanisms.
2. Develop the localisation action plans contextualized to Gaza and the West Bank with an aim to strengthen cluster co-coordination at the national and sub-national levels and define the links between localisation and accountability to affected populations.

Strategic planning
 

3. Liaise with the health cluster members on the development of the health sector components of the humanitarian needs overview (HNO), humanitarian response plan (HRP), as well as contingency planning for potential new events and other interagency planning, and ensure proper linkages with the incident management system, disaster risk reduction, relief and recovery to complement national health sector response plans.
4. Ensure full compliance with national and international norms and standards, oversee that cross-cutting issues are mainstreamed in the health cluster response and implementation plans, taking into account the need for local adaptation.

Management of the health cluster – subnational (West Bank):
 

5. Ensure health partner’s involvement in health sector assessments, planning, information, interventions, monitoring and quality assurance, and regularly reporting on health services delivered to the affected population.
6. Contribute to the development of a functional information management mechanisms for the health cluster to facilitate information sharing as well as monitoring and reporting; ensure that the health cluster produces and disseminates to partners, donors, government and other stakeholders regular updates, technical reports, bulletins and briefings on the health status of the affected people, response activities, achievements, challenges and the remedial actions when necessary.
7. Identify urgent training needs in relation to technical standards and protocols for the delivery of key health services to ensure their adoption and uniform application by all health cluster partners.
8. Ensure appropriate links among humanitarian actions and longer-term health sector plans, incorporating the concept of “building back better” and specific risk reduction measures.
9. Convene and facilitate consultative and results-oriented meetings in line with the principles of partnership. Organize and conduct joint support missions to field operations.

Resource mobilization and funds allocation
 

10. Manage the development of a common funding strategy and resource mobilization efforts; coordinate the initiation and submission of Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and other pooled fund proposal documents, as required, in close collaboration with the National Health Cluster Coordinator, the health cluster partners and the humanitarian country team.
11. Adapt clear and transparent prioritization criteria for vetting partners’ projects for inclusion in consolidated appeals and pooled funds processes.

Monitoring and evaluation
 

12. Support the implementation of an indicators’ monitoring framework to ensure adequate implementation of the health cluster plans; ensure partners’ active involvement in joint monitoring of individual and common plans of action for health interventions and peer exchange of experiences and lessons learned within the cluster partnership.

Advocacy
 

13. Identify core advocacy concerns for the health cluster through a consultative process: develop joint cluster/ inter-cluster initiatives to ensure regular and consistent advocacy is conveyed to the RC/HC and HCT on behalf of the health cluster. Advocate for collective action, collective results, and collective accountability.
14. Represent the health cluster in inter-cluster coordination mechanisms at sub-national level, contribute to jointly identifying critical issues that require multisectoral responses, and plan the relevant synergistic interventions with the other clusters concerned.
15. Promote for the identified priorities in the health sector, including protection for health workers and health facilities to be included in the humanitarian agenda at all relevant levels to allow the highest possible integration of the health related activities carried out by health cluster partners.

Capacity building
 

1. Identify technical gaps and training needs to implement the health cluster response; and develop a plan for capacity-building in collaboration with partners.
2. Support national (health system) capacity-building in emergency preparedness and response in accordance with the IASC emergency response preparedness (ERP) approach and other related guidance.

3. Recruitment Profile Competencies: Generic

Describe the core, management or leadership competencies required - See WHO competency model - list in order of priority, commencing with the most important ones.
 

1. Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
2. Teamwork
3. Ensuring the effective use of resources
4. Creating an empowering and motivating environment
5. Communication
6. Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

 

Functional Knowledge and Skills

 

• • Describe the essential knowledge and the skills specific to the position

 

• Demonstrated knowledge of the rapid response operations and their implementation in emergencies as related to public health, complemented by demonstrated ability to identify and manage difficult situations, to lead and direct multidisciplinary and multinational staff. 
• In-depth knowledge of emergency relief policies and practices within the UN, other UN specialized agencies, donor agencies, national and international NGOs.
• Sound knowledge and experience about disaster prevention and preparedness programs and the incident management system.
• Excellent negotiation skills and ability to convene stakeholders and facilitate a policy process among UN, NGOs, national health authorities and donors.

 

Education Qualifications

* Essential

An advanced university degree (Master’s level or above), in public health, medicine or international relations, social sciences or management or related field, from an accredited/recognized institute.

Desirable

Post graduate studies or specialized training in emergency management, international aid, humanitarian principles, health system recovery, and health cluster coordination.
Experience
 

* Essential

At least seven years of relevant experience, at the national and international levels, in developing and promoting collaborative partnerships in emergency and humanitarian relief operations, including experience in managing and coordinating health programmes in chronic and acute, sudden‑onset emergencies.

Desirable

Relevant work experience in WHO, other UN agencies, health cluster partners, recognized humanitarian organization, relevant nongovernmental or humanitarian organizations.

Other Skills (e.g. IT)

Knowledge of Microsoft Office software applications