WHO JPO – Technical Officer (Gender, equity and human rights) At World Health Organization

Objective of the WHO Programme/Department:

The mission of GER is to advance the “leave no one behind” agenda in the Organization, including its work with Member States, on the path to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the triple-billion goals of the 13th General Programme of Work (GPW13). The Gender, Equity & Human Rights (GER) team reports to the ADG in the office of the Director-General. The work is implemented through leadership, normative development and technical support across the three levels of WHO, in coordination with Regional and Country Offices in support of our Member States.

Assignment Summary: Under the supervision of the AFRO Regional Lead for Gender, Equity and Human rights, the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) will provide technical contributions to corporate and programmatic mainstreaming of gender, the advancement of gender, equity and human rights in health in the AFRO region.

Duties, Responsibilities and Output expectations:

Responsibility 1: Provide technical contributions and coordination support to mainstreaming gender, equity and human rights across WHO programmes • Support scheduling and participate in quarterly inter-cluster working group meetings and follow-up on GER integration issues. • Support liaison with other AFRO units and departments on GER integration activities • Participate in the Regional inter-agency GER working group and task team meetings and joint activities • Participate and follow-up on issues from the GER global network meetings • Support GER work planning to ensure synergy with other units and partners

Responsibility 2: Contribute to advocacy and communications related to WHO’s work on gender, equity and human rights in the AFRO region • Support development of quality communications materials on the work of gender equity and human rights for internal and external audiences • Support dissemination of the quality communications materials using channels appropriate for reaching different stakeholders • Support identification and documentation of what works and promising practices in GER integration/mainstreaming • Support advocacy efforts and promotion of GER unit visibility within and outside the Region • Support commemoration of health days related to gender, equity, women’s health and rights in collaboration with other units • Contribute to drafting of briefs, talking points and remarks on GER related issues

Responsibility 3: Contribute to capacity building on gender, equity and human rights in the AFRO region • Supports development and dissemination of capacity building materials related to gender, equity and human rights • Support country level adaptation of capacity building materials related to gender, equity and human rights • Support facilitation of specific sessions during capacity building workshops on GER integration • Contribute to GER related analysis and assessments and development of country profiles in collaboration with consultants and other experts • Support report writing, tracking and monitoring of progress in the integration and implementation of GER related actions

Responsibility 4: • Contribute to environmental scanning for identification of potential international or Regional GER focused partners and donors • Support development of concept notes, case for support and resource mobilization proposals for the GER unit • Perform any other duty to promote impactful integration of GER

During the period of assignment, the JPO would have contributed to the following key outputs: • Output 4.2.6. “Leave no one behind” approach focused on equity, gender and human rights progressively incorporated and monitored. • Output 1.1.3. Countries enabled to strengthen their health systems to address population-specific health needs and barriers to equity across the life course. • Output 4.2.1. Leadership, governance, and external relations enhanced to implement GPW13 and drive impact in an aligned manner at the country level, on the basis of strategic communications and in accordance with the Sustainable Development goals in the context of United Nations reform. • Output 3.1.1 Countries enabled to address social determinants of health across the life course.

WHO competencies required for the assignment:

Teamwork
Communication
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Knowing and Managing Yourself
Producing Results

Learning objectives of the JPO during this assignment Upon completion of the assignment, the JPO will have / be able to …

Develop coordination skills through liaising with colleagues across WHO to promote “One WHO” and learn about the inner workings of WHO.
Develop technical knowledge on gender, equity and human rights
Enhanced understanding of communications towards Leaving No One Behind in the SDGs
Understand WHO’s approach to gender-based, equitable and non-discriminatory access to health services and structures
Build collaborative and rewarding professional relationships and networks

Requirements

Education:

Minimum: Advanced university degree in women’s and/or gender studies, public health, sociology, anthropology, law, development, international relations, or other relevant area with a focus on health and gender, equity and/or human rights.
Desirable: Post-graduate training in women’s and/or gender studies, public health, sociology, international human rights law, or development with a focus on mainstreaming gender, equity and/or human rights in health organizations.

Work experience:

Minimum: At least two years of relevant working experience with some international exposure.
Desirable: Experience in liaising with external stakeholders and implementing projects in developing countries and multi-cultural settings.
Skills required for the assignment: writing/documentation, measurement and evaluation, capacity building, meeting planning. Excellent computer skills and strong analytical skills.

Language requirement:

Minimum: Proficiency in spoken and written English and French.

Nationality

This post is opened in the context of the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) scheme sponsored by the Government of Canada and is addressed exclusively to nationals of Canada.

Age of applicant