Lead Project Manager

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to build the capacity of Member States to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations. The Health Emergency Intelligence and Surveillance Systems division (WSE) is responsible to build a system of collaborative intelligence enabling better decisions to avert and manage public health threats and risks. Its goal is to enable, strengthen and support countries, regional and global actors in averting and managing public health threats and risks through collaborative problem solving and decision-making for short-term action and long-term policies, informed by better data and analytics.A key element of WSE, is the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence – a new office of WHO, located in Berlin. It works with partners to enable the generation of public health relevant information to provide timely actionable insights and improve decision making to prepare for, avert and respond to public health threats. It also aims to reduce fragmentation and inefficiency by creating an ecosystem that promotes collaboration across multiple professional disciplines, sectors, and initiatives; and empower decision makers, public health professionals, and civil society to make informed public health decisions.WSE has established a Project Management Office, (PMO) – a cross-cutting function that supports the new division in the strategic and standardized selection, prioritization, design, and execution of all projects to maximize value and increase the likelihood of success. Its place in the ADGs office is essential in ensuring that cross-cutting collaboration is at the heart of everything we do.

The Project Management Office supports WSE in three main ways.

1) Select the right projects – Governance mechanisms, and criteria needed for screening and prioritizing projects that are aligned with the Hubs strategy

2) Execute and deliver value – Establishing methodologies, standards, tools, and procedures for delivering value through projects

3) Continuous learning – Supporting project teams with capacity development, coaching, resourcing, monitoring and evaluation as well as quality assurance.

The PMO oversees a diverse range of projects ranging from agile and iterative experiments to traditional and long-term initiatives. There will be a specific focus on ensuring that collaboration and collaborative processes are built into every project from inception.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

1) Manage all assigned project initiatives (e.g. up to four or five small sized projects or three to four medium-to-large projects at a time) that could run simultaneously.

2) Manage the projects effectively according to the triple-constraint of scope-time-resource.

3) Perform detailed project planning, resource scheduling, progress monitoring, issue resolution and risk management.

4) Act as the principal point of contact for the WHO regarding status of assigned projects, including portfolio health reports. Develop project related documentation e.g. project concept notes, business cases, project initiation documents, detailed stage plans, etc.

5) Establish governance structure and process per project. Actively manage all stakeholder engagements (calling regular Steering Committees, Project Boards, etc.) and provide regular progress updates. Communicate issues to project team and the project governing bodies in a timely manner and asks for intervention when and where necessary.

6) Develop and promote the Project Management Offices way of working across the WSE division, ensuring methodologies are evaluated, trailered and adopted by project teams.

7) Manage relationship with all third-party entities (near shore, offshore, or outsourced) resources such as public health institutions, Ministries of Health, system integrators, contractors, or consultants to achieve the desired project outcomes.

8) Provide professional solutions or consulting services to other project managers, both in HQ and Regional Offices, in the areas of planning, estimation, execution, and monitoring of projects.

9) Support and coordinate the development of donor reports, project evaluations, and communications and advocacy documents, including success stories, required for resource mobilization and strategic decision making.

10) Support and coordinate the preparation of project proposals, as well as providing guidance on the alignment of proposed activities with donor priorities, recalibration of inputs, outputs, and outcomes, and creation of realistic budgets based on proposed technical activities and donor expectations.

11) Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: Advanced university degree in Business Administration, Project Management, Engineering, Computer Science, Finance, Information Management or related discipline. Foundation certification in project management methodologies such as PMI, Prince 2, Scrum/Agile or accreditation in business process methodologies Lean Six Sigma, BPMN, or EFQM.
Desirable: Training in Public Health Emergencies, International Development, Software Development Life Cycles, or any application development methodology.

Experience

Essential: At least 7 years of professional experience managing medium to large scale cross-functional programmes / projects, 5 years of which should be at the global or international level. Within this experience at least 4 years of demonstrated professional experience working with and presenting to senior-level management ensuring there is effective decision making. Proven experience in writing business plans, project-related documentation, large requests for proposals or technical papers.
Desirable: Experience in facilitating workshops and presentation to large groups. Experience with leading and managing change management, quality assurance, or business transformation. Experience in leading and managing projects within the public sectors (UN, international, other governmental). Experience in leading and managing projects within the professional business services such as consulting. Experience in public health, especially in the domain of emergency health surveillance and intelligence.

Skills

• Demonstrable skills in leadership and decision making.
• Demonstrable skills and expertise in Project Management (planning, organizing, resourcing) with a careful attention to detail to continuously monitor progress actions and initiatives.
• Demonstrable skills in coordinating high value procurement of goods and services including requests for proposals and contracts management.
• 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.
• 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) and presentation skills (public speaking and creating visual materials).
• Other required WHO competencies include Producing Results.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Moving forward in a changing environment
Ensuring the effective use of resources

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English.
Desirable: Beginners knowledge of French. Beginners knowledge of German.

REMUNERATION

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 applicable), a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 3106 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.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level

• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

• A written test and/or an asynchronous video assessment may be used as a form of screening.

• In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.

• According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.

• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.
• The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits and employs staff regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.
• The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its staff. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email toreasonableaccommodation@who.int

• An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.

• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.

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• WHO also offers wide range of benefits to staff, including parental leave and attractive flexible work arrangements to help promote a healthy work-life balance and to allow all staff members to express and develop their talents fully.

• The statutory retirement age for staff appointments is 65 years. For external applicants, only those who are expected to complete the term of appointment will normally be considered.

• Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.

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