Project Support Officer, Tobacco Control, P2

Position description

This requisition is for employment at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health (NMH) is responsible for promoting, coordinating, and implementing technical cooperation activities related to the prevention, control, and surveillance of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental, neurological and substance abuse disorders, including their risk factors, disabilities and rehabilitation, road safety and unintentional injuries, as well as prevention of and response to violence in all its forms. NMH raises political, public, and professional awareness and helps policymakers, health authorities, practitioners, and communities understand the burden of the most common NCDs, their related risk factors, and associated conditions. NMH promotes multi-sector and multi-stakeholder strategies that strengthen the capacity of Member States to promote and protect health through public policies, programs, services and surveillance, that reduce risks, improve NCD prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and self-management support to reduce the disease burden and improve the physical, mental, and social well-being of the population.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the general supervision of the Director, Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health (NMH), and the direct supervision of the Unit Chief, Risk Factors and Nutrition (NMH/RF), the incumbent will be responsible for, but not necessarily limited to, the following assigned duties:

• Support and collaborate with the donor’s team through WHO and the PAHO managerial and administrative team in operational planning, programming, budgeting, resource coordination, performance monitoring, and assessment. This includes utilizing evaluation tools to ensure effective management of extra-budgetary funds and report on the successful implementation of the work plan and allocated budget in accordance with the grant’s requirements and PAHO/WHO’s rules and grant requirements;
• Provide operative guidance to support PAHO/WHO country offices in strategic and operational planning, programming, budgeting and resource coordination and mobilization to enable effective implementation of the grant’s work plan and assigned budget;
• Participate and assist in planning, budgeting and executing logistic tasks for capacity building activities on tobacco control such as trainings, webinars, workshops and technical missions;
• Elaborate periodic grant reports detailing the progress of the work plan implementation and budgetary reports outlining the allocation of funds, per the donor’s request through WHO in coordination with PAHO’s administrative and technical team, PAHO/WHO country offices teams, and other relevant PAHO/WHO staff;
• Collaborate with RF team members in the operational planning, monitoring and evaluation of the Strategy and Plan of Action to Strengthen Tobacco Control in the Region of the Americas 2025-2030 and the PAHO Strategic Plan 2020-2025 and Biennial Work Plans;
• Participate as a member of the RF team to contribute to the successful implementation of the Unit’s activities;
• Participate actively in relevant working groups, meetings and fora; compile reports and present analyses on relevant programmatic issues;
• Prepare project-related information, as directed;
• Perform other related duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Essential: A bachelor’s degree in administrative and/or social science or in any other field related to the functions of the position, from a recognized university.

Experience:

Essential: Five years of combined national and international experience in the fields of public health, public policy or socio-economic development.

Desirable: Practical experience working in public health projects at the international level in Latin America and the Caribbean. Experience working in tobacco control would be an asset.

SKILLS

PAHO Competencies:

• Overall attitude at work: Maintains integrity and takes a clear ethical approach and stance; demonstrates commitment to the Organization’s mandate and promotes the values of the Organization in daily work and behavior; is accountable for work carried out in line with own role and responsibilities; is respectful towards, and trusted by, colleagues and counterparts.
• Teamwork: Collaborate and cooperate with others/Deal effectively with conflicts – Works collaboratively with team members and counterparts to achieve results; encourages cooperation and builds rapport; helps others when asked; accepts joint responsibility for the teams’ successes and shortcomings. Identifies conflicts in a timely manner and addresses them as necessary; understands issues from the perspective of others; does not interpret/ attribute conflicts to cultural, geographical or gender issues.
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences: Relate well with diversity in others and capitalize on such diversity – Treats all people with dignity and respect. Relates well to people with different cultures, gender, orientations, backgrounds and/or positions; examines own behavior to avoid stereotypical responses; considers issues from the perspective of others and values their diversity.
• Communication: Express oneself clearly when speaking/Write effectively / Share knowledge – Quality and quantity of communication targeted at audience. Listens attentively and does not interrupt other speakers. Adapts communication style and written content to ensure they are appropriately and accurately understood by the audience (e.g., power-point presentations, communication strategies, implementation plans). Shares information openly with colleagues and transfers knowledge, as needed.
• Knowing and managing yourself: Remain productive /Manage stress/Continuously learn – Remains productive even in an environment where information or direction is not available, and when facing challenges; recovers quickly from setbacks, where necessary. Manages stress positively; remains positive and productive even under pressure; does not transfer stress to others. Seeks informal and/or formal learning opportunities for personal and professional development; systematically learns new competencies and skills useful for job; takes advantage of learning opportunities to fill competencies and skill gaps.
• Producing Results: Work efficiently and independently / Deliver quality results/Take responsibility – Prioritizes work and makes planning/Organizational adjustments as necessary; seeks clarification from supervisor on timelines, as needed. Uses feedback and inputs from supervisor to achieve results. Produces quality results and has frequent discussions with supervisor to achieve results. Is action-oriented and sees tasks through to completion. Shows understanding of own role and responsibilities in relation to expected results. Solicits and accepts direction and guidance from supervisor and team members and takes responsibility for own work and actions, as appropriate.

Technical Expertise:

• Project management expertise in tobacco control, public policy, international affairs, global health and public health.
• Ability to integrate managerial and technical inputs into executive reports and recommendations for decision-making processes; ability to manage multiple issues and tasks in a complex organizational environment.
• Ability to create and advocate innovative approaches to facilitate and enhance project management capacity, as well as monitoring of these processes.
• Organizational and analytical skills to manage knowledge and information on public policies and/or tobacco control.
• Ability to develop and maintain partnerships for coordinated execution of projects.
• Ability to prepare funding proposals.
• Mature judgment, strong technical, analytical and conceptual skills; demonstrated ability to assess, analyze, synthesize and provide recommendations on key technical issues.
• Excellent organizational and analytic skills combined with strong professional oral and writing skills including the development of reports, oral presentations, and technical/persuasive documents for consideration at the highest levels of the Organization.

Languages

Very good knowledge of English or Spanish with working knowledge of the other language. Knowledge of French and/or Portuguese would be an asset.

IT Skills

Demonstrated ability to effectively use current technology and software, spreadsheets and presentations, as well as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and management information systems. Other IT skills and knowledge of software programs such as Microsoft Excel, Outlook, OneDrive, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, and Word are considered essential.

Application instructions

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