Operation Support and Logistics Officer

Job Title: Operation Support and Logistics Officer 

Organization: World Health Organization (WHO)

Grade: No grade

Contractual Arrangement: Special Services Agreement (SSA)

Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days): 3 Months

Closing Date: Aug 17, 2023, 12:59:00 AM

Primary Location: Mozambique-Maputo

Organization Unit: AF_MOZ Mozambique

Schedule: Full-time  

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that the deadline for receipt of applications indicated above reflects your personal device's system settings. 

I.            Background and Justification 

*Purpose of the Position

Mozambique is experiencing one of the largest cholera epidemics in decades, which can also be considered an outbreak in an endemic situation. The outbreak started in Niassa province on September 14, 2022, and then spread to two other provinces. The situation worsened after heavy rains in February 2023 and the arrival of cyclone Freddy 1 on February 22, and cyclone Freddy 2 on March 11. Cases have been reported in all provinces of the country and as of 31 July 2023, a cumulative total of 33,534 cases and 141 deaths (CFR 0.4%) have been reported in 67 districts out of 141 districts. Since the outbreak was declared a national cholera task force has been activated and WCO Mozambique along with other partners, is supporting all pillars of the response. The WHO Health Emergencies Incident Management System (IMS), at the country level, has been activated to provide a standardized, yet flexible response to the emergency.

Despite the scale of the cholera outbreak in Mozambique decreasing, cholera cases continue to be recorded in four provinces: Zambezia, Nampula, Cabo Delgado, and Sofala. Thus, the IMS has been maintained and activated, to reinforce WHO support to end the outbreak before the next rainy season. There is a need to recruit an Operational Support and Logistics (OSL) expert, to support the activities.

 II.            Job Description 

*Organizational context

WHO, in accordance with its essential functions, is the first technical partner of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Mozambique in the field of health. WHO provide support to the Government within the ongoing cholera response.

The OSL officer will work under the technical supervision of the Operations officer, the overall guidance of the Incident Manager and the ultimate supervision of the WHO Representative.

The OSL officer will provide technical expertise, tools, methods and means to meet the specific health logistical needs of IMS, member state and partners. This involves working closely with counterparts at the respective regional office, HQ, other WHO staff and partners as well as a broad of official from the Ministry of Health (MOH), 

Successful completion of assignments for the OSL officer requires establishment of solid partnership with counterparts in other UN actors and NGOs involved in the response with ongoing contacts with counterparts at HQ, Global Service Center (GSC), regional and country offices to exchange information, obtain services and follow-up on orders and deliveries, as well as with technical staff engaged in field operations to provide support and services. The work also involves ongoing contacts and negotiations with officials from local authorities related to supply chain management. 

*Summary of Assigned Duties

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

A.    Support the ongoing cholera response

-          Provide timely technical expertise to the Incident Management team and manage overall technical activities implementation.

-          Replenish districts and/or provinces with key cholera supplies and report regularly to the IMS team, drawing their attention to needs, gaps, and problems, and proposing remedial actions.

-          Coordinate and monitor supply chain operations.

-          Utilize logistics IT to optimize procedures.

-          Document the OSL achievements, deliverables, lessons learned, and best practices and integrate them into ongoing activities as appropriate.

-          Provide regular progress reports to the Incident Manager.

B.     Stockpile inventory management 

-          Set up an updated inventory of material remaining physically in the WCO warehouse in Maputo and in Pemba.

-          Follow the shipments of supplies and update the list of WHO’s pipeline.

-          Support with the regular update of stock and pipeline from the partners.

-          Liaise with technical experts from AFRO and HQ, to ensure the update of the national dashboard.

-          Review with the WHO’s supply and procurement teams (WCO, AFRO, and HQ) all the orders placed (whether local, regional, or international) and draft a timeline for each of them, to allow the identification of possible neck needs to be addressed for further interventions.

C.     Preparation for the next rainy season

-          Participate in the elaboration of the preparedness and response plan.

-          When needed, Order stock of essential items for the next rainy season, plan and track the shipment of final products according to customer requirements.

-          Facilitate the inventory of the MOH supplies at national, provincial, and district levels.

-          Liaise and collaborate with relevant local authorities and other counterparts in key stakeholders to ensure a good preparation.

-          Organize meetings with the supply and procurement teams from UNICEF to reinforce the share stocks and pipeline (with dashboards to monitor global supplies).

D.    Perform any other related incident-specific duties, as required by the functional supervisor. 

III.            Recruitment Profile 

*Competencies: Generic

-                      Communication.

-                      Teamwork.

-                      Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences.

-                      Creating an empowering and motivating environment.

*Functional Knowledge and Skills

-                      Demonstrate knowledge of emergency response situations in the field of technical health logistics, with proven ability to identify and solve technical problems in difficult circumstances.

-                      Excellent analytical, organizational, and managerial skills with the ability to multitask, deliver results in time-critical scenarios, and identify and solve problems.

-                      Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural, multidisciplinary environment.

-                      Proven ability to build partnerships and engage partners.

-                      Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to promote cohesive actions and convince officials with tact and diplomacy.

-                      Ability to write in a clear and concise manner, and to present information to achieve desired results.

-                      Knowledge of WHO, the UN system, or NGO work in the field of response relief and/or of their practices and procedures related to the work. 

IV.            Required qualifications 

* Education

-                      Essential: An advanced university degree in technical and health logistics, emergency/outbreak response disaster or related field relevant to the functions of the positions from an accredited/ recognized institute.

 

-            Desirable:       Recognized training or certification in emergency (Emergency Disaster Management).

*Experience

-                      Essential:

-                      At least seven years of related experience in managing large-scale disaster emergency response and/or Public Health Events with International

-                      Concern operations in international organizations/institutions, part of which is in the field supporting emergency humanitarian operations.

-                      Demonstrated exposure at the international level.

 

-                      Desirable:

-                      Previous experience in managing cholera outbreak.

-                        Related experience with WHO, the UN system, health cluster partners, recognized humanitarian organizations, or international nongovernmental organizations working in the field of outbreaks and/or health emergency response. 

*Use of Language Skills

-          Essential: Expert knowledge of Portuguese

-          Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of English 

*Other Skills

- Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office applications.

- Demonstrated computer skills with emphasis on databases management

-  Demonstrated skills in using equipment such radio and satellite phones 

V.            Additional information

-         Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

-         A written test may be used as a form of screening.

-         If 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 is committed to workforce diversity.

-         WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

-         Applications from women and nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.

-         WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to putting 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.

Apply Now