Posted on :
7 Nov, 2022
7 Nov, 2022
Immunization is one of the key priority areas for the WHO Country Office for Ghana, the Ghana Health Service, and the Ministry of Health. WHO continues its technical support to the government at national and sub-national levels to reach the goals of the EPI Programme as outlined in the comprehensive Multi-Year Plan (cMYP) 2020-2024 and the Health Sector Medium Term Development Plan 2022-2025.The overarching goal is to support the Ministry of Health, through the various agencies and levels, and relevant institution in strengthening the capacities to build an investment case to support decision-making for new vaccines in collaboration with other partners and stakeholders. It is also to assess the impact of immunization interventions for the reduction of morbidity, mortality, and disability resulting from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), using a comprehensive life-course approach. This aligns with the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA 2030) and the Gavi Alliance Strategy 2021-2025 (Gavi 5.0) of improving equity and increasing access to vaccines. There is an increasing need to advise national immunization policy and programming as a mid-income country to innovate and prioritize high-impact interventions in the context of transitioning from external resources. There is a need for sustained quality technical assistance by the WHO to the MOH, GHS, and partners.
Job Description
Job Title: Vaccines Initiative Officer
Description Of Duties
The incumbent will have the following assigned responsibilities/duties:
Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews, and annual sectoral reviews with government and other partners to assess performance and help formulate required action/interventions to ensure improvement
Conduct and update the situation analysis for the development, design, and management of immunization-related programs
Support the application and implementation of accelerated disease control activities towards the achievement of eradication (polio), elimination (measles & rubella), and control of vaccine-preventable diseases
Provide technical support and day-to-day coordination and collaboration with the EPI Programme, partners, and other stakeholders on COVID-19 vaccination with a focus on vaccination among the most disadvantaged populations and high risks communities
Participate in monitoring of COVID-19 vaccination roll-out, including field site visits, identifying issues, solutions, and priority actions with stakeholders. This includes technical support for the development and implementation of digital tools and strategies for real-time monitoring.
Provide technical support related to data management, analysis, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting for COVID-19 vaccination
Support and facilitate relevant training, orientation, and workshops to build the capacity of health workers, community members, and partners on COVID-19 vaccination, including microplanning, community engagement outreach, and monitoring.
Support and participate in communications and visibility, collecting stories from the field, including human interest stories
Monitor COVID-19 vaccine registration, reception, and track expiry.
Support safety monitoring of COVID-19 vaccines.
Support implementation of studies to establish local level data and evidence on disease burden and other data including cost-effectiveness analysis to support new vaccine introduction
Support the country to put together the country’s application documents to Gavi or any other supporting organization
Provide technical support for the introduction of new vaccines including the development of introductory guidelines, capacity building, deployment monitoring, post-introduction evaluation, etc
Provide technical support to the EPI Programme to continue implementation of the malaria vaccine pilot including scale-up to other districts
Support impact studies on new vaccines including vaccines for rotavirus diarrhea and pneumonia
Support implementation of studies to monitor the impact of rubella-containing vaccines on congenital rubella syndrome in Ghana
Identify, document, and share lessons learned/best practices for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
Apply innovative approaches and promote good practices to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable program results.
Participate as a resource person in capacity-building initiatives to enhance the competencies of stakeholders.
Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with development partners, research institutions, academia and sub-national stakeholders through sharing of information and knowledge to enhance program implementation and build the capacity of stakeholders
Participate in the EPI coordination meetings to collaborate with the government and other partners on operational planning to integrate and harmonize WHO’s mission and strategies.
Required Qualifications
Education
Essential
Advanced university degree in Medicine, Public Health, Epidemiology, or Health Related Sciences
Desirable
Diploma or Certificate in Vaccinology, Immunisation systems or related fields
ExperienceEssential:
Desirable
Skills
WHO Competencies
Languages
Essential: Excellent knowledge of English.Desirable: Working knowledge of local languages
REMUNERATION
WHO offers staff in the National Professional officer category an attractive remuneration package, which for the above position includes an annual net base salary starting at 289,101.00CEDI subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable) and 30 days of annual leave.
Additional Information