Job Title: Technical Officer – Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health.
Posting Start Date: 10/10/24
Job Description:
AU Values
| Respect for Diversity and Teamwork | Integrity and Impartiality |
| Think Africa Above all | Efficiency and Professionalism |
| Transparency and Accountability | Information and Knowledge Sharing |
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Organization Information
Reports to: Head of Division – Disease Control and Prevention
Directorate/Department: Africa CDC
Division: Disease Control and Prevention
Number of Direct Reports: 0
Number of Indirect Reports: 0
Job Grade: P2
Number of Positions: 1
Contract Type: Fixed Term
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Purpose of Job
The African Union (AU), established as a unique Pan African continental body, is charged with spearheading Africa’s rapid integration and sustainable development by promoting unity, solidarity, cohesion and cooperation among the peoples of Africa and African States as well as developing a new partnership worldwide. Its Headquarters is located in of Ethiopia. Officially launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2017 as a specialized technical institution of the African Union, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is Africa’s first continent-wide public health agency. Africa CDC envisions a safer, healthier, integrated, and stronger Africa, where the Member States can effectively respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases and other public health threats. The agency’s mission is to strengthen Africa’s public health institutions’ capabilities to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease outbreaks and other health burdens through an integrated network of continent-wide preparedness and response, surveillance, laboratory, and research programs.
Africa CDC has six strategic priority pillars: (1) Public health surveillance and disease intelligence; (2) Public health emergency preparedness and response; (3) Public health laboratory systems and networks; (4) Public health information systems; (5) National public health institutes and research and, (6) Disease Control and Prevention. In seeking to achieve these strategic objectives, a grant agreement was signed between Africa CDC and the World Bank to ensure the programme delivery capacity is adequate at Africa CDC in three main components: (1) Support to the Africa CDC’s COVID-19 response, (2) Enhancing Africa CDC’s technical and programmatic functions to support AU Member States’ preparedness capacities and, (3) Strengthening Africa CDC’s institutional capacity and operational structure. Hence, Africa CDC invites applicants who are citizens of Member States to apply for the position of Technical Officer – Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Division of Disease Control and Prevention.
Main Functions
Under the supervision of the Head of Division, Disease Control and Prevention, the Technical Officer – Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health will provide technical guidance to support conceptualization and implementation of holistic Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental ill-Health prevention and control programming within AU Member States through supporting the implementation of the Africa CDC Non-Communicable Diseases, Injuries prevention and control and Mental health promotion strategy.
Specific Responsibilities
The Technical Officer will be responsible for the following:
- Support the implementation of the Africa CDC Non-Communicable Diseases, Injuries prevention and control and Mental health promotion strategy and ensure linkages to existing cross cutting programs at Africa CDC, Regional Coordinating Centers (RCC), partners as well as in Member States;
- Develop, review, and disseminate guidelines, standards of practice, protocols and other tools to improve quality delivery in Member States;
- Support the implementation of inter-country collaboration on Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental health surveillance monitoring and reporting, including data sharing and use and promote engagement of countries regional and inter-regional prevention and control activities and programs;
- Work with Member States to support the process of improving Africa CDC access to health-related data through coordination, collaboration and technical assistance;
- Strengthen National Public Health Institutes capacity for developing and implementing multi-sectoral actions for Non-Communicable Disease, Injuries and Mental Health prevention and control on the continent.
- Support the workforce development priorities for Non-Communicable Disease, Injuries and Mental Health prevention and control including developing specific training curriculum and manuals for various audiences, partner engagement and management, and ensure delivery of various workforce development activities,
- Manage the daily activities of the Non-Communicable Diseases, Injuries and Mental Health Unit and work closely with other units at the Division of Disease Control and Prevention to identify and build cross-sectoral programming; conducting analysis and generate accurate reports in a timely manner for the Non-Communicable Diseases, Injuries and Mental Health Unit and Africa CDC internal use.
- Assist in following up on the activities of the Non-Communicable Diseases, Injuries and Mental Health unit, including monitoring and evaluating progress made in line with the implementation of the Africa CDC strategy.
- Perform any other relevant functions as assigned by the Supervisor.
Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience
- University bachelor’s degree in public health, medicine, epidemiology, health science, health-services research or related health discipline with at least 5 years of relevant experience OR A master’s degree in, public health, epidemiology, medicine, health science, health services research or related health discipline with a minimum of 2 years of experience.
- Technical skills and experience in development and implementation of strategic plans for public health institutions with special emphasis on Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental health in Africa, epidemiology and surveillance, health information systems and related workforce capacity development.
- Resourceful and skilled at collecting, analyzing and using data to recommend, make and communicate decisions of a technical nature to both scientific and lay audiences.
- Strong technical and scientific writing skills, in addition to narrative and technical reporting skills.
- Knowledge of public health programs, health sciences research and health systems strengthening, and experience in supporting projects and programs under government ministries and external donors.
- Familiarity with administrative and management practice and processes typically employed by public health and other public sector programs, particularly in the context of emergency response.
- Knowledge of public health issues in Africa and previous experience working in Africa.
- Knowledge of oral communication techniques and skill in presentation delivery, program consultation and credible verbal response to inquiries.
- Skills in translating technical information into presentations, briefings and reports and funding proposals for both technical and lay audiences.
- Demonstrable experience and in-depth knowledge of operations of the Africa CDC, Regional Collaborating Centers National Public Health Institutes will be an added advantage.
- Understanding of the African Union way of working and managing associated relationships with Member State entities and partners.
Required Skills
- Knowledge of public health principles and practice as they relate to the implementation of public health programs and service delivery.
- Diplomatic, representational, interpersonal and communication skills, including experience successfully interacting with stakeholders and decision-makers in technical and other professional settings.
- Collect, analyze, and use data to recommend, make and communicate decisions of a technical nature to both scientific and lay audiences.
- Technical and scientific writing skills, in addition to narrative and financial reporting skills.
- Translate technical information into presentations, briefings and report and funding proposals for both technical and lay audiences.
- Project planning and management skills for organizing, planning and executing public health projects from conception through implementation.
- Demonstrated ability with regard to computer skills, particularly with statistical and other analytic tools, e.g., R and State, and with office software applications such as MS Excel, Power Point and Word.
- Applicants must be proficient in at least one of the AU languages (Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Swahili). Knowledge of one or more additional African Union working languages would be an added advantage.
Leadership Competencies
Strategic Insight
Developing Others
Change Management
Managing Risk
Core Competencies
Learning Orientation
Communicating with Influence ….
Accountability awareness and Compliance..
Teamwork and Collaboration..
Functional Competencies
Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving
Drive for Results
Job Knowledge and information sharing
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TENURE OF APPOINTMENT:
The Appointment will be made on a fixed term contract for a period of one (1) year, of which the first three (3) months will be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract may be renewed for a similar period subject to funding availability, satisfactory performance and agreed deliverables.
GENDER MAINSTREAMING:
The AU Commission is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.
LANGUAGES:
Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, and Spanish) is mandatory and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage
REMUNERATION:
The salary attached to the position is an annual lump-sum of US$ 85,212.07 (P2 Step 5) inclusive of all allowances for internationally recruited staff, and US$ 66,751.81 inclusive of all allowances for locally recruited staff of the African Union Commission.
Applications must be submitted no later than November 11, 2024 11h59 p.m. EAT.
-Only candidates who meet all job requirements and are selected for interviews will be contacted. -Consideration will be given only to those candidates who have submitted a fully completed online application with a curriculum vitae (CV), an African passport, and the required academic qualifications, such as Diplomas, Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees and any relevant certificate in line with the area of expertise.
-The African Union is an equal opportunity employer, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
-Candidates from less represented countries within the African Union are strongly encouraged to apply for positions that fit their profiles. These countries include Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Sahrawi D.R., Sao Tome and Principe., Seychelles, Somalia and Tunisia.
Notes
The requirements and responsibilities contained in this job description do not create a contract of employment and are not meant to be all-inclusive. It may be changed by the role manager during employment on an as-needed basis.
Only candidates who have met all the requirements of the post and have been selected for interview will be contacted.
Only applications registered online with a complete curriculum vitae (CV) attached will be considered.
The Africa union is an equal opportunity employer and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.