Mission and objectives

The mission of WHO in the area of transplantation is to meet the requirement of the fifty-seventh World health Assembly resolution WHA57.18.. Objectives can be summarized as follows: To work with Member states and to provide assistance at their request to ensure effective national oversight of allogeneic and xenogeneic transplantation activities. This would ensure accountability, traceability, and appropriate surveillance of adverse events (in particular transmission of infectious agents of xenogeneic origin); To increase access of citizens to safe and effective transplantation of cell, tissue and organ. Additionally, to ensure ethical and technical practices of the procurement of human material for transplantation to the follow-up of recipients and live donors; To promote international cooperation to encourage the global harmonization of technical and ethical practices in transplantation. This would include the prevention of the exploitation of the disadvantaged through transplant tourism and the sale of human material for transplantation. To encourage donation of human material for transplantation. The "Clinical Procedures" unit in the Department of Essential Health Technologies is responsible for promoting the appropriate effective and safe use of cell, tissue and organ transplantation. This includes the surveillance of risks particularly in xenotransplantation. This department is also responsible for ensuring efficacy, safety and equity in the provision of clinical procedures in surgery, anaesthetics, obstetrics and orthopaedics particularly at the district hospital level.

Context

The mission of WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO)’s Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Cluster is to strengthen Member States' capacity to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are exceeded, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and provide effective relief and recovery for affected populations. This mission includes addressing over 100 health emergencies annually across the region, aiming to reduce suffering and save lives in areas impacted by natural disasters, disease outbreaks and complex crises. The WHO African Region continues to experience a high frequency of health emergencies, many of which begin and end at the community level. Strengthening community protection, preparedness, and resilience is therefore central to the Region’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Threat Management agenda. The communication Officer will also support the integration of community engagement components within Pandemic Fund-supported activities, across surveillance, laboratory systems, and health workforce development. This includes facilitating coordination with national counterparts and partners to ensure that community engagement elements are consistently reflected and operationalized during implementation, as well as providing support to Member States during relevant stages of Pandemic Fund proposal development, as required. The Pandemic Fund Delivery Unit (PDU) was established to coordinate and support the effective implementation of WHO-managed projects financed by the Pandemic Fund across the African Region. The PDU ensures strategic alignment, operational coherence, and accountability across multiple country and regional proposals. It provides technical, financial, and administrative oversight; facilitates collaboration between WHO country offices, regional hubs, and implementing partners; and supports monitoring, reporting, and knowledge sharing to maximize the impact of Pandemic Fund investments on health emergency preparedness and response. The PDU also leads the process for pandemic fund proposal development in the African Region. The Communication Officer reports to the RCCE lead, with secondary supervision from the PAM - HEPTM, following EPR’s established reporting policies. While the officer is expected to take initiative in managing assignments, they will receive policy guidance and strategic direction from the RCCE Lead. Additionally, the officer may report bilaterally to the PDU Coordinator. Scope of Work: As a member of the WHO AFRO Health Emergencies Programme, under the Health Emergency Preparedness and Threat Management (HEPTM) Unit, the communication Officer (REACH Africa) will support the planning and implementation of the REACH Africa initiative, with a focus on strengthening community preparedness and engagement within emergency preparedness systems. Working in close coordination with the RCCE team, the Pandemic Fund Delivery Unit (PDU), and relevant technical counterparts, the incumbent will support the integration of REACH Africa activities within Pandemic Fund supported efforts. The role will contribute to ensuring that community protection and resilience components are consistently reflected, operationalized, and aligned with agreed project objectives.

Task Description

Under the supervision of the RCCE Team Lead and the overall guidance of the Programme Area Manager, Health Emergency Preparedness (HEP), the communication Officer (REACH Africa) will support the implementation of project activities through the following duties: • Support Member States participating in REACH Africa to integrate community engagement and participation into national emergency preparedness efforts, particularly within Pandemic Fund–supported projects. • Contextualize and apply WHO guidance, tools, and frameworks related to community protection, resilience in line with REACH Africa objectives. • Contribute to the planning and organization of REACH Africa activities, including coordination of pulse sessions, podcast series, community dialogue on wheels, learning sessions, and community preparedness dialogues with national counterparts. • Support the documentation of project implementation, including collection and synthesis of country inputs, lessons learned, and examples of good practice from REACH Africa pilot countries. • Draft routine technical inputs, summaries, briefing notes, and donor-related updates relevant to REACH Africa implementation and community preparedness components. • Facilitate the coordination with WHO Country Offices and relevant technical teams within the Health Emergency Preparedness and Threat Management Unit to support coherent implementation of all REACH Africa activities. • Support basic monitoring of project progress through regular communication with participating countries, review of activity updates, and contribution to internal tracking and review processes. • Contribute to the development of project materials that support visibility, knowledge sharing, and understanding of REACH Africa approaches and outputs. • Provide support, as required, to coordination between the PDU, Member States, and partners during Pandemic Fund related discussions linked to REACH Africa. • Perform other related duties as assigned by the supervisors. Other Responsibilities: In addition to the assigned duties, the communication Officer will contribute to internal coordination and information-sharing within the Health Emergency Preparedness and Threat Management (HEPTM) Unit and across relevant technical areas. The incumbent will support collaboration with partners and technical networks involved in community preparedness and REACH Africa implementation and participate in internal coordination processes as required. Undertake duty travel within the Region, as required, to support implementation activities and coordination with participating countries.

Competencies and values

• Problem-solving and critical thinking. • Adaptability and flexibility. • Strong interpersonal and networking skills. • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Professionalism • Self-management

Living conditions and remarks

The Republic of Kenya is an equatorial nation on the coast of East Africa, neighbouring Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Indian Ocean. Kenya has two levels of Government; National Government and 47 sub-national Governments called Counties. Counties are further divided into sub-counties. Kenya is a multi-party state with Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Kenya’s population of more than 40 million is growing at an annual rate of 2.2%. The country’s GNP per capita estimated at purchasing power parity (PPP) is $975, and the GNP is growing at an average rate of 0.1% annually. More than 26% of Kenya’s people live below the international poverty line of $1 per day. Kenya’s main food crops are “maize, wheat, pulses, roots and tubers.” (FAO). Nairobi is a modern metropolitan city where most basic goods and services, health facilities, public transport, telecommunication and banking services and educational facilities are readily available. The city is widely connected through its main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the smaller Wilson Airport. Air transport is also available to many up-country destinations. The city is home to some 3,000 UN personnel mainly attributed to the fact that it serves as the headquarters for both the UN HABITAT and UNEP. The socio-economic and cultural background of the immediate society the UNV would be living and working in is diverse and prevailing security conditions at the place of assignment is modest. The topographic and climatic features of the assignment location is highland cool and warm tropical climate. Link to the Entitlement Calculator: https://app.unv.org/calculator https://www.unv.org/ United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin, or other status.