Office and Programme Management Specialist, VRIU/AVAREF Secretariat

Mission and objectives

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations Public Health Organization established in 1948. The objective of the World Health Organization shall be the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. World Health Organization achieves its goals by performing its essential functions: 1. Take a leadership role in key health issues and create partnerships when joint action is needed; 2. Set research priorities and encourage the acquisition, application and dissemination of useful knowledge; 3. Setting standards and criteria and encouraging and monitoring them; 4. Develop ethical and evidence-based policies 5. Provide technical support, be an agent of change and build institutional capacity in a sustainable way; 6. Monitor health status and assess health trends.

Context

The position is situated within the AVAREF Secretariat, housed in the Vaccine Research and Innovation Unit (VRIU) of the Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD) Programme, Department of Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Control (DPC). VRIU is the custodian of AVAREF's network of networks, coordinating the African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF) of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and National Ethics Committees (NECs) since 2006. The Secretariat coordinates a rapidly growing portfolio: multi-country joint reviews of clinical trial applications, scientific advice procedures, facilitated registrations and emergency use authorizations, the 16-country Clinical Trial Pilot, regional training workshops in English, French, and Portuguese, and monthly webinars, on top of an expanding AVAREF Trusted Support Roster and six named consultancy positions now being advertised. This volume has outgrown the Secretariat's current staffing; the position provides dedicated programme management and administrative capacity so the technical team can concentrate on scientific and regulatory functions.

Task Description

1- Meetings, calendar, and logistics coordination

• Organize and document meetings of the Vaccine Regulatory Intelligence Unit (VRIU ) - African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF) governance bodies (Advisory Committee, Technical Coordinating Committee, working groups), donors, and the Secretariat Coordinator’s own schedule: scheduling, invitations, logistics, minutes, and follow-up of action points.
• Coordinate the administrative preparation of workshops, trainings, and webinars: participant lists, invitation letters, travel arrangements, venue logistics, and post-activity reporting support.
• Maintain the AVAREF calendar of activities and the joint activities database, keeping both current for the Secretariat and member states. 2- Records, filing, and contract administration
• Manage the Secretariat’s document filing system: classification, archiving, and version control of guidelines, reports, minutes, official correspondence, consultant contract files, selection reports, and the AVAREF Trusted Support Roster database.
• Support administrative processes including travel requests, procurement follow-up, and expenditure tracking against approved workplans. 3- Programme management, monitoring, and performance tracking
• Support the development and updating of AVAREF/VRIU workplans and activity trackers; track deliverables and deadlines across active consultancies, the Clinical Trial Pilot, and reliance-network activities, flagging slippage to the supervisor.
• Assist in setting up and maintaining dashboards and monitoring tools to track consultant and roster status, contract milestones, and deliverable completion.
• Support the performance management cycle for Secretariat consultants: circulating assessment forms, consolidating ratings, and maintaining records of end-of-contract evaluations.
• Produce a monthly operational status report and other regular progress briefs for the supervisor and Secretariat leadership. 4- Internal and external communications
• Draft and disseminate internal updates, meeting minutes, and action-point trackers to Secretariat staff and consultants.
• Support internal and external communications and keep AVAREF’s communication channels current, including SharePoint sites, social media, the website, and the newsletter.
• Contribute to the animation of AVAREF’s communities of practice: dissemination emails, progress reports, and news items.
• Support coordination between the Secretariat, VRIU technical staff, and fellow UN Volunteers.
• Perform any other task as requested by the supervisor. 5- Expected outputs and deliverables (initial 6-month term)
• These deliverables cover onboarding and progressive take-over of the functions below across the initial 6-month assignment; they inform the formal performance review at month 6 that supports any decision to renew.
• Meeting-management system (schedule, minutes template, action-point tracker) established and in routine use (Target Month 2).
• Central contacts and participants database consolidated and up to date (Target Month 3).
• Document archive of the Secretariat reorganized, indexed, and accessible (Target Month 4).
• Draft calendar of AVAREF activities for the following year prepared for the Coordinator (Target Month 5).
• Monthly operational status reports produced without supervision (Target Month 6). 6- Indicative deliverables if the assignment is renewed (months 7 to 12)
• The following reflect autonomous operation of the function and would apply to a renewed term; they are not deliverables of the initial 6-month assignment.
• Administrative and logistical preparation of the workshops, trainings, and governance meetings of the semester delivered autonomously (Months 7–12).
• Communication channels (SharePoint sites, social media, website, newsletter) updated on a monthly cycle; dissemination emails and news items prepared for each major activity (Months 7–12).
• Following year’s calendar of AVAREF activities finalized and validated by the Coordinator (Month 10).
• Contribution to the AVAREF annual report (operational sections and activity records) submitted (Month 12).
• End-of-assignment handover note and updated procedures documented (Month 12).

Competencies and values

• Professionalism
• Integrity and ethics
• Working in teams
• Planning and organizing
• Accountability
• Communication
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Commitment to continuous learning
• Technological awareness
• Respect for diversity
• Commitment and motivation

Living conditions and remarks

Brazzaville is a family duty station with access to basic services, medical facilities, and international travel connections. The environment is culturally rich but requires adaptability and resilience. This is a family-duty station for most UN staff despite the limited operationality of health facilities; there is an American International school, a French Lycee and several other private institutions of education. All major cards can be used through a network ofautomated teller machines (ATMs) throughout the city. There is a wide range of housing options including what WHO offers in its multiple compounds (houses and apartments). An entry visa to the Republic of Congo is mandatory. Visas can be obtained at the Embassy or Consulate of the Republic of Congo in your country of nationality or residence. If there is no diplomatic representation of the Republic of Congo in your country, it is mandatory to please bring the following:

• The waiver provided by WHO, with the circular in French;
• A copy of your travel authorization or official letter of invitation. Congo provides for an interesting and enriching environment, but also requires a mature level of cultural awareness, as well as more stamina and commitment than elsewhere to make life comfortable and affordable. Therefore, flexibility and the ability and willingness to live and work in potentially difficult conditions, involving physical hardship and limited comfort, are essential. https://www.unv.org/