Project Management Associate

The World Health Organization serves as the directing and coordinating authority for public health within the United Nations system. WHO seeks to promote health, ensure everyone can attain the highest level of health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable through partnerships, people and countries.

The objective of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (The Programme) is to build the capacity of Member States to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations.
The Joint Emergency Preparedness and response Action Plan (JEAP) was launched in June 2023 by the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) . The aim of the pioneering five-year strategic collaboration is to boost emergency preparedness and response efforts throughout Africa and thus ensure disease outbreaks during humanitarian crises and otherwise are managed efficiently. The plan builds upon existing frameworks and initiatives while capitalizing on the Africa CDC and WHO’s unique capabilities and resources. Aligned with the Africa CDC’s New Public Health Order, WHO AFRO’s Regional Strategy for Health Security and Emergencies (2022-2030), and WHO EMRO’s four-year strategy for the Eastern Mediterranean region to address health emergencies – the JEAP strengthens emergency preparedness and response across critical areas : strengthening surveillance intelligence and genomic sequencing, stockpiling emergency supplies. deploying first responders within 24-48 hours of a disease outbreak.

Under the direct supervision of the Planning Officer and Programme Area Manager (PMO PAM) of WHO's Health Emergencies (WHE) Programme and in continued collaboration with EMRO WHE Technical units, the Project management associate will support the PM functions in WHE EMR and will provide critical Program Management Office (PMO) support to the JEAP Secretariat. The incumbents will work closely with the Planning Officer and will collaborate with other team members on all aspects of the implementation of the projects. The incumbent will have contact with a broad range of staff at WHO EMRO including other all WHE EMRO units.
The specific responsibilities of the role are:
1. Perform Program Management Office (PMO) functions for the JEAP Secretariat:
a. Facilitate the implementation of the governance and management structure.
i. Prepare for and facilitate weekly focal point meetings (with WHO AFRO, WHO EMRO, and Africa CDC).
ii. Prepare for and facilitate (when needed) quarterly Steering Committee meetings (with senior leadership from AFRO, EMRO, and Africa CDC).
b. Facilitate bi-weekly technical working group (TWG) meetings across eight TWGs and conduct the necessary follow-ups to ensure workplans are implemented on track.
i. Coordinate between TWGs and focal points/others to ensure activities in the workplan are on track.
ii. Support onboarding and institutionalization of the three newest TWGs.
c. Monitor and track JEAP progress, budgets, and workplans, and provide regular reports and updates to ensure transparency and accountability.
d. Identify potential risks for the Partnership and support the development of mitigation strategies.
e. Support partner engagement (e.g., developing tailored decks and talking points for meetings with partners) and support the focal points with strategic planning and tactical decision-making.
2. Develop a comprehensive grant proposals when required that captures key details for the project such as the theory of change, risk matrix, operational partnerships, results framework, monitoring and evaluation guidelines, and budget.
a. Coordinate closely with WHO EMRO and WHE program; REDO & technical units to collect the relevant documentation required to develop a compelling grant proposal.
3. Support the Planning Officer in preparing project summaries (briefs) highlighting the results of the projects, the learnings and the implications in terms of best practices.
4. Support the coordination of, consolidation and dissemination of improved information and knowledge management within the team for the purposes of monitoring evaluation, and learning.
5. Assist the project officer in maintaining and running the recently established WHE CoP (comprising of MS Teams channels and SharePoint site).
6. Perform any other tasks assigned by the Planning Officer or PAM PMO, WHE EMRO.