Associate Public Health Officer

The Office of the UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems world-wide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.
The UNHCR Representation Office in Rwanda principally consists of a refugee population mainly refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo who have been on the Rwandan territory since 1996 and Burundian refugees who moved to Rwanda due to the volatile situation in Burundi since April 2015.
There is also a small population of Rwandan refugees returning after many years in exile. The UNHCR Rwanda Operation is composed of the Country Office in Kigali, Sub Office Kirehe, Field Office Karongi, Field office Huye, Field Office Kabarore, and two Field Units Gashora and Rubavu.

The Associate Public Health Officer is a member of a multidisciplinary team and contributes to ensuring that UNHCR's public health programmes meet minimum UNHCR and global health standards to minimize avoidable morbidity and mor- tality among forcibly displaced and stateless persons and towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Public health programmes include primary health care, secondary health care, sexual and reproductive health (including HIV), nutrition, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). The incumbent provides effective guidance and support to partners on UNHCR’s responses in public health. S/he will contribute to advancing the concepts found in UNHCR’s Global Public Health Strategy as well as the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and the mainstreaming/inclu- sion of refugees into national health programmes and systems. The Associate Public Health Officer is usually supervised by a more senior public health staff or in the absence thereof, by operations/programmes staff or the head of Sub-Office. Staff under UNHCR duties are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Under the direct supervision of the head of Kirehe Sub-Office, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
1. Programme planning, monitoring and evaluation together with UNHCR partners to effectively address issues of public health importance, based on the principles of public health and Primary Health care in the refugee camps and transit centers as well as in the areas of return for returnees.

Activities include supporting partners and the refugee community to:
• Ensure the public health services provided by partner to refugees and returnees are complying with the required national and international standards.
• Guide and support partners to use the UNHCR Health Information System and collect UNHCR statistics verifiying Core Standards and Indicators; review monthly health data; and compile tech- nical periodic reports as well as the Annual report on the health situation.
• Ensure implementation of appropriate country protocols and guidance and adherence to UNHCR specific guidance for public health programming.
• Support partners in the implementation of the Public health programmes, including reproductive health, HIV and mental health.
• Provide guidance and follow up to partners in the implementation of UNHCR action plans including for malaria and HIV/AIDS.
• Provide technical contributions during planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation process in the UNHCR program cycle.
• Ensure timely coordination and implementation of UNHCR led programmes

2. Coordination of services between UNHCR partners, National and international NGOs, other UN agen- cies, and Ministry of Health, and other sectors; ensuring early engagement of development agencies as appropriate.

• Capacity building of partners and refugee health officials as appropriate in identified areas of weak- ness; facilitation of partners’ access to training activities conducted by other agencies, with a par- ticular focus on health information and disease surveillance; malaria management; safe mother- hood; integrated management of childhood Illness.
• Participate in advocacy, information sharing and communication on the health situation of popula- tions of concern, within UNHCR and among partners, donors, other agencies, and the Govern- ment.
• Acts as focal point for UNHCR for any health and medical matters in relation with the UNHCR strategy.
• Participate actively in appropriate groups on the Health, population, HIV/AIDS, and other cross cutting working groups and or forums related to health and medical issues, with the aim to anchor refugees and returnees health concerns and needs into the ONE UN health program.
• Coordinate and lead monthly health coordination meetings with implementing partners, in close coordination with the programme section.