Senior Technical Officer - Health Systems Development & Strengthening

Organizational Context

The World Health Organization (WHO) is the UN agency dedicated to promoting health, ensuring global safety, and serving vulnerable populations. In South Sudan, WHO operates within a complex environment marked by overlapping public health and humanitarian emergencies, including disease outbreaks, conflict, displacement, and disrupted health services. The organization supports the Ministry of Health and other national bodies to strengthen health system preparedness and response capabilities.

Job Purpose

This role provides crucial field-level support for health systems development and strengthening, focusing on readiness and response to Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) and other priority public health emergencies in South Sudan. The incumbent will coordinate WHO-supported operations within designated areas, consolidate needs, deploy resources, and ensure effective communication between local health authorities and the national Incident Management System. The objective is to enhance the country's capacity to detect, respond to, and manage health emergencies while ensuring the continuity of essential health services amidst ongoing challenges.

Responsibilities

The Senior Technical Officer will provide technical guidance and support for developing and implementing national and state health strategies, plans, and programs. This includes advising on health governance, policy, systems development, and service organization, with a focus on primary healthcare and quality improvement. The role involves assisting the Ministry of Health in designing essential health service packages, addressing health inequities, and supporting the training and development of the health workforce. Additionally, the officer will contribute to strengthening the health information system for better decision-making and performance monitoring. When acting as Hub Lead, the incumbent will coordinate WHO operations, manage needs assessments, deploy support, and link local efforts to the national response system.

Work Experience

A minimum of 7 years of progressive experience at national and international levels is required in health policy, planning, management, health systems recovery, and service delivery in emergency settings. Experience includes extending healthcare to underserved populations, developing strategies to overcome access barriers, and managing essential medicines. Skills in coordinating multidisciplinary teams, epidemiological reasoning, data analysis, and working under pressure are essential.

Skills

Key competencies include teamwork, communication, producing results, respecting diversity, and building partnerships. Functional competencies encompass field epidemiology and surveillance, planning and organizing, analytical thinking, knowledge sharing, quality assurance, and sound judgment. Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite is required, with GIS, dashboarding, or mobile data collection skills being advantageous.

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