Medical Officer NOC | Kinshasa, DRC

Women and qualified persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply

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It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

JOB TITLE:	Medical Officer
TYPE OF CONTRACT:	Fixed – Term
GRADE:	NOC
DUTY STATION (City, Country):	Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
DURATION:	12 months
NUMBER OF POSITIONS:	1

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly, women and children, can access the nutrition food they need.

DRC is one of the largest hunger crises in the world. Hunger and conflict fuel one another, with armed conflict and widespread displacement prevailing for the past 25 years and multiple other crises compounding DRC’s humanitarian challenges. North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri are the provinces where war and unrest have been the most protracted. Three out of every four internally displaced people live with host families, many of whom were already just scraping by before taking in strangers in need. The number of acutely food-insecure people stands at 27 million, making access to food a daily struggle for a significant part of the Congolese population. An estimated 3.4 million children are acutely malnourished. The escalating insecurity situation in Eastern DRC is worsening the humanitarian situation in the region. Information compiled by OCHA and its partners indicates that increased fighting in Ituri, Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu has resulted into millions of people being in urgent need of life-saving food assistance.

Approximately 25.8 million people are projected to experience high levels of acute food insecurity in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023. Armed conflict, leading to massive population displacement, continues to reduce the purchasing power of the poorest households and despite WFP’s ongoing response in eastern DRC and a scale-up of operations to respond to this crisis, the growing gap between the number of people in need and those being reached with food assistance is widening. This has led WFP to activate a Corporate Scale-up Response for DRC as of 1 June.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ROLE:

The role is based in Kinshasa, DRC Country Office, and reports administratively to Country Director and technically to the Regional Medical Officer based in Johannesburg – South Africa. The local healthcare system in parts of DRC is weak and cannot at present assure reliable access to the required level of health support in all the locations where WFP is operating. The COVID 19 pandemic has aggravated the situation. WFP is strengthening access to healthcare services within the framework of the DRC MAT (WFP clinics). Working closely with the RBJ staff wellness team, WEL HQ team, and other actors as appropriate (Security / Human resources / administration units etc.), the Medical Officer will spearhead healthcare support to staff.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES (not all inclusive):

The responsibilities of the Medical Officer include the following areas:

• Contribute to the design and coordination of delivery of medical services in the DRC for efficient and effective promotion, prevention and protection of the health and safety of WFP staff following the Wellness Strategy and the Country Strategic objective.
• Manage, advise, and report on all health and safety matters related to staff including on Covid-19 pandemic and health and safety challenges, liaising with the DRC MAT, the UN Clinic, WHO and Ministry of Health, preparing and delivering preventive communications.
• Spearhead compliance to applicable UN WFP medical protocols and recommendations (HIV/AIDS, first-aid training PEP kit country specific protocols including PICT and VCCT).
• Support the management and monitoring of the implementation of the Service Level Agreement or Memoranda of Understanding on shared UN field medical services to WFP staff.

• Coordinate with DRC MAT, UN clinic, and local medical facilities to ascertain proper medical care rendered and establish a referral list, whilst monitoring and verifying appropriateness, reasonableness and customary nature of major medical bills as required.
• Implement staff health training (e.g., COVID-19 awareness, malaria prevention, first aid training); Follow-up of occupational health and safety issues in terms of prevention and promotion
• The Medical Officer is NOT the primary care physician of WFP Staff; however, s/he does provide first aid emergency services in response to accidents occurring in the workplace.

• Provide orientation to staff /dependents on health issues
• Preventive medical guidance to staff on measures to be applied during field missions
• Surge capacity in emergency response including mass casualty incidents.

• Participate in pre planning of WFPs Emergency response operations (e.g., food distributions) to ensure appropriate health protection measures in place.
• Propose, assess, update as needed SOPs for staff protection, in specific higher risk occupational settings (e.g., food distributions, ports and warehouses with casual laborers, drivers and cleaners).
• Coordinate with health sector colleagues on the UNCTs to improve healthcare access for UN staff and family members.
• Assesse and respond to increase of disease incidents among WFP staff, outbreaks or other environmental hazards that could have impact on WFP’s operations and recommend mitigating measures.
• Monitor WFP activities and needs involving health issues: Road traffic accidents involving physical harm to third parties, management of mortal remains
• Coordinates with staff counselor to implement programs on stress or other psychological concerns and coordinates assistance to staff.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:	Doctor in Medicine. Postgraduate medical qualification in one of the medical specialties, e.g., emergency medicine, internal medicine, occupational health and safety, public health or similar. Current registration license to practice medicine in own country or any UN member state is required.
Experience:	Have vast experience in disease outbreak response and emergencies Minimum 5 years of progressive professional experience in healthcare with at least 2 years in an international organization At least five (5) years progressive experience and practice in general medicine in developing countries or countries in conflict. An asset would be experience within the UN system, or similar NGO.
Knowledge & Skills:	Creation of training programmes, workshop & presentation training Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. Excellent communication, presentation and drafting skills. Experience in emergency management (crisis or disaster medicine), travel medicine, tropical and infectious disease. Knowledge of addressing the psychosocial needs of humanitarian workers. Project management Formal training in CPR and, preferably in BCLS and ACLS or equivalent emergency medical care Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges Remains calm in stressful situations
Languages:	Fluency (Oral and written, level C) in French. Fluency (Oral and written, minimum level B2) in English.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

15/09/2023

Ref.: VA 829092

Kindly note the only documents you need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents such as passport, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc may potentially be requested at a future time.

For candidates who experience problems accessing WFP E-recruitment platform and need accommodations in applying, please contact [email protected] mentioning the VA number in the subject line.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

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