Regional Medical Officer P4, RBJ, Johannesburg, South Africa

Programa Mundial de Alimentos; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 200 000 - 300 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading humanitarian organization in Johannesburg is seeking a Regional Medical Officer. This role involves designing and coordinating delivery of medical services for WFP staff, managing health promotion, and overseeing various medical programs. The ideal candidate will have a medical degree, extensive clinical experience, and skills in leadership and crisis management. An inclusive work environment and competitive compensation package are offered for this critical position.

Benefits

Training and professional development

Attractive compensation package

Inclusive diverse work environment

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of clinical practice as a Medical Doctor.
• At least 2 years in an international organization.
• 5 years managing interdisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Design and coordinate medical services for WFP staff.
• Manage health protection and promotion programs.
• Provide travel medicine services for employees.

Skills

Leadership skills

Communication skills

Management skills

Crisis management

Negotiation skills

Project design and management

Education

Diploma of Medical Doctor (MD)

Postgraduate qualification in internal medicine or emergency medicine

Job description

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. 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.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Applications must be submitted by Sunday, June 30th, 2024 (11:59 PM CET)

WHO WE ARE

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

WHY JOIN US?

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate %
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse and multicultural working environment
• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of trainings, accreditation, coaching, mentorship and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities
• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe
• We offer attractive compensation package (please refer to Terms and Conditions section)

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

This position is for a Regional Medical Officer P4 in the Johannesburg Regional Bureau.

WFP Regional Medical Officers (RMOs) are located in Nairobi (Kenya), Dakar (Senegal), Bangkok (Thailand), Cairo (Egypt) and Johannesburg (S. Africa) and are under the functional supervision of the Chief, Medical Service of the Staff Wellness Service (WELM) in Headquarters (HQ). Job holders have in-depth technical knowledge and experience required to identify, analyse and resolve complex medical issues providing support and solid advice to managers and staff in the assigned region. They are essential medical component forming the Regional Wellness Network (RWN) and are required to provide technical expertise, advice and solutions that support strategic results, and formulate regional strategies and approaches where appropriate.

THE ROLE

To design and coordinate the delivery of medical services in the region for efficient and effective promotion, prevention and protection of the health and safety of WFP staff following the People Policy, the Wellness Strategy and Regional strategic objectives.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

A) Occupational health services :

• Manage and conduct health protection, injury and illness prevention and health-promotion programs within the Regional Bureau for Southern Africa (RBJ) relevant region of responsibility, in line with the Regional Strategic Objectives and with guidance from the HQ Wellness Service;
• Provide travel medicine services for employees on official travel, incorporating destination-specific health advice, facilitating access to immunization, prophylactic medications and travel medical kits;
• Manage the return to work of national staff members after extended sick leave;
• Advise employees on medical and health issues related to their work;
• Assess and respond to staff concerns regarding health and ergonomic aspects of their workplace, and other well-being matters related to work environment;
• Provide support and assist managers, teams and employees in implementing the activities and programs related to WFP Policies relevant to staff health, safety and wellness;
• Perform as required and assess medical examinations and clearances for locally-recruited employees related to recruitment, periodic medical examination, pre-departure briefing for missions to the field, etc;
• Report and analyze mortality and morbidity statistics from reports on sick leave, medical evacuations, deaths, work related illnesses or accidents;
• Identify through access to medical examinations and consultations reports, the main health hazards (work related or environmental) which could affect the health of the workforce and their dependents in their respective area.
• Support WFP Country Offices (COs) and HQ in the monitoring and management of the WFP Medical Assistance Teams and UN Clinics serving WFP field staff and cost-shared by the Organization;
• Support WFP COs in the management and monitoring of the implementation of the Service Level Agreements or Memoranda of Understanding regarding the sharing of DPKO / DFS Missions field medical services to WFP employees;
• Carry out systematic field visits to the top priority countries of the region and reports to the relevant Regional Director and Chief Medical Officer on findings recommending solutions based on local approaches, including the assessment of the Minimal Health Support Elements such as primary, tertiary, psychiatric care and pharmaceutical availabilities and a local Mass Casualty Incident plan and Health Risk Assessments if needed;
• Systematically record locally-recruited personnel health data onto the global medical corporate database to produce reliable reports on staff health trends, challenges and risks to business continuity;
• Establish functional and operational relations with the key Regional stakeholders (e.g. Counsellor, Security Officer, Administration Officer) in order to constitute an emergency and occupational health & safety network at the regional level for all WFP personnel (Regional Wellness Network);
• Along with the Regional Staff Counsellor, the Regional Administration Officer, the Regional Security Officer, provide induction and briefing on staff health challenges to in-coming field managers with particular respect to medical evacuation procedures and SOPs, medical referrals in country and mass casualty planning (if applicable);
• Ensure regional compliance to UN HIV / AIDS recommended activities including preparation and dissemination of the PEP kit country specific protocols, facilitated access to PICT and VCCT;
• Ensure medical compliance to Security Risk Management (SRM) prescriptions in terms of first aid kits availability, maintenance and training in the offices, vehicles and the provision of relevant training;
• Conduct regular visits and assessments of WFP-administered staff accommodations in the field for compliance to minimum health standards and advises / recommends accordingly actions to the appropriate Administration officer;
• Provide health education and improvement programs on local health risks, working / living conditions, including stress prevention programs in coordination with the Regional Staff Counsellors to broaden staff awareness of alcohol and drug abuse and their impact at the workplace.

B) Advisory services / Primary clinical care for WFP personnel in the Region :

• Although the RMO is NOT the primary care physician of WFP employees, provide first aid and emergency services in response to accidents occurring in the workplace;
• Systematically access and liaise with local medical facilities to ascertain proper medical care rendered;
• Establish a referral list and updated list of reasonable and customary costs at the duty station;
• Provide advice to managers and employees on sick leave issues;
• Provide medical advice for disability cases, special dependency provisions, requests for reasonable accommodation for disability, work-related illness or injury and education benefits;
• Recommend, facilitate and manage medical evacuations of national and international staff and eligible dependents at the regional referral medical center level;
• Verify appropriateness, reasonableness and customary nature of major medical bills / treatments as required;
• Provide surge capacity to the corporate and UN System emergency response capacity including mass casualty incidents;
• Provide ongoing management or assistance with follow-up of chronic medical conditions diagnosed and for which treatment has already started;
• Facilitate staff access to local medical facilities and ensures follow-up.

QUALIFICATIONS AND KEY REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION

• Diploma of Medical Doctor (MD); Postgraduate medical qualification in internal medicine and / or emergency medicine and / or occupational health and safety and / or public health.

EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 8 years of clinical practice as a Medical Doctor / Practitioner of which at least 2 years should be in an international organization;
• At least 5 years of successful management of interdisciplinary teams;

LANGUAGE

• Written and oral proficiency (native or fluent) in English is essential for this position.
• Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish) in addition to French or Portuguese is an asset.

MORE ABOUT YOU

• Demonstrated leadership, management and team building skills;
• Excellent communication, presentation and drafting skills;
• Knowledge of addressing the psychosocial needs of humanitarian workers;
• Experience in emergency management (crisis or disaster medicine), travel medicine, tropical and infectious disease;
• Negotiation skills;
• Project design and management skills;
• Training experience and facilitation is an asset.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

• Leads by Example with Integrity - Lives the WFP values and shows humanity and integrity by role modelling care for others
• Drives Results and Delivers on Commitments - Delivers on commitments and adapts readily to change
• Fosters Inclusive and Collaborative Teamwork - Is inclusive and collaborative, and contributes to a culture of learning and personal growth
• Applies Strategic Thinking - Demonstrates commitment to gather perspectives, analyse options and risks, and propose new ways of doing things
• Builds and Maintains Sustainable Partnerships - Builds and nurtures external partnerships and collaborates with partners to deliver common objectives

Different expectations of behaviour are defined depending on your grade and role / responsibilities within WFP.