Job Vacancy at World Health Organization (WHO) – Health Financing & Human Resources for Health

Health Financing & Human Resources for Health ( 2103278 )

Grade : No grade

Contractual Arrangement : Special Services Agreement (SSA)

Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days) : 6 months

TITLE

Health Financing & Human Resources for Health

Contract Type

Special Service Agreement (SSA)

GRADE

NOC Step-1

CONTRACT DURATION

6 months

PURPOSE OF THE POST

To enhance WCO's ability to provide technical support to the Government in scaling up the capacity of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, at all levels, to address the health systems priorities as pertains to health financing and human resources for health in Sierra Leone.

Background

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation has developed Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Roadmap which they are desirous to implement to lead to UHC for the population of Sierra Leone. The Government of Sierra Leone is keen in implementation innovative health financing mechanisms including Sierra Leone Social Health Insurance (SLeSHI) scheme with the vision of moving towards universal health coverage. SLeSHI Act was passed and launched in 2017 with plans to start implementation immediately but yet to be operational. A secretariat has been established under the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to operationalize and roll out of SLeSHI. The vision of SLeSHI is comprehensive including all types of public and private financing. It is supposed to lead to revenue increases and improved expenditure management including efficiency by expanding access of quality service delivery in a sustainable manner.

Health care financing is central to health sector governance of Sierra Leone. It involves a process by which funds would be mobilized from primary (households and firms) and secondary sources (Government, donors and corporate bodies). These funds are to be accumulated in fund pools and are used to purchase services and products that promote, maintain and restore health.

Achieving the health system goals of improving health outcomes, providing financial risk protection and increasing system responsiveness requires direct contributions from health financing and clear relationships to other health systems functions.

Sierra Leone has very low health worker: population density of 12.3 per 10,000 population, compared to a global recommended threshold of 45 per 10,000 identified as generally necessary for the attainment of a high level of service coverage compatible with attainment of universal health coverage. Strategies and plans are being implemented by government to increase production, distribution and retention of human resources for health. As part of the process to improve HRH in Sierra Leone, postgraduate colleges of health specialists was inaugurated and started operation with admission of fellows.

The other greatest challenge in Sierra Leone relates to absence of a comprehensive and accurate data base on the health workforce, particularly pertaining to numbers, distribution, historical trends, and attrition.

All these strategic approaches are within Sierra Leone UHC Road Map which have to be implemented and monitored towards attaining the set UHC goals

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The responsibility of the national SSA will be to: Health financing roles:

Technical support for development, implementation and M&E of the National Health Financing Strategy in the context of global/regional Health Financing priorities and/or strategies

• Formulation and implementation of policies and strategies on good governance for transparency, accountability and inclusiveness
• Pursuing equity in health financing with special emphases on; risk pooling by targeting resources to services for the poor, vulnerable groups, and public health interventions to reducing catastrophic costs of care
• Implementation of practices for high quality health care service delivery
• Innovation in resource mobilization
• Advocacy for the promotion of financial risk protection and equity with special focus on the poor and vulnerable
• Promotion of performance- based service delivery which translates into high value for money.
• Technical assistance for strengthening national HRH information system including national health workforce observatory and national health workforce accounts in the context of health information system.
• Technical assistance in other health systems strengthening related activities.

Human resources for health roles;

Technical support for development, implementation and M&E of the National HRH Policy and Strategy in the context of global/regional Human Resource for Health priorities and/or strategies

• Technical assistance in the development and implementation of effective HRH management practices for recruitment, deployment, retention, including management of migration, and health security
• Fostering national education system for production of all types of health workers, with appropriate skills and competencies in order to deliver integrated package of essential health services;

• Technical assistance for strengthening national HRH information system including national health workforce observatory and national health workforce accounts in the context of health information system

Technical supervision

Supervised by the Coordinator, Health Systems, under the overall guidance of the WHO Representative for Sierra Leone, and working closely with counterparts at the Regional Office and HQ, the incumbent will provide technical support to the Government in scaling up the capacity of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, at all levels, to address the above health systems challenges as pertains to health financing and human resources for health in Sierra Leone.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Essential : First university degree in Social Sciences, Health economics, Health Financing, Health Systems or public health from an accredited/recognized institute

Desirable :

• An advanced university degree in health systems related field, Human Resources Management, Health Economics or Public Health

WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an accredited institution. The list can be accessed through this link: http://www.whed.net/

Experience:

Essential :

• At least five years of working experience in health systems development including health financing, human resources for health, health policy, planning, implementing and monitoring.
• Experience working with national health authorities and with multiple high-level stakeholders.

Desirable : Relevant experience in WHO, UN or other international organizations

Functional Skills

Essentia l:

• Planning and organizing
• Report writing skills
• Facilitation skills

Competencies :

• Communicating in a credible and effective way
• Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Ensuring the effective use of resources
• Fostering integration and teamwork

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Excellent knowledge of English language.

Other Skills :

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office

REMUNERATION AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Remuneration

NOC Level (SLL26,412,250 monthly rate)

Place of Assignment

Freetown, Sierra Leone