Stop TB Partnership - TB Technical Officer

UNOPS has hosted the Stop Tuberculosis Partnership Secretariat (STBP) since 2015, in Geneva, Switzerland. The vision of the Stop TB Partnership is to realize the goal of elimination of Tuberculosis (TB) as a public health problem and, ultimately, to acquire a world free of TB by ensuring that every person with TB has access to effective diagnosis, treatment and cure; stopping transmission of TB; reducing the inequitable social and economic toll of TB; and developing and implementing new preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic tools and strategies. The Stop Partnership is uniquely positioned to support the development and further implementation by partners of the current and future Global Plan, acting as a coordinator and catalyst for the range of partners engaged in the fight to end TB.

Founded in 2001, the Stop TB Partnership's mission is to serve every person who is vulnerable to TB and ensure that high-quality treatment is available to all who need it. Stop TB partners include international and technical organizations, government programmes, research and funding agencies, foundations, NGOs, civil society and community groups and the private sector.

Background - TB REACH

The Stop TB Partnership’s TB REACH initiative provides grants to partners in lower-income and/or high TB burden countries to test innovative and well thought-out, yet unproven approaches and technologies which aim to:

• Increase the number of people with TB (TB infection or active TB [drug-sensitive or -resistant]) who are diagnosed, started on treatment, and reported to National TB Programs (NTPs).

• Decrease the time it takes someone with TB to receive appropriate treatment, and

• Improve adherence and treatment success for people started on anti-TB treatment.

TB REACH combines open, but targeted calls for proposals, fast-track financing and meticulous, external monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to rapidly produce results. Other donor agencies and/or national governments can then scale-up the successful approaches piloted by recipients of TB REACH funding to improve their own investments and to accelerate progress in the fight to end TB.

Under the supervision of the Team Lead for the Innovations & Grants team (TB REACH), the TB Technical Officer position will provide strategic mentorship and technical support to coordinate the multi-million dollar grant platform of the TB REACH initiative, and provide technical assistance to partners around strengthening TB diagnostic, prevention and care services as part of TB REACH grants.

The responsibilities involve coordination throughout the Secretariat of Stop TB, and extensive contact with a broad range of implementing partners / organizations, governments (National TB Programs), and donor agencies to promote the strategic aims of the Stop TB Partnership’s technical initiatives.

The functional responsibilities of the TB Technical Officer will be:

Facilitate Management of the TB REACH Initiative:

• Facilitate  the implementation of the TB REACH initiative.

• Launch calls for proposals, developing application forms, constituting review committees and advisory groups, application review and selection. 

• Management and technical input throughout implementation (particularly around supervising M&E results and operational research interests) and external communications around these processes.

• Regularly supervise and share the performance of the TB REACH initiative relative to donor log frames and Stop TB KPIs to ensure the relevance of the initiative.

• Participate in and support external evaluations of the TB REACH initiative.

• Write content and develop the budgets for grant applications to secure additional contributions for the TB REACH initiative and other grants managed by the team.

Provide Technical support and input to TB Reach:  

• Review and analyze grantee reports, provide feedback and contribute to the M&E of numerous TB REACH projects.

• Participate in quarterly M&E meetings and work to develop the M&E  framework for new calls for funding in different technical areas.

• Provide technical assistance to grant recipients to improve the quality of their activities and outputs focused on case detection and treatment outcomes.

• Represent TB REACH and Stop TB at global events related to different technical areas of work.

• Publish project results and findings from dedicated operations in peer-reviewed journals.

• Coordinate technical symposia at regional and global conferences on lung health.

• Engage with donor and technical agencies, such as Global Fund, USAID, CDC and others, to facilitate the linkage of successful projects to additional/scale up funding.

The key results have an impact on the success of initiatives administered by the Innovations and Grants team, as well as the Stop TB Partnership’s Key Performance Indicators. 

In particular, the key results have an impact on the delivery of:

• The Stop TB Partnership’s credibility for supporting and evaluating innovation in TB case detection, treatment outcomes, and other areas of care delivery via the TB REACH initiative.

• Acceleration of the fight to end TB in line with the Global Plan to End TB.

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or medical degree) ideally on a health related discipline 

A First level University degree (Bachelor or Undergraduate degree) with additional 2 years of relevant experience, may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

A minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in biological sciences and/or public health.

Experience in the field of tuberculosis.

Experience within the Global Health Sector.

Proven writing skills.

Work experience implementing TB interventions in a high burden TB country specifically focused on case detection or treatment adherence would be considered an asset.

Experience with statistical analysis programs would be considered a strong asset.

Excellent knowledge of English with proven ability to communicate in English (spoken and written) in a clear and concise manner. 

Knowledge of another UN official language is an asset.

Contract type:  International Individual Contractor Agreement (IICA)
Contract level: IICA-2 (ICS10 - equivalent to P3 in UN system)
Contract duration: Ongoing ICA.

• Qualified candidates from TB affected countries are strongly encouraged to apply. See here the list of countries: http://www.stoptb.org/countries/tbdata.asp 
  
• Please note, this position is based in Geneva, Switzerland and therefore, the selected incumbent will have to register with the Swiss authorities and comply with local regulations, including but not limited to - Taxation and Social Security. Additionally, the incumbent will have to purchase a Swiss based insurance (LaMal) within the first three months on contract, UNOPS will help subsidize the cost of this insurance, upon show of proof and for an amount up to 382.87 USD.
• Geneva is a family duty station.
• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

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Working with us

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Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.