Technical Officer – Digital Health

UNOPS hosts the Stop Tuberculosis Partnership Secretariat (STBP) as of 1 January 2015, in Geneva, Switzerland. The vision of the Stop TB Partnership is to realise the goal of elimination of Tuberculosis (TB) as a public health problem and, ultimately, to obtain 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 implementation by partners of the current and future Global Plan, acting as a coordinator and catalyst for partners engaged in the fight against 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 organisations, government programmes, research and funding agencies, foundations, NGOs, civil society and community groups and the private sector.

Context and overall objective

The Stop TB Partnership launched the Digital Health Technology (DHT) Hub in November 2020 to catalyze the global adoption of evidence-based digital health technologies and ensure that they can be utilized to the fullest of their potential for the advancement of the Global Plan to End TB by 2030. The DHT hub facilitates the introduction and implementation of TB digital health technologies, and will build upon the Stop TB Partnership’s role as a convener of countries, technical partners, technology developers and donors to further advance the development and implementation of tools.

The End TB Strategy and the Global Plan to End TB call for new technologies and diagnostic tools to achieve a significant reduction in the number of people developing TB each year. Stop TB’s new Operational Strategy highlights the role that different teams play to promote innovation in the TB response. Rapid, inexpensive, and highly accurate tests are urgently needed to improve the diagnosis and management of TB, particularly in resource-limited settings. Connectivity solutions are promising but underutilized in many high TB burden countries. Digital adherence technology solutions have promising potential to enhance person-centered care and management of TB. New promising technologies are entering the markets using artificial intelligence, but additional studies are required to assess their performance, and placement within programs. As many new tools become available, countries and partners request Stop TB support efforts to optimally implement them.  

The Technical Officer – Digital Health will report to the Head of the Innovations and Grants Team at Stop TB and will work closely with other initiatives of the team including TB REACH, START4ALL and the New Diagnostic Evaluation initiative on work involving innovative screening and diagnostics for TB. In addition, the incumbent will work collaboratively across teams with External Affairs and Strategic Initiatives, the Introducing New Tools Project and the Executive Directors Office to help coordinate Stop TB’s innovations work.

The primary objective of this position is to lead the work of the DHT Hub at Stop TB, on technical tasks including engaging product developers, developing operational research protocols and supporting their implementation and producing digital health related advocacy, technical and scientific reports and publications developed by the DHT Hub. The key objectives of this role include:

• Support implementation: Provide feedback and technical support to advance their quality and relevance through country missions, webinars and remote consultations, particularly in the field of new screening and diagnostic tests for TB and AI.

• Collaboration and Networking: Engage with product developers, donors and health research institutions to build and support Stop TB’s role in identifying, supporting and evaluating new products in the digital health space.

• Country support: Work closely with Stop TB teams and consultants provide technical support to countries to introduce and scale up digital health tools.

• Coordinate the innovations work across different teams and initiatives as part of the cross-cutting Stop TB Innovations Petal in the Operational Strategy.

• Health Operational Research: Assist countries, implementers and technical partners in drafting protocols, collecting and analyzing data in current and evolving areas such as AI for CXR reading, ultrasound AI, cough AI, AI-assisted lung function tests and other innovative screening and diagnostic tests for TB as well as digital tools relevant to TB prevention and care. Proactively identify emerging digital tools and lead on Stop TB digital health evaluations and research priorities.

• Develop concept and coordinate technical conferences sessions, global meetings and workgroups on different aspects of digital health for TB. Prepare comprehensive reports and presentations summarizing technical findings and recommendations.

• Develop reports for donors and implementers to document best practices.

• Represent Stop TB at conferences and meetings with external stakeholders on different aspects of digital health innovation

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in public health programs is required 
• Experience working with digital technology is required.
• Experience implementing and/or evaluating artificial intelligence tools is desired
• Experience of working in high TB-burden countries /low and lower-middle income countries on public health, tuberculosis or digital health is desired

• Excellent knowledge of English with proven ability to communicate in writing and through public speaking in a clear and concise manner is required
• Knowledge of another UN official language is an asset.
• Ability to work in additional languages is an asset.

• Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA)
• Contract level: ICS10/IICA 2
• Contract duration: ongoing, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• 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 (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.