Background

Organizational Setting and Reporting Relationships

These temporary positions are located in the Department of Management and field missions, including the UN Clinics administered by UNDP.   At Headquarters, the Senior Medical Officer reports to the Medical Director, Medical Services Division.  The Senior Medical Officer in the field has a functional reporting relationship to the Medical Director, Medical Service Division, OHRM, and in those UN Clinics administered by UNDP with the UNDP Resident Coordinator.  At this level, Senior Medical Officers head up large field medical services facilities.

Duties and Responsibilities

(These duties are generic and may not be carried out by all Medical Officers).

Within delegated authority, the Senior Medical Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

Clinical Duties:

• Undertakes day-to-day clinical duties, e.g. walk-in clinic, emergencies, stabilization of critical patients, etc;
• Undertake day-to-day occupational health duties: pre-placement and periodic medical examinations, prepare UN staff for travelling providing immunizations, malaria prophylaxis, travel kits, etc;
• Refers staff to outside specialists as necessary;
• Follows-up with outside specialists;
• Oversees and provides health education and health promotion programs. With special emphasis to the prophylaxis of the relevant diseases of the outbreak;
• Organizes/Participates in addressing work environment and occupational health issues.

Medico Administrative Duties:

• Advises Administration and United Nations Member States on United Nations medical standards;
• Assists Administration in drafting and implementation of business continuity and crises preparedness plans for the duty station/mission;
• Advises and assists Administration on medical clearances (fitness for  work), sick leave, medical evacuations/repatriations; eligibility to a disability benefit, service incurred compensation claims, and medical insurance claims.

Plans, manages and organizes various medical activities and administrative functions of a particular section within the Medical Services Division:

• Reviews and revises various Personnel Directives, Medical Standards for recruitment, guidelines established for managing UN field clinics (former dispensaries) and provides medical support to peacekeeping missions, as applicable;
• Deputizes for Deputy Medical Director/Medical Director as needed.

Supervisory Administration:

• Supervises laboratory technicians and nurses; ensures availability of drugs and medical supplies and proper functioning of medical equipment;
• Ensures appropriate training programs are implemented in order to maintain and develop the medical capabilities (e.g. health education, HIV/AIDS prevention, first aid and CPR, dedicated training related to the pertaing outbreak).

General:

• Performs other related duties as required.

Work implies frequent interaction with the following:

• Staff at large throughout the Organization;
• Staff within work unit;
• Staff counsellors;
• Senior management throughout the Organization;
• Security personnel;
• All specialized agencies;
• Military Physicians;
• Physicians and representatives of Laboratories, Pharmaceutical Companies, Medical Associations and Societies.

Results Expected: 

Independent  responsibility for overall planning, preparedness and organization of preventive and medical actions and responses to disease outbreak crisis. Implementation of staff regulations and UN Medical Guidelines as they pertain to providing sound medical care to staff at headquarters and in the field, and to promotion and maintenance of proper health care, including the prevention of health hazards, for these staff.

Competencies

Professionalism:

• Knowledge of clinical, occupational and tropical/travel medicine;
• Formal training in CPR and, preferably in BCLS and ACLS or equivalent emergency medical care;
• Shows pride in work and in achievements;
• Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter;
• Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns;
• Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges;
• Remains calm in stressful situations.

Teamwork:

• Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals;
• Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise;
• Is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda;
• Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Planning & Organizing:

• Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies;
• Identifies priority activities and assignments. Adjusts priorities as required;
• Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work. Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning;
• Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary;
• Uses time efficiently.

Accountability:

• Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments;
• Delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards;
• Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules. Supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments;
• Takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Creativity:

• Actively seeks to improve programmes or services;
• Offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs;
• Promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas;
• Takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas;
• Thinks “outside the box”;
• Takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things;
• Is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches.

Client Orientation:

• Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view;
• Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect;
• Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions;
• Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems;
• Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects;
• Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Commitment to Continuous Learning:

• Keeps abreast of new developments in own occupation/profession;
• Contributes to the learning of colleagues and subordinates;
• Shows willingness to learn from others; seeks feedback to learn and improve.

Technological Awareness:

• Keeps abreast of available technology;
• Understands applicability and limitation of technology to the work of the office;
• Actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks. Shows willingness to learn new technology.

Managerial Competencies:

Leadership:

• Serves as a role model that other people want to follow;
• Empowers others to translate vision into results;
• Is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives;
• Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support;
• Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions;
• Drives for change and improvements;
• Does not accept the status quo. Shows the courage to take unpopular stands;
• Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work;
• Demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.

Vison:

• Identifies strategic issues, opportunities and risks;
• Clearly communicates links between the Organization’s strategy and the work unit’s goals;
• Generates and communicates broad and compelling organizational direction, inspiring others to pursue that same direction;
• Conveys enthusiasm about future possibilities.

Empowering Others:

• Delegates responsibility, clarifies expectations, and gives staff autonomy in important areas of their work;
• Encourages others to set challenging goals. Holds others accountable for achieving results related to their area of responsibility;
• Genuinely values all staff members’ input and expertise. Shows appreciation and rewards achievement and effort. Involves others when making decisions that affect them.

Building Trust:

• Provides an environment in which others can talk and act without fear of repercussion;
• Manages in a deliberate and predictable way;
• Operates with transparency.  Has no hidden agenda;
• Places confidences in colleagues, staff members and clients.  Gives proper credit to theirs;
• Follows through on agreed upon actions;
• Treats sensitive or confidential information appropriately.

Managing Performance:

• Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority;
• Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member;
• Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills;
• Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines;
• Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff;
• Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative;
• Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; appraises performance fairly.

Judgement/Decision-Making:

• Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly;
• Gathers relevant information before making a decision;
• Considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them;
• Takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization;
• Proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information;
• Checks assumptions against facts; determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision;
• Makes tough decisions when necessary.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Doctorate (MD) or equivalent in medicine, including residency/internship in one of the medical specialties, preferably internal medicine.

Experience:

• A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible clinical experience in one of the areas of medicine;
• UN field experience is highly desirable;
• Previous experience managing humanitarian crisis and infectious diseases is  highly desirable.

Language:

• Fluency in one of the working languages of the UN Secretariat, English or French, (both oral and written) is required;
• Knowledge of the other is desirable;
• Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.