Unit Head (Learning Design and Production)

The World Health Organization’s Academy (‘The Academy’) is a new state-of-the-art learning institution that aims to revolutionize lifelong learning for health impact and reach million learners around the world. Based in Lyon, France, the Academy Campus will offer a wide range of learning modalities (on-line, face-to-face and blended); digital, in-person learning via the hub in Lyon or through the campus network, as well as portable learning labs’ designed for contexts where participants cannot travel or access the digital learning platform. The Academy is an integral part of the WHO under the management authority of the Director-General. The overall goal of the Academy is to advance the learning and human development component of WHO’s General Program of Work (GPW) and health sustainable development goals. More specifically the Academy will: enhance the competencies of millions of people through cutting-edge digital learning and hybrid learning, including leaders, practitioners, catalysts and lay people. The WHO Academy will deliver advanced digital and in-person learning to health policy practitioners, health workers and WHO workforce. The Academy campus will be officially launched in October 2024 as a global initiative combining the latest technologies in digital and remote learning with advancements in adult learning science to offer innovative, personalized and multilingual learning that meets priority needs.

Description Of Duties

• Provides technical leadership, coordination and managerial support within the Unit, in the area of learning design and production ensuring that activities in this area are carried out efficiently and effectively.
• Develops and proposes technical policies and strategies and provide advice for implementation through collaboration with Regional and Country Offices.
• Oversees a unit of technical teams specialized in various domains within their area of expertise and facilitates the efficient flow of team synergies.
• Manages the programme area in delivering its objectives through efficiently managing staff and budget to optimize the programme’s deliverables in line with the mandate of the Academy.
• Manages the monitoring and evaluation and reporting of the subject area of work of key performance indicators and reporting requirements and mechanisms to optimize performance of programme deliverables.
• Serves as the technical reference among the peer community, UN Agencies and other stakeholders at the technical levels in the respective area of expertise.
• Liaises with and utilizes partnerships in other UN Agencies, Donor, or research institutions in the learning design and production to position the technical area of work and implementation into Global and/or National policies.
• Represents the programme area of work at various meetings to advocate for learner-centered and competency-based lifelong learning.
• Provides technical leadership and oversight for the continuous optimization of a robust and high-performance agile learning product development and improvement cycle for all learning programmes in close coordination with other teams within the Department.
• Provides technical and strategic direction on the engagement of learners, subject matter experts, patients, communities and other key stakeholders in the co-design and improvement of the Academy’s learning programmes.
• Leads a needs-based, systematic and evidence-informed approach to optimize the use of learning technologies and innovations in the design and development of competency-based lifelong learning.
• Contributes to the development of the global health learning ecosystem including the WHO Academy, WHO collaborating centers and other partner institutions.
• Performs all other related duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Education

Essential: An advanced level university degree in education, adult learning, learning technologies or field related to the functions of the position.

Desirable: A PhD in one of the above-mentioned fields.

Experience

Essential:

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in the management of digital and blended adult learning programmes.
• Experience in learning design and production.
• Demonstrated experience managing human and financial resources.
• A minimum of two years demonstrated relevant experience at the international level.

Desirable:

• Experience in building partnerships with Academic, research and/or strategic institutions.
• Experience working within the UN.
• Experience working in learning design applied in a health-related field.
• Experience in leading transformation initiatives in digital learning.
• Experience in competency-based learning approaches.

Skills

• Concrete skills in the design, development and evaluation of competency-based adult learning programmes.
• Strong skills in the area of developing and establishing adult learning polices and strategies.
• Excellent skills and ability in managing diverse teams and financial resources.
• Good skills in mobilizing resources.
• Ability to engage and communicate effectively and diplomatically with internal stakeholders and external partners including education and learning institutions, Academia, Ministries of Health, Donor institutions, Civil Society, and other stakeholders.
• Commitment to collaborate effectively with other key partners in the adult learning and learning technologies and innovations area.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork

Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

Communication

Ensuring the effective use of resources

Moving forward in a changing environment

Creating an empowering and motivating environment

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable:

• Intermediate knowledge of French.
• Intermediate knowledge of another official WHO language.

REMUNERATION

WHO salaries for staff in the Professional category are calculated in US dollars. The remuneration for the above position comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 92,731 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable), a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 3717 per month for the duty station indicated above. Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.

Additional Information

• This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level.
• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• A written test and/or an asynchronous video assessment may be used as a form of screening.
• In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
• According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.
• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and E-Manual.
• The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits and employs staff regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics. The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply. Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to [email protected].
• An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.
• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of short-listed candidates.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• WHO also offers wide range of benefits to staff, including parental leave and attractive flexible work arrangements to help promote a healthy work-life balance and to allow all staff members to express and develop their talents fully.
• The statutory retirement age for staff appointments is 65 years. For external applicants, only those who are expected to complete the term of appointment will normally be considered.
• For information on WHO’s operations please visit: http://www.who.int.
• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.
• Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with WHO and an underlying premise of the international civil service. Candidates appointed to a fixed-term position in the Professional category with WHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.
• Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at [email protected].
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Grade

P5

Contractual Arrangement

Fixed-term appointment

Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days)

2 years

Job Posting

Dec 8, 2023, 10:20:46 AM

Closing Date

Jan 3, 2024, 11:59:00 PM

Primary Location

France-Lyon

Organization

HQ/ACD WHO Academy

Schedule

Full-time

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that the deadline for receipt of applications indicated above reflects your personal device’s system settings.