Technical Officer (Medicines and Health Products Policies and Standards

Job Description - Technical Officer (Medicines and Health Products Policies and Standards) (2602237)

Technical Officer (Medicines and Health Products Policies and Standards) - ( 2602237 )

Grade : P4

Contractual Arrangement :
Temporary appointment under Staff Rule 420.4

Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days) : 1 year

Aug 14, 2026, 11:01:55 AM

Sep 6, 2026, 9:59:00 PM

HQ/HPS Medicines and Health Products Policies and Standards

Full-time

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

The objectives of the Department of Medicines and Health Products Policies and Standards (HPS) are to support Member States in improving access to safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable medicines and health products and promote their rational use in line with WHO Road map for Access to safe, effective and quality-assured health products and technologies  (WHO Access Roadmap). In alignment with WHO's General Programme of Work and the goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the programme engages a broad range of stakeholders, including UN agencies, international partners, expert networks, and WHO Collaborating Centres, to enhance policy coherence and foster coordinated action at the global, regional, and country levels.

The immediate strategic objective is to develop and implement policies and standards that enhance access to these essential medicines and health products, thereby improving public health outcomes. The programme also aims to strengthen capacity and sustainable mechanism for improving equitable access to affordable medicine and health products through promoting technology transfer and fair pricing policy, building production capacity in LMIC, establishing supply chain management system, pooled procurement system and other comprehensive inter-related services in alignment with WHO Access Road map.

Under the supervision of the Director HPS, the incumbent performs the following duties:

Provide technical and executive support to HPS leadership and WHO senior management through the preparation of policy briefs, normative guidance, technical documents, talking points and analytical materials on priority cross-cutting issues related to access to health products, including governance of the pharmaceutical ecosystem.

Coordinate the development, revision and implementation of departmental strategic framework and organization-wide strategic documents (e.g. access roadmap), including research, analysis, and collation of inputs to ensure technically sound, coherent and aligned outputs with WHO priorities.

Take a lead role in the coordination and communication across the three levels of WHO, monitor key developments related to access to health products and supporting inputs into organizational strategies and plans.

Analyze and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the workflow of the department's initiatives and policies and recommend adaptations or new approaches, as required.

Facilitate the management of projects, consultations and working groups involving WHO technical units, regional and country offices and external partners, including planning, timelines, deliverables and documentation of outcomes.

Support WHO governance and institutional processes related to engagement with non-State actors, including coordination of FENSA-related activities and provision of technical support to staff.

Serve as a point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, responding to queries and facilitating coordination across the Organization to promote policy coherence, effective governance practices and coordinated actions.

Keep abreast of developments in access to medicines and health products and contribute to informed decision-making; respond to complex and non-routine requests by collecting, analyzing and synthesizing information and coordinating inputs.

Perform other related duties as assigned in support of departmental objectives.

Essential
:
An advanced university degree (master's level) in business administration, management, pharmacy, medicine, biomedical engineering or closely related field.

Desirable
:

A minimum of seven years professional experience working in development of policies and strategies and/or project management as related to access to medicines and other health products.

Experience in managing complex projects and working with a range of stakeholders.

Experience with WHO or another organization of the UN system.

International exposure in areas directly relevant to the position.

Experience in supporting management decision-making or providing support to management on access to medicines and other health products.

The duties require an understanding of WHO policies, the UN system and general managerial practices, and depend on establishing collaborative and effective…