Data Management Officer

The Director of Programme Management (DPM)’ Office at the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) is being repositioned as a key enabler of the region’s health agenda for 2025–2030. In the context of a newly restructured organogram, the DPM oversees the Health Systems and Services (HSS) cluster, the Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Control (HPDPC) cluster, and the Programme Budgeting and Performance Monitoring & Evaluation (PBM) Unit. This expanded portfolio situates the DPM as the linchpin for integrating strategic planning, performance accountability, resource mobilization, and country support across WHO/AFRO. By uniting these technical clusters and cross-cutting functions under one leadership, the DPM will drive programmatic coherence and operational efficiency in WHO’s work, ensuring that all efforts are aligned to global and regional strategies.

Crucially, the DPM’s office is being aligned to help deliver on the “Healthier Africa” Agenda (2025–2030) – the region’s roadmap for healthier, longer lives for all Africans by 2030 – and to operationalize the WHO Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW14, 2025–2028) and the outcomes of the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78).

Under the direct supervision of the Team Lead Monitoring and Evaluation, Special Initiatives, and Change Management (MSC), and the overall guidance of the Director Programme Management (DPM), the incumbent supports data analysis and reporting by applying established analytical methods and tools to translate defined information needs into routine analyses, produce standard visualizations, and maintain documented data products. The role contributes to good data management practices and knowledge sharing by following agreed procedures and supporting the use of existing tools, without responsibility for system design, governance, or strategic leadership.

Under the direct supervision of the Team Lead, and the overall guidance of the Director Programme Management (DPM), the incumbent is responsible for, but not necessarily limited to, the following duties:

A.    Data management and analysis
•    Acquire, clean, validate and join data from structured (data warehouses) and unstructured sources (text, images, logs, geospatial).
•    Build feature stores; implement data quality checks (freshness, completeness, consistency, drift detection).
•    Enforce Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data principles; comply with data protection, anonymization/pseudonymization, and data sharing agreements.

B.    Modeling (Machine Learning, AI and Generative AI)
•    Support the development of predictive, classification, segmentation, recommendation, forecasting, and optimization models using machine learning and AI techniques.
•    Contribute to the design and implementation of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, prompt engineering, guardrails, and evaluation methods for generative AI applications, ensuring factuality, toxicity, and leakage assessments.

C.    Support and guide the design, implementation and use of the Excel or SQL based tools that support the supply activities and data follow up.
•    Support maintenance of current data consolidation process flow.
•    Produce data reports, analyses and insights and provide the MSC team with data information’s when required.
•    Create and maintain up-to-date dashboards and reporting tools, tailored to the needs of different user groups.
•    Deliver training materials and enablement sessions for end users.
•    Run brown bags on topics like feature stores, prompt engineering, causal inference, experiment design.
•    Perform other tasks as requested to support the MSC team.

     Key deliverables
•    Executive and operational dashboards.
•    Analytical insights and briefs
•    User training materials.

Essential: First university degree in data science, computer science, statistics, applied mathematics, econometrics, or related field.
Desirable: Master’s degree in data science, computer science, statistics, applied mathematics, econometrics, or related field.

Essential: At least 2 years designing and implementing data management solutions;
Desirable: A background in public health is advantageous.

• Expertise in extracting, cleaning, transforming, interpreting, validating, and performing quality assurance on data.
  
• Proficient in creating and training machine learning models using frameworks such as TensorFlow or PyTorch.
  
• Skilled in building ETL pipelines and utilizing business intelligence and advanced visualization tools (e.g., PowerBI, Qlik).
  
• Strong analytical and writing abilities.
  
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and Copilot. Demonstrated experience with SQL
  
• Expertise with Large Language Models and Generative AI

Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Producing results
Moving forward in a changing environment

Essential: Expert knowledge of French or English with intermediate knowledge of the other.
Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of Portuguese or any other UN official language.

WHO offers staff in the National Professional category an attractive remuneration package, which for the above position includes an annual net base salary starting at XAF 25,234,000 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable) and 30 days of annual leave.

• Staff members who have been separated as a result of the 2025 Prioritization and Realignment Process will be given special consideration.
• Special selection procedures may apply.
• 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/ [link removed]. 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 Manual.
• The Director-General retains the discretion to not make any appointment to this vacancy, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description, including shortening the duration of the appointment.
• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.
• WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. 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.
• WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its staff. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion [link removed]) are strongly encouraged to apply.
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• 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 [link removed] into practice.
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• 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.
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