Junior Public Health Professional - Digital Health

WHO · India-New Delhi · Deadline: 20 Oct 2026

Schedule: Full-time · Duration: 24 months

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

Objective of the WHO Programme/Department:

The overall objective of the Digital Health Technical Unit in Department of HSD is to support the Member States to improve health for everyone, everywhere by accelerating the development and adoption of appropriate, accessible, affordable, scalable and sustainable person centric digital health solutions to prevent, detect and respond to epidemics and pandemics, developing infrastructure and applications that enable countries to use health data to promote health and well-being, and to achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. WHO-SEARO is harnessing the power of digital technologies and health innovation to accelerate global attainment of health and the well-being. Translating latest data, research, and evidence into action: this means promoting standards for interoperability and data sharing and supporting implementation of digital solutions that contribute to informed decision making. Enhancing knowledge through scientific communities of practice: enabled by new technologies and no longer limited by the need for physical meetings or hard copy peer review journals, WHO brings together top expert voices around topics of clinical and public health significance. Systematically assessing and linking country needs with supply of innovations. WHO-SEARO takes a proactive, systematic approach to identify, promote, co-develop, and scale innovations that are based on country needs of the South East Asia Region. Also, to recognize the successful digital health initiatives and the urgent need to address the major impediments faced by least-developed countries of the region through implementing digital health technologies, to promote the appropriate use of digital technologies for health and to strengthen health systems by introducing digital technologies.

Objective of JPP:

The JPP will support the Digital Health Technical Unit at WHO-SEARO in advancing digital health and the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) across the South-East Asia Region. The JPP will provide technical support to Member States in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national digital health strategies, action plans and priority initiatives, aligned with regional priorities and universal health coverage (UHC).

The JPP will also contribute to regional digital health strategy and action planning, support the implementation and scale-up of digital health and AI initiatives, facilitate country-level technical assistance and capacity building, and help strengthen sustainable, interoperable and context-appropriate digital health ecosystems across Member States.

Supervisor:

First Level: Dr Karthik Adapa, RA-DH

Second Level : Mr Manoj Jhalani, Director-HSD

Terms of reference

Under the overall guidance of the Director, Department of Health Systems Development (HSD) and the direct supervision of the Regional Adviser, Digital Health, the JPP will provide support in the following areas:

  • Support WHO-SEARO and Member States in the development, implementation, monitoring and review of digital health strategies, action plans, roadmaps and priority initiatives

  • Provide technical and coordination support for regional and country-level work on digital health architecture, interoperability and standards, digital public infrastructure for health (DPI-H), capacity building.

  • Support engagement and consultations with Member States, WHO departments and Regional/Country Offices, development partners, civil society, academia, technology stakeholders, healthcare workers and other relevant partners, including preparation of technical materials, agendas, meeting reports and follow-up actions.

  • Engage technical and development partners, academia, civil society and other relevant stakeholders to facilitate strategic partnerships for Member States.

  • Contribute to the development, review and strengthening of technical guidance, policy documents, reports, concept notes, knowledge products and other technical materials related to digital health.

  • Support capacity-building, workshops, consultations and knowledge-exchange activities for Member States, including identification of country needs, priorities, implementation challenges and opportunities for technical assistance.

  • Undertake evidence reviews, research and technical analysis to inform WHO-SEARO’s digital health portfolio and support the translation of global and regional guidance into country-level implementation.

  • Support the documentation, monitoring and dissemination of country and regional digital health initiatives, implementation experiences, lessons and good practices to facilitate learning across the South-East Asia Region.

  • Undertake other related activities assigned by the Regional Adviser, Digital Health, in alignment with the priorities of HSD and WHO-SEARO.

Education:

Essential: Bachelors in digital health, law, data science, public health, social sciences, or another related field relevant to digital health.

Desirable: Masters/Doctorate degree in any related field.

Experience:

Essential:

- Minimum one year of experience in digital health implementation, health systems, or related areas.

- Minimum one year of experience embedded within national and/or subnational government systems, partnering directly with public health leadership to drive large-scale health reforms.

- In-depth knowledge of government-centric digital health implementation and large-scale digital health solution deployments for national and subnational public health systems.

- Proven track record in drafting high-impact national and state-level policies.

- At least one year of experience in managing and engaging diverse stakeholders at the subnational, national, and global levels across multilaterals, donors, governments, non-profits, academia, and/or private partners.

Desirable:

  • Experience working with WHO, UN agencies or other international/multilateral organizations.

  • Demonstrated experience in disseminating high-impact work through presentations and case studies at prominent national and global forums.

  • Knowledge of any/multiple SEA Regional languages is an asset.

    Age:Below 35 years

This Vacancy Notice is only applicable to nationals of South-East Asia Region Member States i.e., Bangladesh, Bhutan, DPR Korea, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste

Skills required for the assignment:

Minimum:

· Proficiency in spoken and written English;

· Computer proficiency with standard software applications;

· Ability to think strategically, work under tight deadlines on a result-oriented basis, and develop innovative approaches and solutions.

· Demonstrated ability to take complete ownership of complex, ambiguous mandates, driving execution from conceptualization to policy and operational impact.

WHO competencies required for the assignment:

1. Teamwork

2. Communication

3. Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

4. Producing results

5. Ensuring the effective use of resources

Remuneration: Approx. US$ 63000 per annum

Additional Information:

  • Please note applications should be submitted through WHO online recruitment portal. Please visit https://www.who.int/careers/apply-for-a-position to complete an online profile and to apply for this vacancy.

  • 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.
  • Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.The 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) are strongly encouraged to apply.
  • A written test and/or an asynchronous video assessment may be used as a form of screening.
  • The purpose of this vacancy notice is to invite qualified national professionals from of countries of South-East Asia Region (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand or Timor-Leste).
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  • The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce 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 for WHO jobs.

  • 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 reasonableaccommodation@who.int

  • 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 (https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values) 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.

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  • 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 shws@who.int.

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