UN YOUTH VOLUNTEER DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT
Preamble:
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to
support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development
and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development
by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development
programming, and mobilizing volunteers.
In most cultures volunteerism is deeply embedded in long-established, ancient traditions of sharing and
support within the communities. In this context, UN Youth Volunteers take part in various forms of
volunteerism and play a role in development and peace together with co-workers, host agencies and local
communities.
In all assignments, UN Youth Volunteers promote volunteerism through their action and conduct. Engaging
in volunteer activity can effectively and positively enrich their understanding of local and social realities, as
well as create a bridge between themselves and the people in their host community. This will make the time
they spend as UN Youth Volunteers even more rewarding and productive.
1. UNV Assignment Title:
UN Youth Volunteer in Information Support
2. Type of Assignment:
International UN Youth Volunteer
4. Project Title:
Support for the health information generation and use, WHO Lao
People's Democratic Republic
5. Duration:
12 months
6. Location, Country:
Vientiane, Laos PDR
7. Expected Starting Date:
March 2016
8. Brief Project Description:
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is a land-locked country situated in Southeast Asia
bordering China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam with a highly dispersed population of around
6.77 million (WB estimate, 2013) covering an area of 236,880 sq. km. Mountainous terrain with different
ethnic groups and languages, and poverty all pose serious challenges for the government in its efforts to
address the health needs of the people. Consequently, access to health, nutrition, sanitation, education
services remains inadequate. The health status of Laos PDR is among the lowest in the region,
notwithstanding its best efforts to reach the MDGs targets.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has launched an initiative to reform the health sector to improve the health
services to meet the increasing demands of the Lao population. In December 2012, the National Assembly
endorsed the National Health Sector Reform Strategy with its four priority areas: Human Resources for
Health; Health Financing; Governance, Management and Coordination; Health Service Delivery; and Health
Information System. In January 2014, the Prime Minister signed a Decree to establish the National
Committee for Health Sector Reform.
The reform approach applies the Theory of Change concept of which, five priority areas will contribute to the
country’s goal of reaching Universal Health Coverage by 2025. The Health Information Systems is one of
these priority areas with key expected outcomes include a functional, reliable routine HMIS reporting that is
used for planning, policy making and management purpose.
Despite the fact that the Health Information System has been revised in 2004, the first National Health
Statistics Report for 2009/2010 was published only in 2011 with the second report being published in 2012.
It is commonly acknowledged by the ministry and its development partners that the Health Information
System (HIS), especially the routine reporting system in Lao PDR, is weak and not completely reliable. To
be able to support the MOH implement the reform process, the HIS plays a vital role as it provides strategic
information to the planning, management and supervision process, as well as to inform the progress
regarding MDGs. Currently, the Health Statistics Division is under the Department of Planning and
International Cooperation.
Since October 2013, in the framework of the health sector reform, MOH has switched the routine reporting
of Health Management Information System (HMIS) from excel paper based to the web-based DHIS2 (District
Health Information System 2) platform. The Lao Ministry of Health operates a Health Management
Information System (HMIS) in each health facility in the country. The HMIS in Lao PDR already has a
foundation, with reporting forms and a set of indicators, surveillance system is in place. It provides paperbased tools to patient registration; consolidate and analyse reports all administrative level of the health
system from health centre to national level. The weakness of the system is data quality assurance, data
analysis and use of the information. Data are sent to provincial department of health for consolidation then
sent to the Division of Health Statistic which is under the department of Planning and International
Cooperation in the MOH. Currently, under the context of the national health sector reform, which has been
endorsed by the national assembly, HMIS has been identified as one of the prioritised pillars. Strengthening
the health information will play a crucial role in informing decision making and planning of the health sector
in general and of the health sector reform in particular for improving the general health service to the
population of Lao PDR.
By early 2015, all 18 provinces and 148 districts, central level hospitals have reported into DHIS2 for routine
reporting. The continuation of monitoring the report completeness and the quality of data, as well as
generating strategic information are new tasks and skills to the statistics team. There is urgent need to
support the team to strengthen their capacity and the use of the information at national and sub-national
levels. Currently the HMIS/DHIS2 is technically supported by the University of Oslo’s hub in South East Asia
– HISP VN, who works closely with other development partners in the country to support the implementation
of the new system. A roadmap 2014-2020 together with an annual work plan for 2015 for HIS/DHIS2 has
been developed and approved by the MOH.
9. Host Agency/Host Institute: World Health Organization, Lao People's Democratic Republic
10. Organizational Context:
The Information Support Officer will work at the WHO Lao PDR Office under the direct supervision of
Technical Officer for health information and the Team Leader-Health Systems and under the overall
supervision of WHO Representative. This position will also require working with the National Division of
Statistics in the Ministry of Health including other development partners. The UN Volunteer will submit
periodic reports to the Technical Officer-Health Information who will be the focal point for all issues related
to the volunteer assignment.
11. Type of Assignment Place: Assignment without family
12. Description of tasks:
This assignment will require working with the National Division of Statistics, Ministry of Health. Under the
direct support of the Technical Officer responsible for Health Information and the Health System
Development Team Leader and under the overall supervision of the WHO Representative, the UN Youth
Volunteer Information Support Officer will undertake the following tasks:
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Support the Health Statistics Division to i) manage the DHIS2 based routine reporting system; ii) improve
data quality through regular monitoring and use; iii) generate strategic health information brief to policy
makers and managers in the MOH.
Support the statistics team to revise reporting forms and develop guidelines and instruction on data entry
and analysis according the reviewed form, according to the annual work plan on HIS.
Participate in training, remote coaching and supportive supervision to the provincial health statistic staff;
promote the ownership and use of information at sub-national level.
Participate in the activities of the HMIS/DHIS2 core team as a team member.
Support the identification and documentation of best practices and lessons learned
Collaborate with other development/donor partners in this area to harmonize the routine reporting
system and promote its use.
Prepare periodic reports related to the activities performed
Support any other related activities as requested by the supervisors
Furthermore, the UN Youth Volunteer is encouraged to:
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Strengthen the knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV
and external publications and taking active part in UNV events.
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Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the country;
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Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in
ongoing reflection activities;
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Contribute articles/write-ups on volunteering experiences and submit them to the team at UNVHQs for
consideration (beyond other communications responsibilities), and input to the UNV
publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
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Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Youth Volunteers;
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Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals
and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service.
13. Results/Expected Output:
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Strengthened use of routine HMIS reporting system at national, provincial and district offices.
Improvements in data analysis and use for strategic planning and management purposes.
A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such
as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.
14. Qualifications/Requirements:
The incumbent must be a dynamic, team oriented, gender-friendly, multi-functional person with
professionalism, dedication and is objective orientated. The following qualifications are required:
Age:
 UN Youth Volunteers must be between 18 and 29 years for the whole duration of their assignment
Education:
 University Degree in Medical Sciences field with training in health statistics or IT related areas. A
background in public health is desirable.
Work experience:
 Up to 2 years of experience in health information system, health statistics and database management.
 Experience in IT and computerized reporting programme is desirable.
Knowledge & skills:
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Strong communication, strategic thinking, public relations and advisory skills, including written and
presentations
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Demonstrated networking and partnership building skills
Strong expertise in coordinating activities
Strong results based programme management experience, with particular focus on strategic planning
and capacity building.
Languages:
 Fluency in English is essential (knowledge of another official UN language an asset)
15. Learning expectations
Learning and development are a central part of the UN Youth Volunteer’s assignment and take place before,
during and after his or her assignment in the field. Ideally, offering diverse opportunities for learning and
development aim to strengthen the volunteer’s skills and competences, improve the quality of the
assignment and keep the volunteer’s motivation high.
Learning elements for the UN Youth Volunteer include the development of:
 Professional skills: including specific competencies and reflection on assignment-related abilities;
and on-the-job skills such as time management, problem solving, team building; and career
preparedness such as interview skills, CV preparation, job searching.
 Inter-personal skills: including communication and listening skills; multi-cultural awareness and
cultural competency; and conflict and stress management.
 Volunteering-related skills: including leadership; civic responsibility; and engagement and active
participation.
Beyond the learning opportunities provided by UNV, [Indicate here the name of the host agency] will support
knowledge and capacity development in the technical areas that are relevant to the UN Youth Volunteer’s
assignment. [ Indicate here the name of the host agency] will provide, at its expense, UN Youth Volunteers
with equal opportunity to participate in training courses and workshops offered to its personnel.
16. Living Conditions:
The assignment will be based in the capital, Vientiane. Living conditions in Vientiane are comfortable but
residents must make concessions due to the tropical climate and under-developed infrastructure, including
health facilities. Most commodities may be purchased in Vientiane.
Whilst traveling in the Lao provinces staff will experience more hardship due to lack of infrastructure and
general commodities.
For detailed information http://www.la.undp.org/content/lao_pdr/en/home/operations/UNV/ or
www.facebook.com/UNVLaoPDR or request UNV Lao PDR Handbook. Other documents relevant to the
assignment will be provided to the successful candidate prior to joining the duty station.
For more information please visit the following web sites:
 United Nations Volunteers (global): http://www.unv.org
 UN system in Lao PDR: http://www.la.one.un.org/
17. Conditions of Service
A 12- month contract; monthly living allowance (MLA) base intended to cover housing, basic needs and
utilities, with a base rate of US$ 1,243, which is adjusted monthly according to the movement (upwards or
downwards) of the Post Adjustment Multiplier (PAM), which is established by the International Civil Service
Commission (ICSC) to ensure that international UN Volunteers have comparable purchasing power at all
duty stations despite varying costs of living. The applicable MLA is calculated as follows: MLA = (MLA base
rate x PAM) + MLA base rate. See ICSC website http://icsc.un.org for more information on the applicable
PAM rates. The current VLA rate is US$ 1,763 per month.
In addition, UN Volunteers are provided a one-time settling-in-grant (if applicable); Well-Being Differential
(applicable only in hardship non-family duty stations); a life, health, and permanent disability insurance;
return airfares (if applicable); resettlement allowance for satisfactory service.