Technical Officer – Pharmacovigilance (UN Volunteer)

About the role

The World Health Organization is recruiting an International UN Volunteer Technical Officer in Pharmacovigilance to support the implementation of WHO’s smart pharmacovigilance strategy across the Africa Region. Working under regional and headquarters guidance, the officer will assist Member States in strengthening medicine and vaccine safety monitoring, data‑driven risk assessment and communication.

Key responsibilities

• Support countries in applying WHO pharmacovigilance strategies, guidance, tools and protocols.
• Conduct pharmacovigilance system assessments and help develop improvement plans.
• Coordinate with WHO Collaborating Centres, national regulatory authorities and public‑health programmes.
• Facilitate the use of WHO platforms such as VigiFlow, VigiLyze and VigiMobile for adverse event reporting.
• Promote regional collaboration, information sharing, reliance mechanisms and joint safety reviews.
• Assist countries in detecting, assessing and responding to medicine and vaccine safety signals.
• Build national capacity in adverse event reporting, causality assessment and safety data analysis.
• Encourage the adoption of artificial‑intelligence and innovative approaches in pharmacovigilance activities.

Required profile

• Master’s degree in pharmaceuticals, pharmacology, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmaceutical sciences or a related field.
• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in pharmacovigilance, regulatory science or medicine/vaccine safety.
• Experience supporting national health authorities or programmes in low‑ and middle‑income countries is desirable.
• Strong knowledge of medicine and vaccine safety monitoring, signal detection, risk management and data analysis.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, facilitation, communication and capacity‑building skills.
• Fluency in English; working knowledge of French and/or Portuguese is an asset.

Required skills

• VigiFlow
• VigiLyze
• VigiMobile

What we offer

• Standard UN Volunteer package for International Expert Volunteers, including living allowance, insurance, leave and other entitlements according to UNV Conditions of Service.