Consultancy: HealthConnekt Consultant (Country Engagement, Equity Analysis, and Investment Cases) ICTD Digital Center of Excellence (remote, 14 months)

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, a connected world

In 2019, UNICEF and ITU launched the Giga initiative, aiming at connecting every school in the world to the internet. Giga is now active in 19 countries, has mapped over 2M schools, and has connected more than 5,600 schools and 2,1 million learners to the internet. UNICEF is now intending to expand on Giga through an initiative currently called “HealthConnekt” to include sub-national health infrastructure, including at the Primary Health Care (PHC) and Community Health Workers (CHWs) level. HealthConnekt Global will include direct support to HealthConnekt Africa, a flagship initiative in Africa CDC’s Digital Transformation Strategy.

Internet connectivity is a prerequisite to effective digital health, which provides two types of opportunities: enhance the efficiency of healthcare and public health delivery through rapid and inexpensive communication, allowing improved data management, including surveillance of communicable diseases, workforce development and management, decision making, as well decreasing data latency, improving quality of data collected at the point of care through real-time data validation protocols, facilitating more responsive supportive supervision, and increasing access to new and innovative services such as telemedicine, personalized medicine, and AI-augmented decision making.

While countries have made tremendous efforts in increasing accessibility and affordability of internet connectivity during the past decade, there are still gaps particularly at the last-mile and in the most marginalized and vulnerable communities. In Africa, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021, around 34% of health facilities in Africa have internet connectivity. As governments increasingly digitalize health services, there is a growing risk that the digital divide will be further extended in these communities with some citizens unable to access or benefit from these digitally enabled health services or receive suboptimal care. Additionally, the recurrent data costs are expected to continue to increase. Yet many governments do not yet have domestic financing strategies or partnerships to address this.

HealthConnekt Global will contribute to connecting health facilities and health workers by empowering Member States through a series of complementary efforts.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF seeks a HealthConnekt Consultant to support 10 countries to map national ecosystems, formalize engagements with government, and create country-specific equity analysis briefs and investment cases. The consultant will play a key role providing technical assistance to HealthConnekts' initial efforts to expand Giga to health sector connectivity, accelerating and supporting the Africa CDC partnership, and testing, documenting and refining the global initiative through at least ten countries. For this assignment, the consultant will have a matrix reporting to UNICEF’s DH&IS Senior Health Specialist and UNICEF’s ICTD Digital Centre of Excellence ICT Manager.

The consultant will provide technical assistance to the integration between HealthConnekt Global and Giga, as well as with HealthConnekt Africa and the Africa CDC. As such, the consultant will be expected to work closely with the Giga team in Barcelona, as well as co-working with them on shared outputs. Additionally, the consultant will be expected to collaborate with the Digital Health Focal Point within the Africa CDC, based out of Addis Ababa and will liaise with the UNICEF regional and country health/digital health specialists for the 10 countries that will be engaged.

The consultant will perform the following duties:

1. Inception Report and Workplan

• Develop the initial HealthConnekt workplan, roadmap, milestones and budget – 2023-2025 v1

• Update the Africa CDC Concept Note and TOR Technical Advisory Group

• Develop and implement partner engagement strategy and coordination / technical advisory structure

• Identify strategic meetings during First Wave roll-out.

2-5. Country Engagement, Partnerships and Assessments for 10 countries

• Produce country engagement tools to help onboard 10 countries.

• Conduct national landscape analysis with key partners in 10 countries.

• Conduct a review of national Regulations Data Sharing Agreements, both between Government Agencies as well as Development Partners, as relevant to this programme.

• Conduct a review of national MoH infrastructure guidelines and structures, including for connectivity, electrification and device

• Conduct a review of national financing mechanisms (including Universal Service Funds), as well as current government and partner financial contributions, for connectivity, electrification and devices, taking into consideration both CapEx and OpEx.

• Conduct an assessment of national HMFL platforms and governance structures, including providing analysis of quality of data and gaps, alignment with global best practices, standards and integration into identified global platforms and dashboards.

• Develop equity analysis and country specific Investment Cases.

6. Reporting and documentation

• Provide an updated workplan, roadmap, milestones and budget – 2024-2025 v2

• Draft UNICEF’s Annual HealthConnekt Report, in close contact with the Africa CDC and Giga Technology Centre.

• Draft bi-annual progress reports

• Draft updates and analyses, prepare report as well as provide inputs to the communication specialist to produce communication assets for the annual Africa Health Technology Summit

Scope of Work:

Summary of key functions/activities:

Work Assignment Overview

Deliverables/ Outputs

Delivery deadline

% of Total Payment

1. Inception Report and Workplan

Develop the initial HealthConnekt workplan, roadmap, milestones and

budget – 2023-2025 v1

Month 1

4%

Update the Africa CDC Concept Note and TOR Technical Advisory Group

Month 2

4%

Develop and implement partner engagement strategy and coordination /

technical advisory structure

Month 3

4%

Identify strategic meetings during First Wave roll-out

Month 3

4%

Produce country engagement tools to help onboard 2 countries. CO1

Month 4

4%

Produce country engagement tools to help onboard 2 countries. CO2

Month 4

4%

Conduct national landscape analysis with key partners in 2 countries. CO 1

Month 5

4%

Conduct national landscape analysis with key partners in 2 countries.CO2

Month 6

4%

Work Assignment 2.1

Conduct a review of national Regulations Data Sharing Agreements, both

between Government Agencies as well as Development Partners, as relevant to this programme. Country 1

Month 7

4%

Conduct a review of national MoH infrastructure guidelines and structures,

including for connectivity, electrification and devices. Country 1

Month 7

4%

Conduct a review of national Regulations Data Sharing Agreements, both

between Government Agencies as well as Development Partners, as relevant to this programme. Country 2

Month 8

4%

Conduct a review of national MoH infrastructure guidelines and structures,

including for connectivity, electrification and devices. Country 2

Month 8

4%

Conduct a review of national Regulations Data Sharing Agreements, both

between Government Agencies as well as Development Partners, as relevant to this programme. Country 3

Month 9

4%

2.Country engagement and partnership

Conduct a review of national MoH infrastructure guidelines and structures,

including for connectivity, electrification and devices. Country 3

Month 9

4%

Work Assignment 2.2

Conduct a review of national financing mechanisms (including Universal Service Funds), as well as current government and partner financial contributions, for connectivity, electrification and devices, taking into

consideration both CapEx and OpEx. Country 1

Month 10

4%

Conduct a review of national financing mechanisms (including Universal Service Funds), as well as current government and partner financial contributions, for connectivity, electrification and devices, taking into

consideration both CapEx and OpEx. Country 2

Month 11

4%

Conduct a review of national financing mechanisms (including Universal Service Funds), as well as current government and partner financial contributions, for connectivity, electrification and devices, taking into

consideration both CapEx and OpEx. Country 3

Month 12

4%

Work Assignment 2.3

Conduct an assessment of national HMFL platforms and governance structures, including providing analysis of quality of data and gaps, alignment with global best practices, standards and integration into

identified global platforms and dashboards. Country 1

Month 13

4%

Develop equity analysis and country specific Investment Cases. Country 1

Month 13

4%

Conduct an assessment of national HMFL platforms and governance structures, including providing analysis of quality of data and gaps, alignment with global best practices, standards and integration into

identified global platforms and dashboards. Country 2

Month 14

4%

Develop equity analysis and country specific Investment Cases. Country 2

Month 14

4%

Work Assignment 2.4

3.Reporting and documentation

Provide an updated workplan, roadmap, milestones and budget – 2024-

2025 v2

Month 14

4%

Draft UNICEF’s Annual HealthConnekt Report, in close contact with the

Africa CDC and Giga Technology Centre.

Month 14

4%

Draft 3 bi-annual progress reports

Month 14

4%

Draft updates and analyses, and prepare report as well as communications

assets for the annual Africa Health Technology Summit

Month 14

4%

Duration of the contract:

14 months working remotely (Nairobi, Kenya and Barcelona, Spain time zone).

Travel:

The position will be remote but the consultant required to travel for 8 missions - destinations to be determined later, travel cost to be covered by UNICEF.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• An Advanced university degree in business administration, international development, public health, engineering, programme/project management, or any relevant area of study to support knowledge in programme/project management or a related field OR education from a reputed college of advanced education with a diploma of equivalent standard to that of an advanced university degree in one of the fields above. * A first university degree in one of the fields above in combination with ten years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree
• At least seven years of progressively responsible experience in managing projects/programmes in the context of international development, including several years of providing expertise and advice to on a wide range of international telecommunications/ICTs and or global/public health or related issues and policies, with, at least three at the international level.
• Experience working with government stakeholders and implementing connectivity solutions in different countries is preferred.
• Experience managing field connectivity solutions, including mobile and fixed broadband, in low bandwidth settings is preferred.
• Experience with connectivity solutions including infrastructure, hardware and software solutions, and capacity building
• Experience with developing investment cases, as well as blended / innovative financing, is preferred.

• Experience with Health or other Digital Public Goods (DPGs) and related data – including MFLs and Health Workforce

  Registries, is preferred.

• Experience with national telecommunications regulatory ecosystem is considered an asset
• Certification in project management (e.g. PMP, Prince, PMD) would be considered an advantage for this position.
• Familiarity with GIGA’s work is a huge plus.
• Previous experience in managing and/or implementing UNICEF programmes will be an asset.
• Experience within or coordinating with government bodies on Health and or ICT will also be an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

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Added 11 months ago - Updated 10 months ago - Source: unicef.org