Consultancy : Technical Expert on Oxygen, Beirut, 113 days

This opening expired 1 year ago. Do not try to apply for this job.

UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

Open positions at UNICEF
Logo of UNICEF

Application deadline 1 year ago: Friday 1 Jul 2022 at 20:55 UTC

Open application form

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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 Good Health!

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Taking forward the recommendation of oxygen roadmap by facilitating development of policies, strategies and guidelines for implementation of recommendation from oxygen generation roadmap. Technical support in building capacity of personnel involved in operation and maintenance of oxygen generation equipment.

Scope of Work / Background

In many parts of the world, COVID-19 has exposed a significant oxygen gap including both limited oxygen infrastructure and production capacity. Facilities need both increased oxygen provision and trained human resources, including biomedical staff to install and maintain oxygen equipment and clinicians to provide safe oxygen therapy.

Although the significance of medical oxygen therapy has become much better known during the COVID-19 pandemic, these oxygen needs extend across the health system for maternal, newborn, and child health as well as for surgeries and other medical conditions.

Lebanon, like many countries around the world, was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic with 1,029,998 cases and 9890 deaths recorded since the outbreak started in late February 2020 let alone the grave consequences on the economy, social life, and the health sector. In addition to the Covid 19 pandemic, Lebanon is currently struggling the worst economic collapse in its history compounded by the existent protracted Syrian crisis where more than 80% of the Lebanese population are below the poverty line and 89% of Syrian families live in extreme poverty.

Evidence predicts negative impacts of multi-layered crisis on population health and health care, which has already started manifesting in the country. Population health indicators are worsening, the health system is strained both on the supply and demand side. Health service delivery is impacted by the exodus of qualified healthcare professionals in addition to increased operational costs leading to deterioration in the quality of care. At the peak of the Covid 19 pandemic, with the increase in patients requiring hospitalization has revealed the health system inability to respond with the required number of beds to attend to the needs of those in need of hospital care for their conditions, the main reason for hospitalization of Covid 19 patients was the need for oxygen support.

Recent assessments of the oxygen systems in the country have shown gaps in technical capacity and know how at the level of people using and maintaining the oxygen equipment at the level of government al hospitals. Another initiative to develop a detailed road map for oxygen scale up in Lebanon including identification of challenges and bottlenecks with detailed description of evidence informed mitigation measures. Hence an imminent need to operationalize the road map through development of strategies and guidelines in place for implementing the oxygen generation roadmap and capacity building of stakeholders on maintenance of oxygen generation equipment.

How can you make a difference?

Tasks/Milestone 1: Conduct rapid Oxygen assessment.

Deliverable: Conduct a rapid Oxygen ecosystem assessment using the UNICEF- Oxygen System Planning Tool for eligible governmental hospitals (##) and compliment it with a and gap analysis.

Output: Oxygen situation analysis report on the selected governmental hospitals detailing the identified gaps and proposing the mitigation measures; aim to inform the development of NA Oxygen road map for Lebanon.

Timeline: 15 days

Tasks/Milestone 2: Develop and operationalize implementation strategy for the national oxygen therapy road map including oxygen sourcing.

Deliverables: Based on the oxygen source recommendations in the roadmap, identify the planned oxygen sources.

Plan the implementation of oxygen sourcing.

For oxygen sources that have identified funding, provide technical support to deliver the oxygen source (e.g., procurement and installation of PSA or LTA for liquid oxygen…).

Plan for distribution of oxygen throughout the catchment Include procurement requests, cylinder filling, transport, and payment plans.

Develop oxygen monitoring tools (output and process indicators/registry tools/ supervisory tools).

Provide technical support to the MoPH on any identified bottlenecks in the road map implementation.

Outputs:

Technical specifications, costs, and plans for providing oxygen sources (based on the recipient facility).

Expect all regional catchment areas to have adequate oxygen sourcing.

Cost neutral business model for oxygen supply.

Report on operationalization of the oxygen road map with clear identification of bottlenecks and proposed mitigation measures (End of consultancy).

Timeline: 48 days

Tasks/Milestone 3: Provide biomedical engineering input for medical oxygen programs.

Deliverables:

Facilitate a series of central and zonal train-the-trainers from the MoPH relevant public health facilities and procurement agencies on how to manage oxygen (from procurement to operations and maintenance).

Training and capacity building for the biomedical and nursing staff form identified facilities on the use and maintenance of equipment.

Mentoring at least two trainings by the trained trainers.

Outputs:

Report on training and relevant activities including: Identification of trainees for the ToT and their facility affiliations.

Training package (handouts, power point presentations, reference material).

Documentation of attendance.

Timeline : 30 days

Tasks/Milestone 4: Develop a sustainable in country training programme with partnership of biomedical institute or center and mentorship to build staff capacity around medical oxygen system handling, repair and maintenance.

Deliverables: Explore potential partnership with reputed local bio-medical centre/institute for capacity building of oxygen therapy device handlers for preventive maintenance.

Provide technical design input and review.

Review piping requirements for facilities and provide input for how to achieve the piping needs from a technical point of view.

Provide quality assurance oversight for PSAs, LMO handling and distribution systems, site modifications, and cylinder filling and distribution systems.

Outputs:

Summary of specific modifications required for site modifications for oxygen and piping programs.

Report on quality assurance issues for delivered oxygen systems.

Timeline: 20 days

  • Previous consulting and similar experience are preferred
  • Exposure and experience how medical equipment supply system and maintenance works
  • Computer literacy, MS Office Suite required
  • Proven ability to analyse data and write reports that are of high quality
  • Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) to be able to liaise with a wide variety of people, good attention to detail
  • Familiarity and experience of working with UNICEF and MICs is considered an asset
  • Fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English is essential

For every Child, you demonstrate Equity

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.

Candidates are required to provide an all inclusive financial offer mentioning clearly the daily fees.

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. The candidate may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org