Consultancy: To conduct operational research and program evaluation on accelerating catch-up vaccination during COVID pandemic recovery - Req

Consultant Medical & Health Programme & Policy

Overview

Conduct research and evaluations to improve vaccination coverage post-COVID.

You have:

• Advanced university degree (Master's or higher) in Social Sciences, Public Health, Health Economics, Medicine, or related area.
• Language proficiency in English and French.
• 11 years of progressive experience in public health research, health programme delivery, and project management.
• Significant experience in immunization with added value for specific experience with measles/rubella, and yellow fever work.
• Expertise in conducting operational public health research and health economic analyses.
• Demonstrated skills in technical report and scientific publication writing in public health areas preferably related to immunization.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and French.
• Strong planning and organizational skills.
• Advanced data analytic skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to establish harmonious working relations in a multicultural environment.

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 hope.

Consultancy Title: Consultancy to conduct operational research and program evaluation on accelerating catch-up vaccination during COVID pandemic recovery

Section/Division/Duty Station: Health – Immunization Section, New York HQ (home-based, remote position)

Duration: 11.5 months (April 2022 to March 2023)

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

At UNICEF Headquarters (NYHQ) within the Health Programme, the Immunization section supports immunization programmes across more than 70 countries and seven regional offices. Careful planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting is required to ensure effective and efficient immunization program delivery particularly following the erosion of essential childhood health services seen during the COVID pandemic.

The workload for the Accelerated Immunization Initiatives (AII) team in the Immunization Section has grown substantially in recent years in response to an increase in the number vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) outbreaks globally in countries where UNICEF is present, the availability of new vaccines and in support of global disease control initiatives. This increased workload has further dramatically increased since 2020 with the unprecedented strains on immunization programmes during the COVID pandemic. The AII team provides a range of functions including participation in global technical working groups, providing guidance to UNICEF regional and country offices on measles and rubella, Yellow fever (YF), Meningitis, maternal and neonatal tetanus, and cholera control and elimination activities including disease outbreak preparedness and response, and conducting operational research and programme evaluation to support implementation of data-driven immunization strategies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the provision of health services and disease surveillance in many UNICEF programme countries. Twenty-eight countries with ongoing or planned measles supplemental immunization activities (SIAs) or outbreak response immunization (ORI) campaigns in 2020 postponed vaccination activities targeting 116.3 million persons because of the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection; 17 (61%) of these subsequently experienced measles outbreaks. Resuming or implementing national or sub-national SIAs and sustaining and intensifying routine immunization in the setting of ongoing SARS-CoV-2 circulation and post-pandemic recovery is a UNICEF priority and requires evidence-based adjustments to previous immunization strategies.

UNICEF seeks an experienced consultant to support generating critical data to guide planning and implementation of catch-up vaccination activities during COVID recovery. The primary responsibility of the consultant will be in conducting operational research and systematic programmatic evaluation of country efforts to restore and improve essential childhood immunization. Assessments will be made of targeted immunization campaigns aiming to reach previously unvaccinated children and “zero-dose” communities and intensified routine immunization efforts including use of the second-year of life platform for integrated service delivery. In addition, the consultant will identify and analyze barriers to vaccination during COVID recovery and recommend approaches and interventions to overcome these current challenges to restorating and sustainable improving childhood vaccination across antigens .

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

Under the supervision of the Senior Advisor in the AII workstream, the consultant will conduct operational research and programme evaluation activities to build the evidence base necessary for countries to develop and implement innovative and sustainable strategies for catch up vaccination of children who missed out on the benefit of immunization during the COVID-19 pandemic. The consultant will also provide technical support to regional and relevant country offices on immunization planning, programmatic monitoring and evaluation, operational research and data analyses, and in reviewing and preparing reports and applications for donors. The consultant will need to independently coordinate with multiple internal and external partners on complex multi-country operational research and evaluation projects, including economic analyses of different vaccination strategies, to guide evidence-based planning and programming and develop different technical approaches to restoring and improving vaccination coverage during COVID recovery.

Tasks/Milestone

• Operational research and program evaluations focused on identifying and addressing barriers to optimizing vaccination coverage

Deliverable/ Output: Technical protocols and analytic and evaluation tools for SIA evaluations and routine immunization coverage barriers

• Conduct mixed methods research on factors leading to high differential in vaccine coverage between measles- containing vaccine (MCV) and YF vaccine

Deliverable/ Output: Comprehensive final technical report of methods and findings and draft peer- reviewed journal publication on factors leading to high differential between MCV and YF coverage in selected countries 15 March 2023

• Evaluation of different strategies performance of measles and Yellow fever supplemental immunization activities

Deliverable/ Output: Final report and draft publication on economic analysis of selective measles- rubella SIA strategy 31 October 2022

Qualifications

(1) Education

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in the area of Social Sciences, Public Health, Health Economics, Medicine, or related areas.
• Language Proficiency English/ French.

2) Work experience

• 11 years of progressive experience in public health research, health programme delivery, and project management
• Experience in coordination with country partners
• Significant experience in immunizations with added value for specific experience with measles/rubella, and yellow fever work
• Experience in successfully working with multi- stakeholders at global level in highly technical areas is preferable.
• Expertise in conducting operational public health research and health economic analyses

3) Competencies

• Expertise in conducting operational public health research and health economic analyses
• Demonstrated skills in technical report and scientific publication writing in public health areas preferably related to immunization.
• Excellent verbal and written communication in English and French.
• Strong planning and organizational skills.
• Advanced data analytic skills
• Good judgment, initiative, high sense of responsibility, tact and discretion.
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and ability to establish harmonious working relations in a multicultural environment.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Requirements****:

• Completed profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system and provide Personal History Form (P11) Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include:
• your daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference (can be downloaded here: https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_consultancy_assignments.html
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.

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

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: 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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

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Potential interview questions

Added 4 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org