Consultant Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Survey Coordinator, NOC

Contract

This is a No grade contract. More about No grade contracts.

Purpose of SSA AMR Survey Coordinator

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant health threat, particularly in resource-limited settings, where effective microbiological services and reserve-category antibiotics are scarce.

While a nationwide AMR surveillance system is being established, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the implementation of periodic national AMR prevalence surveys to help strengthen capacity in countries where surveillance systems are still nascent and to accelerate the availability of quality-assured representative AMR data that can inform national policymaking and monitoring of global trends. Rwanda is among the first countries to pilot the implementation of this type of survey, which aims at estimating the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in human bloodstream infections in individuals seeking acute hospital inpatient care.

A full-time national survey coordinator is required for the operational oversight and the day-to-day management of the survey. In this regard, the Ministry of Health through the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, has requested WHO to recruit a National Survey Coordinator to facilitate this work.

Objectives of the Programme:

The overall objective is to coordinate the planning and implementation of the AMR prevalence survey in accordance with pre-defined scientific and quality standards and in close collaboration with the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MoH), WHO, clinical and laboratory personnel, and topic experts.

In the absence of national surveillance systems of high quality and coverage, national surveys can provide a reliable, direct measurement of the prevalence, as well as an estimation of the health and economic burden of AMR. The methodological principles and rationale for national surveys to estimate the prevalence of AMR in human clinical infection, focusing initially on measuring AMR among hospitalized patients with bacteriologically confirmed bloodstream infection (BSI), was published in the first quarter of 2023, following consultations with experts from academia, public health agencies and WHO. Survey methodology builds upon principles of good clinical practice, good data and record management practices, and ethical and scientific quality standards for the implementation of national surveys applied to other disease programs. Central to the methodology principles of surveys are aspects of governance, communications, management, monitoring, risk assessment, and accountability, as well as ensuring that the rights, safety, and well-being of survey participants are protected and that evidence-informed national policies can be developed based on reliable, accurate and complete data.

The WHO’s “Methodological principles of nationally representative surveys as a platform for global surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in human bloodstream infections” (11) also defines high-level criteria to identify what countries may be adequate targets for these surveys. Briefly, target settings are those that are likely to benefit the most whilst also meeting minimum feasibility standards, the latter to ensure that implementation can be completed successfully. Pilot surveys were scheduled to begin in 2023 to inform, in part through lessons learned, the release of more comprehensive technical guidance to then scale up national AMR prevalence surveys for national and global monitoring of AMR.

Organizational Context

The national survey coordinator provides a report on a monthly basis covering the topics listed above by the end of each month.

Reporting to the Universal Health Coverage Life Course Cluster Lead, under the general guidance of the WR, and in close coordination with the regional office, and WHO/HQ and within the delegated authority and in collaboration with other specialists at HQs and in other offices the officer will develop, and support implementation of the AMR prevalence survey, and play a leadership role in the assigned area.

Summary of Assigned Duties:

Under the overall guidance of WHO Representative Rwanda and the direct supervision of the WHO UHC LC Team Lead in collaboration with technical experts in the Regional office, and WHO/HQ the incumbent will perform the following tasks:

1. Coordinate and facilitate all activities related to the planning and implementation of the survey.

2. Coordinate and contribute to the development of essential survey documents and tools, including:

i. Technical documents and tools (e.g., protocol, standard operating procedures, training materials, others).

ii. Governance and management documents and tools (e.g., communications plan, quality plan, delegation log, other).

iii. Tools for the efficient monitoring of survey activities

3. Develop and coordinate a system for tracking amendments of all survey documents through version control.

4. Coordinate and contribute to tasks related to survey management, including selection of field staff, logistics, training and competency assessments, and supervision and monitoring of all survey activities, including collection of biological specimens and clinical information.

5. Provide day-to-day coordination, oversight, and direction to central and peripheral operational teams and provide timely/prompt response to their queries

6. Manage the central operational team tasked with supporting training, supervision, and monitoring of operational field teams at hospitals and laboratories participating in the survey

7. Ensure that survey activities adhere to quality standards and procedures outlined in the protocol and coordinate activities related to quality management and quality improvement

8. Ensure smooth and timely communication with all participating parties and technical partners

9. Act as a link between operational survey teams and senior management, and communicate promptly any issues identified to facilitate timely implementation of corrective measures

10. Work with the survey epidemiologist to ensure data timeliness, completeness, and quality and to facilitate periodic analysis and reporting of results to senior management.

11. Based on the above tasks, develop and submit an off-line ePMDS Plan at the start of the contract, reviewed mid-contract, and then 1 month before the end of the contract

12. Performs any other duties as assigned by supervisors.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Education (Qualifications):

Essential: University degree in Medicine, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Science, Microbiology, Public Health, Epidemiology, or a related discipline.

Desirable: Postgraduate degree in Biomedical sciences or Clinical Trials from an accredited/recognized institute.

Experience:

Essential:

·At least five years of experience working with the health sector in Rwanda

·Documented experience in the management of projects in the health sector (for example, health research, implementation science, surveillance, or related)

·Experience in multidisciplinary One Health approach (public health, animal health, and/or environment)

Desirable:

·Ten Years working experience working with the health sector in Rwanda.

·Work experience with WHO or another UN agency or international public health organization

·Prior experience in the development of strategic documents (policy, strategy) to strengthen One Health and AMR surveillance

Functional Skills and Knowledge

·Proven ability to undertake research and write summary documents and scientific publication

·Excellent verbal and written communication skills

·Capacity to conduct specific trainings

·Data management and analyses

·Knowledge of the One Health and AMR surveillance context in Rwanda

·Knowledge of health systems strengthening, One Health, and clinical research.

·Excellent intercultural sensitivity and communication skills.

·Ability to establish harmonious working relationships as part of a team, adapt to diverse educational and cultural backgrounds, and maintain a high standard of personal conduct.

·Proven ability to develop strategy

WHO Competencies

1.Producing results

2.Communication in a credible and effective way

3.Teamwork

4.Moving forward in changing environment

5.Ensuring effective use of resources

Languages:

Essential: Excellent knowledge of English.

Desirable: Working knowledge of French will be an added value.

Other Skills (e.g., IT):

Proficiency in all MS Office software applications.

Remuneration:

⦁Grade: NOC UN Rwanda salary scale ⦁Type of contract: Special Services Agreement

Additional Information:

•This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level. Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted. •A written test may be used as a form of screening. •If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review. •For information on WHO's operations please visit: http://www.who.int. •The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics. The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply for WHO jobs. Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to [email protected] •An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter (https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values) into practice. •WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of short-listed candidates. •WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco. •Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority. •WHO shall have no responsibility for any taxes, duties, social security contributions or other contributions payable by the Consultant. The Consultant shall be solely responsible for withholding and paying any taxes, duties, social security contributions and any other contributions which are applicable to the Consultant in each location/jurisdiction in which the work hereunder is performed, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any reimbursement thereof by WHO. •Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at [email protected]. •In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click the link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates .