Consultant - conceptualize the hospital resilience and define its components and develop a guide (toolkit) for assessing and strengthening hospital resilience in the EMR

Contract

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

Purpose of the consultancy

The aim of this consultancy is to practically conceptualize the hospital resilience and define its components and develop a guide (toolkit) for assessing and strengthening hospital resilience in the EMR. In addition, within this frame, to provide technical support to EMR countries to develop their national strategic plan for the hospital sector in the context of the regional framework.

Background

Hospitals are complex institutions that play a fundamental role in the provision of health services. During rapidly evolving outbreaks (e.g. COVID-19 pandemic), the provision of care by hospitals and health care facilities tends to become interrupted. In addition, more than half the Region’s population live in countries with graded emergencies. Many hospitals and the availability of hospital services have been seriously affected in these countries which makes responses to COVID-19 even more challenging. Therefore, proactive and systematic implementation of a preparedness and response action plan is essential to improve and facilitate management within the hospital. There is a great need for rebuilding strong and resilient hospitals and health systems for pandemic preparedness and response.

The notion of resilience can be defined as the capacity to adapt to unexpected challenges and the flexibility to revert to normality. Additionally, the issues learned from the experience should be incorporated into protocols which would allow for better preparedness for future challenges. Hospital disaster resilience refers to a hospital’s ability to withstand, absorb, and respond to disasters while maintaining critical functions, and then to recover to its original state or adapt to a new one. Understanding the status of a hospital’s disaster resilience is the first step in planning to enhance effective emergency response services.

A conceptual understanding of hospital resilience is essential to provide an intellectual basis for an integrated approach to system development. Developing the concept of “hospital resilience” will provide a starting point for agreement about what it comprises and how to measure it. The new concept links the key components with an achievable goal to improve hospital prevent robustness as well as rapidity to recover and adapt to disaster. There is no broad consensus regarding a framework for evaluating hospital resilience and further agreement on key measures of hospital resilience would improve the consistency of a hospital’s emergency practices and position it with an improved ability to cope with disasters of all kinds.

We propose to conduct a comprehensive study to appropriately and practically conceptualize the hospital resilience and define its components and develop a guide (toolkit) for assessing and strengthening hospital resilience in the EMR. This work will be conducted in close collaboration with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC).

Planned timelines(subject to confirmation)

Start date: 25 April 2021

End date: 25 October 2021

Work to be performed

• Conduct comprehensive desk review on the concept, components and assessment of hospital resilience;
• Interview a limited number of key informants/experts on hospital resilience in the EMR;
• Draft the hospital resilience framework and its components and develop a guide/toolkit for assessing and strengthening the hospital resilience;
• Conduct virtual expert consultation meeting to present and discuss (validate) the proposed hospital resilience framework and its guide/toolkit;
• Finalize the report, including framework and guide/toolkit, based on the feedback from the expert consultation meeting;
• Provide technical advise to EMR countries to develop their national strategic plan for the hospital sector in the context of the regional framework;
• Actively Contribute to developing countries’ profile for the hospital sector in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Required Qualifications

Education:

Minimum first university degree for lower end of range, an advanced university degree for mid and high end of range in the area of health-related subject (Medicine, public heath, health (hospital) services management, emergency preparedness and response).

Experience****:

5 to 10 years of experience in the field of the health system and health (hospital) service delivery in routine and emergencies

Experience in Hospital Care and Management is an asset.

Skills/ Technical knowledge

• Having deep knowledge of public health, health system and health service delivery in routine and emergencies
• Proven organizational and analytical skills, together with excellent interpersonal skills
• Capacity to collect, analyse and interpret data
• Capacity to collaborate and coordinate between experts
• Proven ability to write technical documents in a clear and concise manner

Language

Excellent English language proficiency

Location:

Will be conducted remotely

Medical clearance : The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

Travel (If travel is involved, a medical certificate of fitness for work will be required.) All travel arrangements will be made by WHO – WHO will not be responsible for tickets purchased by the Consultant without the express, prior authorization of WHO. While on mission under the terms of this consultancy, the Consultant will receive subsistence allowance. Visas requirements: it is the consultant’s responsibility to fulfil visa requirements and ask for visa support letter(s) if needed.

Additional Information section

• 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.
• Remuneration is in line with WHO consultant established rates
• Successful candidates will be included in the roster for consideration for future contractual engagement via a consultancy, as they become available. Inclusion in the roster does not guarantee any future contractual relationship with WHO
• 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.
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• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.
• WHO's workforce adheres to the WHO Values Charter and is committed to put the WHO Values into practice.
• Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority. The execution of the work under a consultant contract does not create an employer/employee relationship between WHO and the Consultant.
• WHO shall have no responsibility whatsoever 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 in each location/jurisdiction in which the work hereunder is performed, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any reimbursement thereof by WHO.