Consultant: Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Initiative in the WHO European Region

Overview

Provide support to the EMT Initiative to strengthen response capacity.

You have:

• Minimum 7 years of relevant work experience.
• Excellent knowledge of English.
• Advanced medical or nursing degree, with a specialization in emergency medicine.
• Proven track record of management and coordination experience with participation of external partners, preferably for WHO or another UN agency.
• Emergency response experience with WHO or another international public health organization.
• Working knowledge of other languages of the WHO European Region is an asset.

Purpose of the Position

On 30 January 2020, the WHO Director General declared the 2019-nCoV outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) following the recommendations of The Emergency Committee on 2019-nCoV, under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005).

This global outbreak response requires scaling-up support to countries to ensure the health response mechanisms are fully functional. This six-month consultancy will support development and strengthening of EMT initiative within the WHO European Region through continued regionalization of activities and coordination, planning and provision of support to both Member States and partner institutions with existing EMT capacity or looking to develop such rapid response capacity.

Organizational context

Under the supervision of the Operational Partnerships Officer, the overall guidance of the Regional Emergency Director (RED) for the Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, working closely with relevant counterparts at the WHO Regional Office and HQ, other WHO staff and partners, the incumbent acts as the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) Initiative specialist who provides required support to the EMT Secretariat at the Regional and Global levels. This involves ongoing contacts with a broad range of WHO staff and EMT community as well as a broad range of officials from the ministries of health and academia, to provide expertise and technical support on priority actions to be taken and contribute to the main areas of work of EMT Initiative pertaining to the capacity building activities; quality assurance and classification process; as well as monitoring, evaluation and reporting.

Description of duties

Support the planning and implementation of the regional activities across key areas of EMT Initiative work, based on a list of priorities identified during the recent EMT SAG meetings. All deliverables under listed outputs must be carried out in close coordination with the Global EMT/HQ Secretariat and Regional EMT Chairmanship Group:

Output 1: Monitor, Evaluate and Report on the EMT Initiative in the WHO European Region:

Deliverable 1.1: Design, execute and analyze a “Regional EMT capacities” survey aimed to map existing needs and resources available across key areas of work of EMT initiative in the WHO European Region to support the development of a concept document for a Surge Capacities Framework:

• Design the survey, develop a list of indicators, and pilot a questionnaire;
• Distribute the survey among the target audience;
• Collect and analyze the responses;
• Prepare an analytical report based on the survey outcomes;
• Contribute to the concept document “Surge Capacities Framework”;

Deliverable 1.2: Develop a concept of the European EMT Monitoring and Evaluation Framework aimed to provide relevant authorities with an overview of the EMT Initiative and other operational capacities progress, with a focus on operational readiness, preparedness, national and international response:

• Based on a structured discussion with WHE/EURO teams and other relevant partners, develop a draft of concept notes and supplementary materials.

Deliverable 1.3: Track progress of the European EMT Initiative against existing workplans, key indicators and benchmarks - maintain and organize appropriate documents:

• Contribute to regular and ad-hoc briefings and reports on the Regional EMT initiative, including both internal and external reports;
• Document EMT deployments: provide regular updates to the databases of EMT activities; develop necessary documents and regular reports, incl. tracking and follow-up of EMT missions as part of COVID-19 response.

Output 2: Capacity building- provide technical support to the planning and implementation of regional trainings and workshops, upcoming simulation exercises;

Deliverable 2.1: Review existing EMT-related capacity building activities in the European WHO Region (e.g. EMT awareness workshops), and contribute to introducing necessary changes in the planning process, the content, as well as the modalities of implementation, including documenting learning outcomes;

Deliverable 2.2: In line with the regional and global priorities, contribute to the development and delivery of the training courses (a) Induction for European National EMT Focal Points (EMT/NFPs); and (b) Mass-Casualty Management (MCM) training;

Deliverable 2.3: Contribute to the design and implementation of simulation exercises planned by the WHO and key operational partners;

Deliverable 2.4: Support the development and maintenance of a Regional pool of EMT trainers (roster) with relevant competences and skills to support further strengthening of the Capacity building area of EMT Initiative work.

Output 3: Mentorship and Classification – provide support to the EMT secretariat at WHO/HQ with the strengthening of the quality assurance and classification process of EMTs in the European region:

Deliverable 3.1: Maintain an up-to-date list of EMTs in a pipeline for the WHO classification. Monitor and follow-up of both ongoing and new expressions of interest, and teams under mentorship;

Deliverable 3.2: Maintain a Regional pool of trained EMT mentors (roster) with relevant competences and skills to support further strengthening of the Quality Assurance and Classification process;

Deliverable 3.3: Contribute from the regional perspective into a “Classification and Mentorship Guidance” document.

Recruitment Profile

The minimum academic and professional experience required to apply for the roster is outlined below. The actual grade for each individual contract will be determined in accordance with WHO guidelines on minimum requirements at the time of contract issuance.

Functional Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication skills and proven writing skills in English.
• Capacity to collaborate and coordinate across multiple agencies and partners.
• Ability to work in multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environments.
• Strong presentation and public speaking skills.
• Coordination and project management experience;
• Excellent organizational and planning skills
• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure and short timelines, while producing results;
• Tact, discretion and diplomacy.

Education Qualifications

Essential: Advanced medical or nursing degree, with a specialization in emergency medicine. Desirable: Post-graduate degree in Medicine, Emergency and Disaster Management or similar related programmes.

Experience

Essential Minimum 7 years of relevant work experience; Proven track record of management and coordination experience with participation of external partners, preferably for WHO or another UN agency; Previous experience or familiarity with the deployment of EMT and/or similar rapid response capacities.

Desirable Emergency response experience with WHO or another international public health organization (desirable).

Languages

Essential Excellent knowledge of English.

Desirable Working knowledge of other languages of the WHO European Region is an asset.

Contract duration

The timeframe of the full-time contract is 6 months. Monthly technical reports along with deliverables and financial statement will be submitted for payment in six instalments.

Location

Consultant’s place of residence during lockdown/travel restriction time; If the situation with COVID19 permits, the consultant will be based in Copenhagen, Denmark with possible missions to relevant Member States

Remuneration

Remuneration is based on classified requirements of the Terms of Reference of the Individual Consultant Contract with related academic and professional experience applied for the grade in accordance with WHO’s consultant’s pay band ranges. The remuneration for this position is at specialist level.

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Potential interview questions

Added 5 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: who.int