Consultant - Laboratory, Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic

Purpose of consultancy

The International consultant will coordinate and support MOH, National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology (NCLE) and WHE on biosafety, biosecurity and quality activities.

Background

WHO Laos has been working closely with the Ministry of Health in strengthening biosafety, and quality practices among laboratories of Lao PDR, which has created the national biosafety regulation and national laboratory quality standards in country. The next step is to implement these guidelines and to capacitate biosafety and quality practices of staff within MoH, central, and provincial level staff through the development of standard training materials and e-learning platforms. Standardization of training will ensure the quality of training conducted and enable MoH to sustain the conduct of these trainings with less financial and personnel investment in future.

Deliverables

Method(s) to carry out the activity

Throughout the duration of their contract, the consultant is guided by and reports to the WHO Laos WHE team, expected to provide support to the MOH and to develop and produce the following and relevant documents and/or materials:

• Develop a training program and training materials for e-learning courses including laboratory biosafety and laboratory quality management systems.
• Advocate the importance of the e-learning platform and create e-learning programs for biosafety and biosecurity, and laboratory quality management systems.
• Conduct training on biosafety to certify biosafety officers in laboratories.
• Monitor the effectiveness of the biosafety and quality e-learning platform by comparing it to the traditional face-to-face mode of training.
• Develop standardized lecture materials and mentor lecturers in laboratory quality management system for the curriculum of medical technology students.
• Conduct the training on competency assessment of laboratory staff.
• Support the management of National External Quality Assurance (NEQA) programs.
• Conduct NEQA annual review meeting and annual laboratory network meetings.
• Provide technical support to MoH in developing and conducting webinars in strengthening biosafety and LQMS practices for healthcare staff.

Output/s

Output 1: E-learning program for laboratory biosafety and quality management system established Deliverable 1.1: E-learning program for biosafety Deliverable 1.2: E-learning program for quality Deliverable 1.3: Monitoring report of e-learning platforms compared to traditional training

Output 2: Biosafety and biosecurity practices in Lao PDR strengthened Deliverable 2.1: Biosafety meeting and training reports

Output 3: Standardize lecture materials in laboratory quality management system for the curriculum of medical technology students developed Deliverable 3.1: Lecture materials in laboratory quality management system for the curriculum of medical technology students Deliverable 3.2: Training program and report

Output 4: The National External Quality Assurance (NEQA) programs strengthened Deliverable 4.1: NEQA samples prepared and distributed to participating laboratories. Deliverable 4.2: Meeting report

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Qualifications required:

Essential: Master’s degree in clinical microbiology or related degree with the focus on laboratory diagnostics for infectious diseases including virology diagnostic, clinical laboratory diagnostic, serology and molecular biology. Desirable: Bachelor’s degree in medical technology or related degree.

Experience required:

Essential: The consultant should have at least seven years’ substantial work experience in public health and clinical diagnostic laboratories, particularly in molecular testing, external quality assurance (EQA) program management, implementing and managing laboratory biosafety and quality management systems and in providing laboratory trainings. The consultants must be familiar with the ISO: 15189 laboratory quality standards, WHO Laboratory Quality Stepwise Implementation (LQSI) tool and the WHO laboratory Biosafety manual. Desirable: Working experience in laboratory strengthening in Lao PDR is an advantage.

Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:

• Capable of developing programs and materials that are adapted to the local laboratory environment in order to promote sustainability.
• Skills in planning, training, program implementation and monitoring and evaluation of interventions are essential.
• Familiar with the ISO: 15189 laboratory quality standards, WHO Laboratory Quality Stepwise Implementation (LQSI) tool and the WHO laboratory Biosafety manual.
• Ability to interact effectively with health professionals at various levels and to work with national counterparts, non-governmental organizations and international agencies.
• Ability to work harmoniously as a member of a team, adapt to diverse educational and cultural backgrounds and maintain a high standard of personal conduct.
• Strong communication skills.
• Proficiency in standard MS Office applications including MS Excel, MS Word and MS PowerPoint are essential.

Language requirements:

Advanced English (speaking, reading and writing) is essential. Intermediate knowledge of Lao or Thai is advantage.

Location

The consultant is expected to work remotely and travel to Lao PDR for the duration of some of the activities.

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel. Full medical clearance is required.

Remuneration and budget

Remuneration : Payband level B - USD 8,000 - 9,000/month Expected duration of contract: 9 months, 1 June 2024 to 30 March 2025

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.

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