Consultant - Noncommunicable Diseases, Diabetes/Diabetic Foot Care Specialist (Honiara, Solomon Islands)

PURPOSE OF CONSULTANCY

In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services and WHO Representative Office the consultant will provide technical support to improve screening and management of diabetes and diabetic foot at primary care facilities by further developing and scaling-up the diabetes and foot care primary care assessment and planning guidelines and supporting facility and national planning

BACKGROUND

In the context of NCDs, the WHO Country Office (CO) in Solomon Islands supports implementation of strategies that address access to services, determinants of health, and availability of essential medicines and devices for primary health care. The WHO CO NCD Team provides support to the MHMS and in the context of technical and administrative support to the Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) programme and related assignments. Additionally, the WHO CO NCD Team coordinates activities to strengthen NCD prevention and monitoring of key NCD risk factors. The team collaborate closely with key partners across and outside the MHMS. In 2023, an assessment and planning approach to screening and management of diabetes and diabetic foot was developed and tested at primary care facilities; data were collected to begin the process of local planning and action to address practice gaps.

The objectives of the project are:

1. Support analysis and interpretation of facility data from the first national diabetic and diabetic foot screening review – and summarize data for national planning; 2. Support provincial and national 12-month diabetes primary health care planning using assessment data with provincial NCD coordinators and other stakeholders; develop follow-up plans for tracking progress and improving systems support; 3. Develop clinical coaching guidelines to support early screening and management of diabetes, diabetic foot and foot wounds; 4. Support introduction, scale-up and monitoring of clinical coaching for diabetic screening and management at national and key primary care facilities; 5. Finalize and write national guidelines for diabetes and diabetic foot assessment and planning; and clinical coaching guidelines for diabetes and diabetic foot screening and early management.

DELIVERABLES

The Consultant will be under the supervision of the Technical Officer (NCD) and will receive guidance of the WHO Representative.

Method/s to carry out the activities:

Support the review of the status of outpatient diabetes screening and management practices by local facility teams using standard checklists; Use of data to develop 6-12 month facility plans; Develop clinical coaching guidelines for screening and early management of diabetes and diabetic foot; Conduct field testing of clinical coaching methods and checklists; Conduct coaching in small groups using coaching checklists; Training of hospital facilitators to conduct coaching.

At the National level, the Consultant will review a summary of facility findings with key stakeholders. Use findings to inform 1-year diabetes scale-up planning. Develop plans for introduction and scale-up of the national approach to reduce diabetic case-load, including systems strengthening activities and clinical coaching. Train national facilitators to support sub-national facilities.

Output 1. The consultant will support training of facilitators and multi-stakeholder teams in diabetes assessment and planning methods and tasks at focus facilities. Deliverable 1.1 : Adapt the checklists and develop the methodology and facilitator guide for coaching for diabetes and diabetic foot screening and management. Deliverable 1.2 : Ensure appropriate materials are procured including relevant simulated foot types. Deliverable 1.3 : Conduct small scale tests within National Referral Hospital (NRH) Outpatient Department, diabetes center and surgical ward with only a couple people on individual sections of the facilitator coaching guide and revise and repeat until each section is effective and has no glaring problems.

Output 2. Completion of diabetic audit checklists and reviews of outpatient services; Deliverable 2.2 : Conduct five test-revise cycles of field-testing of the full facilitator coaching guide in the 5 facilities contributing the largest number of amputations to NRH to ensure maximal effectiveness of the coaching and remedied major methodological problems. After each test, the incumbent will identify areas needing improvement, suggest track changes and discuss with the team for final changes. Deliverable 2.3 : During these tests in NRH and Honiara City Council (HCC), and subsequently at provincial hospitals, identify potential persons who could be certified coaching facilitators.

Output 3. Observation of environments and practices for diabetes management. Deliverable 3.1 : Support 10 national and within each province 2 persons to pass the certification test which includes:

• The skills demonstration and written exam of the coaching course
• The half-day national facilitator training course, and
• Facilitation of at least 2 supervised coaching courses.

Deliverable 3.2 : Establish test-revise cycles while backstopping certified facilitators to introduce coaching to every provincial hospital first and subsequently to reach of the five largest area health centers within each province. Deliverable 3.3 : Adapt the checklists to include immediate problem solving and development of 100-day plans in 10 facilities including test-revise cycles. Deliverable 3.4 : Coordinate national facility-based assessment and make recommendations for quality improvement including changing practices and environments immediately and with 100-day plans. Deliverable 3.5 : Ensure that diabetes and foot care coaching and systems support activities are coordinated, planned and managed in collaboration with national, sub-national and facility staff (including support selection of focus facilities, coordination with facilities, integration into ongoing quality improvement activities, development and budgeting of activity plans for diabetes foot care coaching and quality improvement)

Output 4. Summary report of the main findings. Deliverable 4.1 : Summary report each month which will include the followings:

• Compiled findings from the totality of the efforts
• Draft Facilitator Coaching Guide
• Comparison of findings pre-post coaching and at follow up

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND LANGUAGES

Educational Qualifications:

Essential: University degree in podiatry, medicine, public health or related health studies. Desirable: Master’s degree in podiatry or in public health from a recognized university and/or training/s in public health at postgraduate degree level or its equivalent.

Experience

Essential: At least five years of relevant experience in working in podiatry, data analysis and data quality, and coaching on diabetic foot care. Desirable: Relevant experience in implementation of noncommunicable diseases programmes, especially in diabetes and diabetic foot care areas giving experience for implementing the TORs. Previous experience at the field level in developing countries, particularly in Pacific countries is an asset.

Skills/Knowledge:

• Knowledge of the specific or technical area of noncommunicable diseases programmes. • Diabetes and diabetic foot care planning at operational, subnational, and national levels, with political and technical elements. • Capacity-building through multiple methods, including training, mentoring and example setting.

Languages:

Expert knowledge of English

LOCATION

On site: Honiara, Solomon Islands

TRAVEL

The Consultant is expected to travel to the country according to the itinerary and estimated schedule that would be agreed with WHO Country Office. A frequent domestic travel is required for this consultancy.

REMUNERATION AND BUDGET

a. Remuneration: Payband level B- USD 7,000 - 8,000 b. Expected duration of contract: 10 months, 1 March to 31 December 2024

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.

..