Consultant P4 (IHP/WHE)

Contract

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

1. Purpose of the Consultancy

Rapid Response Team capacities, operations, and outbreak response capabilities should be monitored and periodically evaluated to identify the gaps and improve the response. However, there is currently no standard performance indicators for apprising RRT operation. These Key performance indicators (KPI) should be developed, applied across the region and adapted for each country to ensure rapid response and appropriate containment of the outbreaks. The initial step to achieve this objective, is to develop a KPI tool to guide the assessment of RRT operation and to use this tool to describe the capacity and operation of national RRT in Eastern Mediterranean region. This information would shape policies in prevention and control of emerging and epidemic prone infections in the Region. The purpose of the work is to develop Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and accompanying tool, and use it to conduct a technical assessment to describe the national/subnational RRTs capacities and operations for all the 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region

2. Background

The Eastern Mediterranean Region; and its 22 countries continue to be the hotspot for emerging and re-emerging diseases including infectious disease outbreaks, which have a significant impact on health and economic development in the Region. Many outbreaks of emerging and epidemic-prone infections have been reported in the Region during last decade, such as MERS, avian influenza A (H5N1), yellow fever, dengue fever, Chikungunya, RVF, CCHF. To reduce morbidity and mortality associated with these infectious threats, a Rapid Response Team (RRT) should be available at a peripheral level, or at least at a national level in each country. Thus, ensuring the availability of trained, equipped and rapidly deployable national RRTs for early detection and response to emerging disease outbreaks is a national priority to countries in the Region.

3. Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)

Start date: 01/10/2020

End date: 31/12/2020

4. Work to be performed

OUTPUT 1: Key Performance Indicators tool to be used to comprehensively evaluate and monitor national/subnational RRT capacities in terms of operations, preparedness, response (pre deployment, deployment, post deployment).

Deliverable 1.1: Conduct a comprehensive desk review of published and unpublished RRT literature, policies, guides, standard operating procedures (SOP), evaluation reports, outbreak investigation reports, after action review reports, and other relevant articles to develop an understanding of current RRT capacity, operation , monitoring and evaluation in the region.

Deliverable 1.2: Develop KPIs and the tool to be used to evaluate and monitor RRT capacities and operations in the region.

OUTPUT 2: A comprehensive report describing national/subnational RRT capacities and operation for the 22 countries of EMR using the developed KPI evaluation tool.

Deliverables 2.1: Use the developed KPI tool to collect real data about the current RRT capacities and operations from all the 22 countries in the EMR.

OUTPUT 3: A manuscript to be published entitled “Landscape analysis of national/subnational RRT capacity and operations in EMR”.

Deliverables 3.1: Prepare a comprehensive report of the findings of the assessment of RRT capacities and operations. The report will be used by EMRO as well as by MSs to identify the gaps related to response capacities and will support information based capacity building plans.

Deliverable 3.2: Develop a scientific manuscript to be published entitled “Landscape analysis of national/subnational RRT capacity and operation in EMR”.

5. Technical Supervision

The selected Consultant will work on the supervision of:

Responsible Officer:

Dr Amgad Elkholy, Medical Officer, WHE, IHP

Email:

[email protected]

Manager:

Dr Abdinasir Abubakar, Program Area Manager, WHE, IHP

Email:

[email protected]

6. Specific requirements

- Qualifications required:

Essential: University degree in medicine, with Master's degree in public health

Desirable: Training on epidemiological surveillance and response/outbreak investigation/field epidemiology

- Experience required:

Essential: At least seven years’ experience working on the control and prevention of infectious diseases including field experience on response to epidemic disease outbreaks

- Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:

1) Knowledge on epidemiology of infectious diseases in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean Region

2) Proven understanding of the management of acute and urgent public health responses, including infectious disease outbreaks.

3) Experience in outbreak investigation and management

4) Experience in managing, building capacity, training and deployment of Rapid Response Teams

- Language requirements:

Essential: Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of French. Intermediate knowledge of Arabic

7. Place of assignment

Online and remote work

8. Medical clearance

The selected Consultant will not be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

9. Travel

The Consultant is not expected to travel. If the ongoing travel restriction due to COVID-19 improves in the next two months, the consultant is expected to travel in the Regional Office.

Addidtional 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.
• 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 - https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values
• 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.