CONSULTANT - Technical Officer, Meningitis Laboratory

Overview

Provide technical expertise in improving meningitis laboratory surveillance.

You have:

• Degree in biomedical science with post-graduate degree or training in microbiology.
• Minimum of 7 years of national and international experience in laboratory methodologies and procedures management.
• Expert knowledge of English or French with working knowledge of the other.
• Intermediate knowledge of Portuguese is desirable.
• Experience in project management of tropical/communicable diseases reference laboratory projects.

BACKGROUND The Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD) Programme is part of and contributes to the work of the Universal Health Coverage/Communicable and Non-communicable diseases (UHC/UCN) cluster in the WHO African region. The strategic agenda of the cluster is to reduce disease burden in the WHO African Region, by guiding disease control agenda in Africa, and using analytics to inform strategic investments and tailored interventions for disease control.

The specific objectives of the UCN cluster to which the VPD programme contributes, are to: (i) provide leadership on disease control coordination, partnership and resource mobilization; (ii) contribute to the development of WHO disease-control technical products, services and tools including adoption of new technologies and innovations; (iii) support generation and use of strategic information for action and decision making including optimizing investment; and (iv) provide or facilitate provision of technical support in deployment of WHO technical products and services and institutional capacity building, including support to national disease programmes and regulatory authorities.

PURPOSE OF CONSULTANCY

Within the context of the UHC Cluster and Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD) Programme, Inter-country Support Team for West Africa (IST-WA), the purpose of Technical Officer, Meningitis Laboratory, VPD/ IST-WA, is to support the member states in improving the performance of laboratory surveillance of Meningitis, through strengthening of laboratory capacities and provision of supervision and high-level expertise in WHO-endorsed, laboratory diagnostics technologies, quality control and management systems. This includes the setup of functional laboratory services, capacity building to perform laboratory surveillance of priority communicable diseases; provision of technical assistance and training courses on laboratory methodologies, procedures and biosafety aspects; the development and implementation of norms, guidelines, work plans and standard procedures; and the establishment, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of protocols. The incumbent also implements on-site laboratory reviews; provides documentation of best practices, needs, gaps, and assessments; and ensures information sharing. Under the direct supervision of the VPD/IST-WA Team Leader, and in collaboration with the technical Clusters and Programmes, within the scope of work defined by regional strategies, policy guidelines, and programme objectives (including the WHO Transformation Programme, and the GPW13 towards the attainment of the SDG targets), the consultant is an organizational specialist who will implement the work assignments guided by the resolutions of the Regional Committee, the World Health Assembly, other relevant guidance documents as well as WHO/AFRO Strategies and frameworks, national priorities and needs of the Member States of the Region. S/he will exchange information and guide a range of internal and external partners, to enhance multi-sectoral collaboration. Functional guidelines are available which require interpretation. In this defined programme area, and within the structure, there is a high expectation for independent accomplishment of functional goals.

SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will be expected to perform the following duties:

- Provide technical expertise to countries in the sub-region to support the definition and implementation of quality-assured WHO endorsed diagnostic technologies with emphasis on quality management systems towards accreditation, including:

• Developing work plans in cooperation with sub-regional, regional and national;
• Establishing, planning, and implementing monitoring and evaluation protocols;
• Developing and reviewing existing guidelines and standard procedures and their implementation at the sub-regional, regional and national levels within the regional and national public health networks;

- Build the capacity of national public health or reference laboratories, to perform laboratory surveillance of priority communicable diseases, confirm etiological agents and monitor antimicrobial resistance, through training and supervision of laboratory technicians and improving quality assurance and control; - Guide the development and update of norms and standards to improve laboratory technologies, with emphasis on capacity building through training courses on laboratory methodologies, procedures and biosafety aspects based on WHO policies; providing expertise for the development of new and revision of existing guidelines and promoting their implementation; - Set up functional laboratory services to provide high-level expertise in laboratory diagnostics and quality control including conducting research and training to support these activities; - Contribute to the establishment and strengthening of partnerships to fully support the joint regional activities of the Global Laboratory Initiatives (GLI) to promote uptake of WHO/AFRO policy guidance and use of GLI laboratory strengthening, including:

• Serving as focal point to coordinate technical assistance and strengthen laboratory capability at the sub-regional, regional and inter-country national levels, in close cooperation with other VPD staff and other clusters as appropriate;
• Lead critical reviews and assessments, documenting key achievements;
• Promote information-sharing on best practices in laboratory technologies through the analysis and interpretation of data and evidence-based results and strategies;

- Provide technical expertise and advice to Member States and partners, regional and sub-regional networks;

- Encourage close collaboration at/between regional, sub-regional and country levels and WHO collaborating centres, including

• Promotion of Information-sharing through video-conferencing, informal consultations and, as required, inter- and/or sub-regional meetings;
• Ensuring collection, collation and analysis of data from countries and regular reporting on the situation of laboratories at IST level,
• Preparation and submission of annual global progress reports, development and maintenance of up-to-date sub-regional and national databases as part of the development on new/improved tools and strategies;

- Support the development of related work-plans and budgetary proposals as required within the framework of WHO staff Rules and Regulations; financial rules and AFRO accepted procedures; - Contribute to resource mobilization for the Cluster’s programmes, in collaboration with EPG, ORD and WCOs;

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages Educational Qualifications: Essential:

Degree in biomedical science with post-graduate degree or training in microbiology.

Desirable: Post-graduate training in public health or epidemiology.

Experience: Essential:

• A minimum of 7 years of national and international experience in managing or implementing the technical requirements in the field of laboratory methodologies and procedures;
• Experience in project management of tropical/communicable diseases reference laboratory projects at country level, including project planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, quality assurance, research and/or health worker training.

Desirable: Work experiences that are diverse, incorporating private sector, NGOs, other UN, or governmental Health related agencies will be an advantage.

Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrated knowledge and skills in laboratory methodologies, technologies, procedures and biosafety aspects;
• Ability to plan, coordinate and implement laboratory protocols in countries;
• Knowledge and skills in monitoring and reporting on results, progress, lessons learnt and obstacles;
• Skills in the assessment of laboratory-based surveillance, including but not limited to the development and implementation of norms and standards and effective reporting mechanisms and systems, and/or M&E.

Languages

Essential: Expert knowledge of English or French with Working knowledge of the other.

Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of Portuguese.

The above language requirements are interchangeable.

Location & Travel

On-site consultancy: IST West Africa, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The consultant is expected to travel.

Remuneration

Band level B (P4 level) - USD 8,500 - 9,980 per month.

A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited.

Duration of consultancy

Three (3) months.

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.
• 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 prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter 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 final candidates.
• 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 each location/jurisdiction in which the work hereunder is performed, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any reimbursement thereof by WHO.

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: who.int