Consultant - WASH Support in Pacific Island Countries, Suva, Fiji

Purpose of consultancy

In collaboration with the Pacific Climate Change and Environment (PCE) Unit at the WHO Division of Pacific Technical Support (DPS) office with all relevant Member States of the Pacific Island Countries, the consultant will provide technical support in the implementation (including training, consultation and installation) of procured WASH supplies related to Phase 2 Plan of COVID-19 response.

Background

It is globally recognized that water, sanitation and hygiene are all important for human health and wellbeing. One of the defining moments for accelerating progress on WASH today is the current global COVID-19 situation. The pandemic emphasizes the need to strengthen WASH in all settings essentially in healthcare facilities(HCF) amongst other preventative measures to ensure improved infection prevention and control to benefit in/outpatients, HCFs staff as well as visitors to the facility.

COVID-19 therefore had brought an urgency to the need for safe and adequate water for drinking and washing, access to basic sanitation and hand-washing facilities (WASH) and the management of healthcare waste, especially in the health care facilities. Access to WASH and healthcare waste management systems are amongst the essential elements under the infection prevention and control (IPC) to address COVID19.

Overall, WASH infrastructure and supplies are inadequate across the PICs. Reliable access to WASH in healthcare settings is similarly inadequate, especially in rural and remote locations. In addition, most PICs do not have proper systems for waste segregation, storage, collection and disposal.

To address this – and to contribute to health system preparedness and response for COVID-19 including through the decentralization of service delivery – WASH supplies had been procured for twelve Member States of PICs. The procurement aims to support these twelve Governments of Pacific Islands Countries with the essential WASH and healthcare waste management needs for the healthcare facilities:

• safe water for drinking by patients and health workers and adequate water supply for cleaning/washing in health care facilities; • hygiene facilities for hand washing and cleaning of health care facilities – in order to follow/comply with COVID-19 related WASH guidance; • health care waste management facilities from storage to disposal/destruction of the waste; particularly the infectious waste such as discarded PPE (such as masks, gloves, coveralls etc.), blood, body fluids and sharps.

Moreover, the planning of procuring WASH and healthcare waste management support for PICs had started in the first quarter of 2020. However, it was in September 2020 that the needs from countries were clearly defined, and funding was then secured.

Based on countries need, this procurement will support 12 countries and areas namely: (1) Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, (2) Cook Islands, (3) Federated States of Micronesia, (4) Fiji, (5) Nauru, (6) Niue, (7) Republic of Marshall Islands, (8) Republic of Palau, (9) Samoa, (10) Tokelau, (11) Tuvalu and (12) Vanuatu.

This consultancy will entirely focus on the implementation (including training, consultation and installation) of procured WASH Supplies related to Phase 2 Plan of COVID response in Pacific Island Countries (PICs).

Deliverables

Under the supervision of the Team Coordinator of the WHO DPS/PCE and guidance from other teams at WHO (if relevant) as well as the advised received from the 12 Pacific Islands Member States, the consultant will carry out the following activities:

a. Development of the workplan of the consultancy work; b. Consultation with selected Member States on the delivered or yet to be delivered WASH supplies and its sustainability c. Conduct activities prior to installation/ utilization of procured WASH supplies including:

• conducting assessment (using WASHFIT and other relevant tools);
• developing and finalization of distribution plans;
• determining the training needs and undertake training such as DWSP;
• identifying how the countries can address maintenance/repairs ensuring availability of spare parts.

d. Complete remaining WASH in Healthcare Facility assessment; e. Provide advice and training in Fiji and Tuvalu and other Pacific Island countries (when requested) including recipients of the WASH supplies; f. Support the storage, distribution, and installation/usage of WASH supplies; g. Determine ways for Member States to sustain WASH services such as portable toilets and rainwater tanks; h. Submission of finalized report of work, including recommendation of sustaining the WASH supplies.

Output/s

Output 1: Develop workplan which details the activities and timelines for the 80 days of the consultancy work Deliverable 1: Workplan

Output 2: Consultation with recipients of WASH supplies (i.e., selected from 12 Member States focal points in Ministries/Department of Health) amongst others and include discussion on:

• Procured WASH Supplies and its distribution to prioritised facilities
• Explore on the sustainability of these items
• Track progress on the 8 Practical Steps of WASH in Healthcare Facilities

Deliverable 2: Report of initial remote consultations including their progress on the 8 practical steps on WASH in Healthcare Facilities.

Output 3: Activities to ensure strengthening of WASH in healthcare facilities activities are conducted amongst others on:

· assessment schedules · distribution plans if needed · training plans/proposals · maintenance/repairs · availability of spare parts

Deliverable 3: Report on assessments undertaken, distribution plans drawn, with maintenance and spare parts considerations and developed training plans/ proposals.

Output 4: Provide advice and training needs in Fiji, Tuvalu and other PICs (as per request) including recipients of the WASH supplies and complete additional procurement when and where necessary. Output 5: The storage, distribution and installation/utilisation of WASH supplies is supported Output 6: Ability to sustain WASH services such as portable toilets and rainwater tanks are determined Output 7: Submission of finalised report of work conducted for all phases recommendations and next steps Deliverable 4: Final Consultancy Report including recommendations and next steps.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Qualifications required:

Bachelor’s degree in health sciences or environmental sciences.

Experience required:

Essential: At least seven years of experience in the area of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) including Healthcare waste management. In addition, have experience in undertaking consultation/coordination on WASH activities including experience in conducting training related to WASH such as the development of drinking water safety plans.

Desirable: Working experience in the WHO Western Pacific Region including the Pacific Island countries.

Skills /Technical skills and knowledge:

Specific technical knowledge of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and in the successful implementation of WASH supplies in any settings.

Language requirements:

Expert level of written and spoken English is required.

Location

This consultancy work will be based in Suva, Fiji, work remoted and will have to travel to Pacific Island countries aligned to requests received Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

a. Remuneration: Pay band level B b. Living expenses: To be determined c. Expected duration of contract: 80 days

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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