Individual Consultancy: National EPI Coordination (Open to Nationals of Malawi only)

Contract

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, health

Malawi introduced the COVID-19 vaccine on 11 March 2021. UNICEF is actively supporting MOH and key stakeholders in the efforts to successfully roll out the vaccine and UNICEF is supporting the development of an enhanced NDVP for the population beyond 20% covered for COVAX. During the first phase of its COVID-19 vaccination strategy, some parts of the vaccine roll-out worked well including speedy distribution of vaccines to districts and good publicity which enabled an increasing number of people to be vaccinated within a short period. Furthermore, a monitoring and evaluation system for real-time monitoring was developed with speed to allow timely visualization of data for decision making. However, there have been some massive challenges such as ‘limited microplanning at district level to guide and strengthen the vaccine roll-out and vaccine hesitancy especially in rural areas.

How can you make a difference?

To support the efforts of the Ministry of Health, Government of Malawi in developing a sustainable system of supportive supervision of routine immunization and COVID-19 vaccination, involving Medical Colleges and capacity building, including on-the-job training of frontline workers, cold chain officers, handlers and technicians.

The EPI Coordination contractor will liaise closely with faculties of the College of Medicine and district health officials, and other inter-sectoral partners, both Government and NGOs, thus networking on the various activities for the implementation of strategy towards ensuring supportive supervision of routine immunization across the state.

The EPI Coordination contractor will work under the direct supervision of Health Specialist - Community Health, the MOH and other immunization stakeholders at the national and district level to provide technical support to the EPI unit of the Ministry of Health to implement interventions for strengthening the routine immunization and COVID-19 vaccination roll-out. The National EPI Coordinator’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Coordinate implementation of activities for strengthening routine immunization and COVAX roll-out at the national and district level to ensure optimal programme quality.
2. Collect, compile and analyse routine and supplementary immunization coverage and monitoring data and provide feedback to senior officials in MOH and state officials for interventions at national and subnational levels.
3. Provide technical assistance to MOH for implementation of activities related to the Expanded Immunization Programme (EPI). Develop technical guidelines and protocols on matters related to vaccines, programme implementation and policy for improving immunization coverage in the country.
4. Assist MOH with planning and implementation of immunization campaigns, such as “PIRI, IPV”, for periodic intensification of routine immunization.
5. Assist MOH in techno-managerial capacity for the introduction of new vaccines.
6. Review the progress of immunization programmes in different districts.
7. Undertake field visits to monitor the planning and implementation of the immunization programme, providing feedback at appropriate levels.
8. Assist MOH in review and coordination of the allocated thematic components of EPI like monitoring and evaluation, vaccine logistics management, Cold Chain, AEFI, Health System Strengthening etc. with stakeholders
9. Assist MOH in establishing monitoring and review mechanisms related to the status of vaccine stock, cold chain logistics and training.
10. Liaison with districts ineffective implementation of programme and improvement of immunization coverage.
11. Organize and coordinate meetings of technical expert committees, document the minutes of meetings and subsequently follow up on action points.
12. Coordinate with partners and stakeholders for the improvement of programme performance.
13. Support implementation of urban immunization strategy.
14. Support training activities and introduction of My Village My Home strategy
15. Support low performing districts with Reaching Every Child (REC) implementation strategy
16. Support the implementation of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination in selected districts.
17. Undertake any other activities/tasks as assigned by the supervisor.

Document country good practices throughout the process including related to challenges, lessons learned and critical success factors

Facilitate reports and documentaries on the cold chain good practices in Malawi in liaison with the Communications team and Ministry of Health.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have

Academic qualification:

• A first university degree from a recognized academic institution in one or more of the following areas is preferred: Engineering, Cold Chain or related to cold chain operations in UNICEF programme areas, or technical qualification in cold chain maintenance.

Work experience:

• Minimum five years progressively responsible professional work experience at the national level in cold chain maintenance, vaccine and logistics management, EPI programming.
• Work experience managing large-scale projects, working with governments, working in resource-limited settings, monitoring and evaluating supply chains, and risk management, mitigation will be an asset.

Languages:

• Written and spoken fluency in both the local language and English.

Please click here Final TOR for National EPI Coordination contractor_Clean_01 Sept 2021.pdf for the full Terms of Reference

How to Apply....

Interested individual contractors should provide the following:

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Brief technical proposal (no longer than five pages) demonstrating the contractor’s understanding of the assignment and approach/methodology to the assignment
3. Financial proposal including a breakdown of their all-inclusive fees (including professional fees, travel, living cost, visa and other costs). Complete the attached form Financial Proposal for Consultancy.xlsx.
4. References details

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.