International Consultancy to support to safe neonate patient referral and routing in Abkhazia

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

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, education

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Since 2009, UNICEF has been working to strengthen maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) services in Abkhazia, including introduction of international standards and medical protocols in obstetrics and gynaecology, and improvement of paediatric and neonatology services. The quality of health care provided continues to face multiple challenges, including understaffing, limited access to continuous professional development, lack of quality assurance, widely used out-of-pocket payments, and weak management, infrastructure and equipping. Moreover, there is limited specialized medical support for critically ill neonates and referral and self-referral occurs to bordering regions of Russia and Georgia to the medical institutions with wards or departments equipped and staffed to provide intensive care to dangerously ill or premature newborn babies. However, quality transportation (staffing of ambulances and equipping) as well as timely decision-making for the transfer of the newborn play critical roles in enabling access to health services for critically ill neonates.

In the view of this, UNICEF aims to facilitate development and approval of neonate patient referral and routing within and outside of Abkhazia.

Scope of Work:

UNICEF seeks to engage an international consultant or a group of international consultants to support the introduction of safe neonate patient referral and routing in Abkhazia.

Interested individual experts should apply for the whole scope of the consultancy indicating the fee in the Cover Letter.

In case of groups of experts, each group member should apply individually referencing all other members of the group in the application and specifying which components of the TOR each of the members of the group will be covering (with estimated number of days), so that together they cover the entire scope of the TOR. Daily fee and the lump sum for relevant components should be indicated.

Work Assignment Overview

Tasks/Milestone:

Deliverables/Outputs:

Timeline:

In close consultation with UNICEF team, hold a series of meetings with key medical professionals (gynaecologists, ambulance crews, neonatologists, neonate resuscitators, hospital management) to gather information critical to protocol drafting, identify capacity building needs and gaps within the healthcare services; review local healthcare service structure and visit key medical institutions (number and type of maternity wards/units per local healthcare level, number and types of ambulance vehicles and equipment within them available to serve to safe neonate referral both within and outside of Abkhazia); familiarize with existing obstetrics protocols and other relevant documents; review a draft proposal of neonate referral and routing prepared by local medical professionals;

Report upon 1st mission to Abkhazia to review existing healthcare services, including its gaps, and propose a working protocol for safe neonate referral and routing of neonates corresponding to international standards. The protocol should include staffing and equipping recommendations, preliminary training programme for responsible medical staff and checklist for ambulances carrying critically ill neonates

1 May – 30 June 2023

Together with UNICEF, present and discuss the first draft of the protocol on safe neonate referral and routing. Upon edits and working group preapproval, polish the protocol and elaborate, if required

Presentation of a draft protocol

July 2023

Deliver training on safe neonate referral for designated medical professionals

Training for medical professionals responsible for safe neonate transportation

September 2023

Provide external support for finalization of the protocol

Support in finalization of the protocol

September 2023

Location: Home-based

Travel: Expected

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required:

• The individual applicant or the team applicants require a degree in medicine (obstetrics, neonatology, resuscitation);
• At least 10 years’ experience working in the area of maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH); an individual applicant or expert team applicants should have experience of training relevant medical personnel on neonate resuscitation, safe transportation;
• The individual applicant or expert team applicants should have experience in elaboration of national and/or regional safe neonate referral and patient routing and similar protocols and documents;
• Understanding of UNICEF approaches and recommendations regarding MNCH;
• Good understanding of health systems strengthening;
• Exceptional communication skills;
• Relevant experience of work with UN will be an asset;
• Fluency in English is required; Russian is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

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.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.