National Consultancy - National Vaccine Management Consultant (VMS), Freetown, Sierra Leone, 11.5 months - For Sierra Leoneans Only

This opening expired 1 year ago. Do not try to apply for this job.

UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

Open positions at UNICEF
Logo of UNICEF

Application deadline 1 year ago: Wednesday 11 Jan 2023 at 23:55 UTC

Open application form

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, health

Please access UNICEF Sierra Leone information here and here

How can you make a difference?

Purpose and Objectives:

The purpose of the consultancy is to effectively manage COVID-19 and routine vaccine deliveries, build capacity and support national authorities in planning, storage, distribution, temperature tracking, monitoring, accountability and waste management and other relevant commodities, and support routine immunization activities.

Specific objective is to support Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS)/EPI Programme to:

  • strengthen end-to-end stock management and timely and equitable vaccine distribution.
  • assist National Logistics Working Groups (NLWGs) to make data-driven decisions and triangulate data sources.
  • enhance existing monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
  • deploy needs-based technical assistance.
  • track vaccine transportation and temperatures.
  • assist the expansion of vaccine verification systems at subnational levels.
  • deploy field-tested, cost-effective, and human-centered stock monitoring tools to automate vaccine inventories at all levels.

Specific Tasks of the Consultant:

  • Map vaccine inventory tools and dataflows at all levels and support the national EPI Programme to develop and implement data collection Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines.
  • Revalidate supply chain and waste management sections of National Vaccine Deployment Plan (NVDP) for COVID-19.
  • Prepare performance monitoring and accountability checklists and SOPs so duty barriers at all levels are held accountable for Immunisation Supply Chain (iSC) related activities.
  • Support NLWG to develop or revalidate supply and logistics plans.
  • In collaboration with the National EPI Programme and Regional Office Focal Person to develop a robust supportive supervision plan along with budget breakdown.
  • Ensure the national EPI Programme has access to updated stock management data including on forecast/actual quantities, stock-on-hand, consumption rates, expiry dates and open and closed vial wastage on weekly basis.
  • Deploy both COVID-19 and routine vaccination monitoring checklists and SOPs, collect, analyze and present supportive supervision data with the EPI Programme and partners in real-time or at least twice a week.
  • Strengthen or deploy tools to automate, collect and share data on COVID-19 and routine vaccine arrival, distribution and monitoring.
  • Lead targeted assessment of iSC performance, especially stock management as per EVM2.0 guidelines and iterative development and implementation of improvement plans. Review continuous improvement plan (cIP) on bimonthly basis.
  • Prepare and share monthly vaccine accountability reports.
  • Support the updating of national cold chain equipment (CCE) inventories on quarterly basis and support the development of CCE and UCC maintenance plans.
  • Support the development and implementation of effective vaccine management (EVM) improvement plans.
  • Support the Integration and implementation of Thrive360 and iDash.
  • Track and document the drivers of wastage, develop mitigation strategies and refine improvement plans.
  • Initiate or support forecast accuracy verification and revision exercise on six monthly bases.
  • Lead or contribute to iSC digitalization mapping.
  • Conduct two peer data quality reviews, draw recommendations and track progress
  • Implement capacity development workshops and on-the-job training opportunities.
  • Support the implementation of Global Trust Repository (GTR)
  • Undertake other assignments and responsibilities as requested by the supervisor.

Methodology and Technical Approach:

The national consultant will provide data-driven technical assistance through an effective coordination with both Government and partners, capacity building support including day-to-day on-the-job knowledge transfer, and document lessons learnt and recommendation (with clear prioritization) to improve vaccine stock management of both COVID-19 vaccination and routine immunization services.

Management, Organization and Timeframe:

The consultant will be supervised by the Immunization Specialist, UNICEF Sierra Leone, under the overall guidance of Chief of Health & Nutrition Section. The consultant will be seated at EPI Programme Office of the MoHS and will have regular interactions with EPI Programme Manager and team at MoHS, and other partners. The monthly fees of the consultant will be processed by UNICEF upon submission of his/her monthly progress report along with deliverables certified by the supervisor.

The duration of the consultancy is 11.5 months.

Please find attached the full ToR for this consultancy: VA TOR - National Vaccine Management Specialist Sierra Leone 2022.pdf

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

Education

University degree is required (Advanced degree an advantage), preferably in relevant field (e.g., business planning, supply chain management, economics, international development studies, medicine, procurement, logistics, or other quantitative degree).

Applicable work experience can substitute in cases where university degree is not aligned to a relevant field.

Experience

At least (3) years of experience in public health programme management including at least three (3) years in immunization, with experience in low- and middle-income countries, preferably in the areas of:

  • Logistics management systems
  • Supply chain bottleneck and root cause analysis
  • Familiarity with inventory policies, allocation, ordering and distribution strategies and other supply chain operations
  • Health systems strengthening
  • Assessing and measuring supply chain performance
  • Experience interfacing with national ministries of health an advantage.

Skills required

  • Proven experience in strategic negotiations and planning in multi-stakeholder settings
  • Experience in writing complex strategic proposals, developing multi-year operational plans
  • Experience in training, planning and delivery of technical assistance
  • Effective presenter including ability to adapt the message and visual aids for multiple audiences to deliver concise, impactful presentations
  • Knowledge of supply chain management and operations
  • Excellent analysis skills
  • Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment
  • Proven track record in interfacing with national ministries of health a distinct advantage.

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 applicable visa 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 full-vaccination status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed vaccine, prior to taking up the assignment. This requirement does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work at or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unicef.org