National Consultant - EMTCT

Contract

This is a No grade contract. More about No grade contracts.

Purpose of consultancy

The consultant is expected to provide support in the validation process for elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV, Syphilis ad Hepatitis B (triple elimination).

Background

Maldives is a small Island nation with low prevalence of both HIV and Syphilis, high level of ANC coverage and institutional deliveries attended by a skilled birth attendant. Transmission of HIV and syphilis has been very low and is steadily declining in the Maldives. Since 1991 when HIV was first detected, the annual rate of new infections has ranged from 0-2 cases per 100,000 population. During the same period, new cases of syphilis have fluctuated from 0-9 per 100,000 population. No cases of MTCT of either HIV or syphilis were detected in the last many years in the Maldives. The country initiated the formal process to validate the country which have eliminated mother to child transmission of HIV and Syphilis in November 2015, and the country was validated on 12 June 2019, to have eliminated mother to child transmission of HIV and Syphilis.

As part of the status maintenance requirements, the country has to submit progress reports every two years, therefore, with the Government’s decision to apply for triple elimination the Ministry of Health and Health Protection Agency is leading the data collection and reporting process. As the ability of the national capacity to meet its reporting targets largely depends on the specific skills and expertise of the human resources responsible for planning, organizing and implementing, there is an urgent need to support a local consultant to ensure timely submission of the reports. The consultant is expected to provide support to the national program under health protection agency to implement the workplan endorsed by the National Validation Committee.

Objectives and Deliverables

• Collect, collate, and analyze ANC data from all health facilities.
• Lead to coordinate implementation of the assessments required for EMTCT validation process (eg. data, program and lab)
• Coordination support in Implementation of Hepatitis B Serosurvey
• Coordinate to arrange technical meeting, trainings and participate in trainings as needed
• Coordinate with relevant government/other agencies if and when required (for data collection and implementation of the assessments).
• Closely communicate/coordinate with regional/atoll and island health center focal points, to make necessary arrangements to implement immunization activities
• Travel to islands for data collection, supportive supervision and monitoring as and when needed.

Deliverables

• Submission of the monthly progress report

QUALIFICATION

Educational:

Essential: Bachelor’s degree in health sciences/ public health/social sciences/project management field

Desirable: Master’s degree/PhD in health sciences/ public health/ social sciences/project management field

Experience

Essential: At least 2-3 years of previous experience in project management /program coordination/academic field

Desirable: Work experience in Maldives and/or other developing countries in the Asian Region. Experience in working with UN agencies.

Skills/Knowledge:

Essential:

• Ability to coordinate projects programs
• Ability to plan, prioritize and deliver variety of tasks on time
• Ability to carry out the tasks independently with self-confidence
• Confident in presenting to a high-level audience
• Strong interpersonal skills and coordinational skills
• Computer literate and strong layout skills and incredible typography skills
• Good verbal and written communication skills in both Dhivehi and English
• Ability to work within given time period and deliver work on time with outstanding quality

Languages and level required (Basic/Intermediate/Advanced):

Essential: Expert knowledge of Dhivehi and English

Location

On site: Health Protection Agency – Male’, Maldives

Travel

Travel maybe required as per the data collection, trainings, supervision and monitoring needs of EMTCT validation process.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

• Remuneration: MVR 35,494 per month (NO-A)
• Expected duration of contract: 5 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 are 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 in each location/jurisdiction in which the work hereunder is performed, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any reimbursement thereof by WHO.
• This assignment is subject to local recruitment and will be filled by persons recruited in the local commuting area of the duty station/assignment location.