National Consultant - Non-Communicable diseases (NCDs) and Universal Health coverage (UHC)

-Purpose of consultancy

To support the WHO Country Office Romania to review existing NCD and UHC strategies from WHO European Region and with the authorities, in order to develop a strategy to move forward and improve access to healthcare for all.

Background

In the context of the WHO Health Emergencies Incident Management System (IMS), the consultant will focus on strengthening the primary care health system and access to health care for refugees and other vulnerable groups, through the activities outlined below. By working with relevant authorities at county and national level, as well as the CO team, the consultant will support and implement the Strategic Response Plan (SRP) for 2023.

Deliverables

Under all the pillars of the Strategic Response Plan (SRP), the consultant will work with local and national authorities to strengthen access to healthcare for refugees, support health care workers to provide care, and identify gaps.

• Output 1: Strengthen health leadership and co-ordination.

  • Facilitate and support review of current WHO European Region NCD strategy in Romania through review of existing documents and liaison with CO and regional office (RO) experts, to provide recommendations to Ministry of Health (MoH), led by the NCD international consultant. Tasks will include arranging of policy dialogues, workshops, and desk-based research.
  • Provide - technical support for work on NCDs and UHC to the international consultant and the Country Office more broadly. Facilitate and support implementation of strategy for NCDs decentralisation, developed through interviews and review of available literature.

• Output 2: Financial barriers for accessing health care are removed.

  • Facilitate and support implementation of training, guidance and tools for health workers in order to provide health services for refugees and other vulnerable groups.

• Output 3: Access to primary health care services is strengthened.

  • Facilitate collaboration with authorities, and policy dialogues, arranging meetings and workshops as needed, in order to strengthen access to primary health care services for refugees and other vulnerable groups.

• Output 4: Health workforce is supported to provide health care to refugees and other vulnerable groups.

  • Facilitate workshops and meetings on training and development of standardised protocols for NCDs.

• Output 5: Ensure continuity of support to WHO Representative and WHO Country Office in Romania.

  • Work collaboratively with the WHO Country Office in access to care for refugees and vulnerable groups.
  • Support the WHO Country Office with other tasks as required.

Qualifications

Educational Qualifications

Essential: First level university degree in medicine or public health).

Desirable: An advanced university degree (Master's level or above) in Public Health or Health policy.

Experience

Essential: At least one year of experience working in a health policy role. Experience in developing and promoting collaborative partnerships. Experience in facilitating high level dialogue and meetings.

Desirable: Experience in UN organizations/agencies, international institutions, or NGOs.

Skills/Knowledge

Essential

• Demonstrated knowledge of Romanian health system, especially primary care, health policy, and challenges faced by refugees and vulnerable groups in access to healthcare. • Excellent skills in the assessment, monitoring, analysis and evaluation of data. • Excellent organisational skills with proven track record of organising high level meetings and policy dialogue.

Desirable • Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work under pressure. • Proven ability to communicate effectively. • Tact, discretion and ability to promote consensus. • Proficiency in MS Office, and IT packages.

Languages

English: Expert knowledge Romanian: Expert knowledge

Competencies

• Communication • Teamwork • Moving forward in a changing environment • Promoting innovation and organizational learning. • Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

Location

On site: WHO Country Office, Romania (Bucharest).

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel

Remuneration

a. Remuneration: 18,313 lei per month. (The pay band reflects the NO-A salary scale of the country, matched to the labour market in Romania.)

b. Locally contracted consultant

c. Expected duration of contract: 6 months (June to December 2023)

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.
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• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly 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.
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• 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.