Roster of consultants – Hospitals’ policies and management

Purpose of consultancy

To establish a roster of consultants to contribute to development of policy guidance and operational tools and to support countries in restructuring, strengthening, or transforming hospital sector as a core element for PHC-oriented health systems.

Background

All around the world, hospitals have been at the frontline of the Covid-19 response, regularly experiencing major financial and operational stress. The crisis highlighted hospitals’ capacity to innovate to quickly adapt processes to meet the needs of Covid-19 patients while continuing to provide essential health services for all patients. But the crisis also often exacerbated pre-existing issues or revealed the terrible consequences of inaction, with immediate consequences on hospitals’ capacity to respond to Covid-19 patients while maintaining essential health services. While inadequate or lack of investments in hospitals might be partially to blame for the situation, the issues experienced during Covid-19 pandemics have profound causes anchored in the definition of hospitals, their roles and mission, and how they are (still not considered as) an integral part of health systems. This uncovered the lack of strategic thinking by global health actors on hospitals, recognizing that at the same time they supported programmatic approaches to strengthening some specific hospital activities.

Countries now need to restructure, transform and upgrade the hospital sector, adopting a PHC approach, with both UHC and health security in view, “building back” better (or differently) to meet the challenges of providing quality and safe care for their patients, ensuring well-being of their staff, being adequately embedded in their community and adopting population health perspective and leading by example for sustainable development, including concerns of environmental sustainability in all they do. “Fit-for-purpose” hospitals should incorporate social, economic and environmental concerns to ensure long-term sustainability and resilience to future shocks.

It is now essential to leverage the renewed attention to hospitals by providing countries with the required policy, strategic, and technical support. Efforts for better performing hospitals will have to be done at many levels, activating a comprehensive set of policy levers and interventions and establishing the foundation for change, along the “financing-governance-service delivery” nexus.

In this context, WHO is developing a technical product (TP) that provides normative guidance on how to steer the restructuring, transformation and upgrade of hospitals for adequate accessibility of hospital-based services, including emergency, operative and critical care services (ECO systems), improving both how hospitals operate internally and how they relate with their local ecosystems. This TP will gather evidence, country cases, and provide recommendations along the triad of governance, financing, and service delivery. Accompanying products will inform the core technical product by generating evidence and mobilizing experts. They will allow for regional contextualization, and they will provide operational tools and guidance to support transformations at the system and facility-levels.

Also, regional hospital planning and management strategies and operational tools are also being developed and implemented in countries under the leadership of WHO Regional and Country Offices.

The consultancies contracted through the roster will support technical work and activities related to WHO Headquarter, Regional Offices and Country offices, as relevant.

Deliverables

A specific set of deliverables and activities will be defined for each contract with a consultant on the roster. The below list of deliverables is illustrative of some of the tasks that could be requested of consultants hired from the roster.

• Deliverable 1: Consolidated evidence on hospital sector strengthening, restructuration or transformation collected and consolidated.

  • Activity 1.1: Prepare country case studies on hospital sector reforms in a wide variety of contexts.
  • Activity 1.2: Prepare review of the literature and technical briefs on topics such as, but not limited to hospital financing, planning and management, sustainability, care organization, quality improvement, etc.

• Deliverable 2: Operational tools for improving hospitals planning, management, and operations, and their integration in local eco-systems developed and tested for use at the national or sub-national level or at the facility level.

  • Activity 2.1: Co-develop and pilot-test tools in countries to support situation analysis, to select improvement interventions, and to train stakeholders, including hospital managers and community representatives, in relevant topics.

• Deliverable 3: Support to policy dialogue in countries, informed by understanding of the hospital sector’s asset and weaknesses and how it relates with other parts of the system.

  • Activity 3.1: To conduct assessments of hospital at the system level (i.e., system design, incentives, enablers, outputs) and facility levels (hospital governance and management, resource mobilization and use, organizational climate, outputs), and provide technical expertise to prioritize selection of a set of interventions for improvement (in person or blended format).
  • Activity 3.2: To participate to policy-dialogue in countries on hospitals strengthening, restructuring or transformations, through country mission with use and application of different tools developed by WHO.
  • Activity 3.3: To play a role as a coach/mentor to provide technical support in designing and implementing the required interventions at the system and facility levels.
  • Activity 3.4: To act as a trainer at the regional or national capacity building activities.
  • Activity 3.5: To prepare a paper on key considerations and questions to structure a policy dialogue on related topics (see activity 2.1).

• Deliverable 4: Contribution to the preparation of global and regional meetings and knowledge management for global and regional agenda on hospitals in PHC-oriented health systems.

  • Activity 4.1: Contribute to the preparation, participate and prepare meeting reports at the regional or global meetings on hospitals.
  • Activity 4.2: Contribute to the knowledge management, i.e., informing about the programs’ deliverables and also gathering relevant knowledge from stakeholders and organizations.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• Band level B: First university degree in medical, paramedical, management, economics, or social sciences.
• Band level C: Advanced university degree (master or equivalent) in medical, paramedical, architecture, engineering, law management, economics, or social sciences.
• Training in public health or health administration.

Desirable:

• PhD in Global Health, Public Health, Health Administration or related field.

Experience

Essential:

• Band level B: At least 5 years of relevant experience in academics, at a consultancy company, at a national or sub-national health administration, or as hospital manager.
• Band level C: Over 10 years of relevant experience in academics, or at a consultancy company, or at a national or sub-national health administration, or as a hospital manager.

Desirable:

• Experience with WHO and/or other international organizations and partnerships.
• Experience in low- or lower- income country.
• Hands-on experience in hospital management and/or local system or district management.
• Experience in policy and health system analysis.
• Experience in change management or hospital sector reform.
• Experience in a variety of setting and positions.
• Experience as a coach/mentor or as a consultant in related areas of work.

Skills/Knowledge:

Essential:

• Expert technical knowledge in hospital policies and/or hospital management, as demonstrated through track record of publications (e.g., peer review journals, consultancy reports).
• Knowledge can also be specific (e.g., hospital financing, quality assurance, accreditation, hospital infrastructure).
• Demonstrated “system thinking” skill with a good understanding of health systems building blocks/functions and how they relate with each other.
• Excellent skills in writing and oral communications.
• Excellent skills in conducting literature searches.
• Strong computer skills including experience with Google Sheets and Office applications of Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Expertise in health services integration and network development.
• Expertise in district or sub-national health system management.

Languages required:

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable:

• Intermediate knowledge of French.

Location

Off-site – Home based.

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration:

• Band level B - USD 350 - 499 per day or USD 7,000 - 9,980 per month.
• Band level C - USD 500 - 625 per day or USD 10,000 - 12,500 per month.

Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited):

N/A

Expected duration of contract:

Contract duration varies (number of days or 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 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.
• 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 each location/jurisdiction in which the work hereunder is performed, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any reimbursement thereof by WHO.
• Consultants working in Switzerland must register with the applicable Swiss cantonal tax authorities and social security authorities, within the prescribed timeframes (Guidelines issued by the Swiss Mission are available at: <https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-onu-geneve/en/home/manual-regime-privileges-and-immunities/introduction/Manuel-personnes-sans-privileges-et-immunites-carte-H/Non fonctionnaires et stagiaires.html>

For roster VNs:

The purpose of this vacancy is to develop a list of qualified candidates for inclusion in this advertised roster. All applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application (whether successful or unsuccessful) upon conclusion of the selection process. Successful candidates will be placed on the roster and subsequently may be selected for consultancy assignments falling in this area of work or for similar requirements/tasks/deliverables. Inclusion in the Roster does not guarantee selection to a consultant contract. There is no commitment on either side.