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Qualifications

Purpose of consultancy

In the context of the WHO health emergencies Incident Management System (IMS), at the country level, the incumbent will implement and coordinate WHO and health cluster strategies for the monitoring and implementation of public health surveillance and response programmes with a special focus on early detection, verification and rapid response to epidemics and other public health incidents related to the health emergencies. The incumbent will provide technical guidance to the Ministry of Health and other partners in strengthening surveillance and response for priority diseases, conditions and events in the context of Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) and for capacity building of national experts, in compliance with the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005).

Background

The mission of the Emergency Preparedness and Response programme in AFRO is to help countries and international coordinate action, prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies.

In the country of assignment, based on priorities set by the WHO Head of Country Office and the first level supervisor, and working closely with counterparts at the regional office, the incumbent will act as the Team Lead for the epidemiology surveillance and response programme and the focal point for IDSR. S/he will provide technical oversight for implementing, monitoring, and evaluating public health policies and programmes on surveillance and response of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, particularly those with epidemic and pandemic potentials. The incumbent will collaborate with relevant technical officers at the national level, coordinate the work and provide technical guidance to the Epidemiologists at the district level.

Assessment design and implementation will use different tools, including but not limited to:

• Multi-cluster/sector Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA) 
• Humanitarian Emergency Setting Perceived Needs Scale (HESPER) 
• Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions (SMART Nutritional and retrospective mortality survey) 
• Rapid risk assessment (RRA) of acute public health events 
• Public Health Situation Analysis of humanitarian affairs. 
• Early warning, alert and response (EWAR) to epidemic-prone diseases (infectious disease surveillance) 

   

Specific monitoring will be carried out using the following methods:

• Health Resources and Services Availability Monitoring System (HeRAMS) 
• Response mapping using the 3/4Ws matrix 
• Health Cluster Performance Monitoring WHO Emergency Response Framework monitoring 
• Needs Assessments 
• Contribution to Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) and Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs) 
• Health Cluster Bulletins (PCBs). 

Deliverables

During deployment, the duty station may change, and duties may be modified based upon the technical needs of the Programme:

1. Conduct real-time analysis of outbreak intelligence data, with other team members, for epidemic intelligence; guide team members on data quality improvement; use data for monitoring trends, ALERT and ACTION thresholds (triggers), and methodologies for performing data quality assessments (DQA).
2. Oversee data entry, data validation, analysis and reporting of assessments and surveys. Synergize data received from multiple sources, including health information systems, death registries, vertical reporting programmes, community-based surveillance and IDSR.
3. Coordinate the establishment and functionality of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), early warning systems (including event-based and indicator-based surveillance) for epidemic and pandemic-prone diseases for early detection and response to public health events,
4. Contribute to preparing other WHO and health cluster communication products (situation reports, health cluster bulletins, donors’ alerts, and other ad-hoc reports).
5. Design, in cooperation with technical partners, surveillance guidelines, protocols, surveys and monitoring/surveillance systems for detection, verification and response to public health incidents at the national level; ensuring efficiency of data collection, correlation, analysis, interpretation, timely reporting and coordinate the work of a network of sub-regional monitors, as well as provide technical guidance to the epidemiologists assigned, as required.
6. Represent WHO in coordination meeting with partners involved in epidemiology, surveillance and monitoring.
7. Develop appropriate training plans for building the core surveillance, alert and response national capacities following IHR 2005. Oversee the capacity building at national, subnational and health facility levels.
8. Lead the development, consolidation and maintenance of a country-specific and event-specific repository of information (at the highest geographic resolution possible) on core public health indicators (e.g. crude and under-five mortality rates, prevalence of malnutrition, vaccination coverage); updated population estimates (resident, displaced, refugees), standards indicators and values used by partners for monitoring needs and response; vulnerability mapping; nutrition, mortality and vaccination coverage survey reports; health needs assessment reports.
9. Perform any other incident-specific related duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

    

    

Educational Qualifications

Essential

ü  A university degree in epidemiology, statistics, or public health from an accredited/recognized institute

Desirable:

ü  Specialized training in field epidemiology, including EPIET or FETP.

ü  Specialized training in infectious disease epidemiology.

Experience

Essential

ü  At the national and international levels, at least five years’ related experience in quantitative epidemiology and implementing public health surveillance, outbreak investigation, and response in humanitarian settings.

ü  Previous experience in implementation of Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR).

Desirable:

ü  Prior experience implementing humanitarian health interventions at the field level with WHO or other UN agencies, health cluster partners, recognized humanitarian organisations, or an international nongovernmental organization with expertise in disaster and outbreak response.

Skills/Knowledge

ü  Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office applications.

ü  Working knowledge of online data collection applications (KoboCollect, SurveyMonkey, etc.) and statistical analysis packages (R, Stata, SPSS, etc.).

ü  Working knowledge of GIS mapping software (or similar) would be an asset

WHO Competencies

ü  Creating an empowering and motivating environment

ü   Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

ü  Teamwork

ü  Communication

Languages required

Essential

ü  Expert knowledge of either English or French or Portuguese depending on the official language in the duty station where deployed.

Desirable:

ü  Working knowledge of an additional UN language.

Location

On-site – Multiple duty stations within the African Region.

Travel

(If travel is involved, a medical certificate of fitness for work will be required.) All travel arrangements will be made by WHO – WHO will not be responsible for tickets purchased by the Consultant without the express, prior authorization of WHO. While on a mission under the terms of this consultancy, the Consultant will receive subsistence allowance.

Visa requirements

The Consultant’s responsibility is to fulfil visa requirements and ask for visa support letter(s) if needed.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration:

USD 7,000 – 9,980 per month

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

A living expense is payable to on-site consultants

Expected duration of contract

Contract duration varies depending on the needs

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. 
• The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics. 
• The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply for WHO jobs. 
• Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to  [email protected] 
• An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. 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 (https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values) 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 short-listed candidates. 
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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. 
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• Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at [email protected]. 
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For roster vacancy announcements:

• The purpose of this vacancy is to develop a list of qualified candidates for inclusion in the advertised roster. Successful candidates will be placed on the roster and subsequently may be selected for consultancy assignments; however, contracting of rostered candidates is not guaranteed.