Job Description
| Organization: | World Health Organization |
| Job Title: | Public Health Laboratories [PHLs] Consultant – (2202627) |
| Contractual Arrangement: | External consultant |
| Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days): | 3 months |
| Job Posting: | Mar 21, 2022, 4:01:22 PM |
| Closing Date: | Mar 28, 2022, 11:59:00 PM |
| Primary Location: | Sudan-Khartoum |
| Organization: | EM_SUD WHO Representative’s Office, Sudan |
| Schedule: | Full-time |
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that the deadline for receipt of applications indicated above reflects your personal device’s system settings.
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Purpose of the Consultancy
There is a growing need to have a well-functioning NPHL in Sudan with clear governance structure, that contribute to helps Sudan health system to detect and define any health outbreaks in timely manner as part of the national surveillance system. Implementing the same standard and measures for the same outbreak throughout the country. This consultancy will help the NPHL in Sudan to have clear policy directions and defined strategy at the country level, reducing any undesired inefficiencies and improving the overall performance of the National and Regional public health laboratories.
Background and rationale:
Under the International Health Regulations (2005), Member States are required to develop the core national capacities necessary to mitigate and respond to public health threats. A strong public health laboratory is one of these core capacities, essential in the detection of outbreaks through safe, reliable and timely laboratory testing. However, as identified through IHR Monitoring and Evaluation activities, many public health laboratory systems in vulnerable countries share common challenges and gaps that continue to hinder country capacities. To address these gaps, WHO Sudan would like to support building the capacities of national and regional public health laboratories through the provision of guidance documents & tools, technical assistance, and mobilization of resources to improve readiness to handle the initial impact and recovery from imminent risks. Now, it becomes important to understand the role and organization of the laboratory sector during health emergencies; through strengthening national laboratory system policies and strategic plans to implement laboratory quality management systems. Sudan continues to be confronted by health outbreaks, political, security, and socio-economic challenges and the overall health indicators in Sudan are comparable to Sub- Saharan Africa averages; however, overall averages mask significant urban-rural and regional disparities, related to conflict, displacement, and chronic poverty. Sudan has undergone decentralization; however, historically, it has experienced challenges in coordination between NPHL and RPHLs, as well as difficulty in translating national level planning to all levels of a decentralized health care system including RPHLs. Sudan has one NPHL and 11 regional laboratories providing their services independently. Currently, following COVID -19 pandemic Public Health Laboratories started to locate in states and towns that are not part of the original plan of FMOH. Coordination between national and regional public health laboratories has been weak since there is no clear technical or administrative relations, which make it difficult to applynational standards and/or agreed procedures It has been identified that, the common challenges that affect the burden of diseases in Sudan, most notably gaps in data and infrastructure that are essential to inform and deliver effective interventions
1 1 In transition: current health challenges and priorities in Sudan https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/4/e001723
Planned Timelines:
• Starting date: 16 April 2022
• End Date: 16 July 2022
Work To Be Performed
Output 1: Review and assess the existing institutional capacities of national and regional public health laboratories
Deliverable (1.1): Review the existing organizational structures, managerial capacities, functions and division of roles and interrelated relations between the national and regional public health laboratories.
Deliverable (1.2): Assess the human and financial resource capacities and competencies available to perform the standard function of NPHL.
Deliverable (1.3):Review the level of biosafety including the application of knowledge, techniques and equipment to prevent personal, laboratory and environmental exposure to potentially infectious agents or biohazards. In addition, to evaluate the set of preventive measures designed to reduce the risk of intentional transmission of infectious diseases, then to harden and safeguard facilities containing sensitive biological materials with a biologicalweapons potential.
Deliverable (1.4): Assess the functionality of National and Regional PHLs in terms of their capacity to respond to health risks and outbreaks given their current distribution country-wise and the future expansion plan.
Deliverable (1.5): Facilitate consensus stakeholders’ workshop to disseminate assessment results and agree on interventions and recommendations needed for improvement.
Output (2): Review and update the National and Regional Public Health policy and strategy.
Deliverable (2.1): Conduct a policy dialogue on public health laboratory development in consultation with relevant organizations, policy, and decision-makers, relevant key staff and beneficiaries including communities, health care providers, and regulators and propose policy options that guide its future progress.
Deliverable (2.2): Develop RPHL and NPHL organizational structures, functions and division of roles and their interrelated relations.
Deliverable (2.3): Support the development of NPHL policy and a five-year strategy that is aligned with the national health policies and strategies to address the ongoing health risks, emergencies, and outbreaks.
Deliverable (2.4): Develop a plan to implement the strategy and include a clear timeline.
Specific requirements
• Qualifications required: Advanced university degree (Master’s level or above) for mid and high end of the range in Health Economics, Applied Economics or Health Financing or a Degree in public health laboratory management is desired. .
• Experience required: 7 to 10 years of relevant experience in health governance and policydevelopment and public health laboratories management.
• Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:
• Competencies:
– Good understanding and demonstrated knowledge of public health, HealthManagement Planning and policy.
– Good analytic skills
• Language requirements: – Excellent knowledge of English
Place of assignment The assignment will take place in Khartoum State at the National Public Health Laboratory. Field visits to selected RPHL, in addition, to meetings with key staff and health managers will be arranged as needed as part of the overall consultative process.
Medical clearance
The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.
Travel
The Consultant is expected to travel according to the itinerary and estimated schedule below: 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 mission under the terms of this consultancy, the Consultant will receive subsistence allowance. Visas requirements: it is the consultant’s responsibility to fulfil visa requirements and askfor visa support letter(s) if needed.
Additional Information section
- 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.
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- 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’s workforce adheres to the WHO Values Charter and is committed to put the WHO Values into practice – https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values
- 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.
- WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to putthe 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.
