National Consultant: Provincial Immunization based in Jakarta (covering West Sumatera & Riau), 1 year

UNICEF Jakarta is looking for a national consultant to provide support and technical assistance to the Government on Routine Immunization in West Sumatra and Riau Provinces (two out of the ten high-priority zero dose provinces). The aim is to support accelerating activities to reach zero dose and under immunized children and enhance equitable immunization coverage including new vaccine’s introduction in West Sumatra and Riau Provinces.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Immunization

UNICEF Jakarta is looking for a national consultant to provide support and technical assistance to the Government on Routine Immunization in West Sumatra and Riau Provinces (two out of the ten high-priority zero dose provinces). The aim is to support accelerating activities to reach zero dose and under immunized children and enhance equitable immunization coverage including new vaccine’s introduction in West Sumatra and Riau Provinces. Duration of contract is one year. 

Indonesia’s health system reaches most children in their birth cohort of 4.3 million children a year with vaccines and other health services. However, it was one of the countries globally which had encountered stagnated vaccination coverage in the past decades before the COVID-19 pandemic. The services interruption and vaccine hesitancy among the parents and caregivers due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant number of eligible children being unvaccinated and or under vaccinated. This has further deteriorated by the high burden on the health systems to deliver COVID-19 vaccine among the 234.7 million target population. Many health workers reported a high workload with poor motivation due to various reasons1. The pulse survey highlighted that health facilities reduced the frequency of vaccination sessions to cope with their high workload and other priorities. On the other hand, most health facilities and vaccine storage points at various supply chain levels experienced significant stock out of several routine vaccines2. Many children could not receive vaccines due to the closure of schools. All these issues unveiled the reasons for the high number of zero-dose children in Indonesia.

Indonesia made significant progress during 2022 to catch up missed children due to the implementation of the National Children Immunization Month (BIAN) catch up campaign implemented during May-Oct 2022. However, due to pockets of missed children and inequitable immunization coverage, the country remains high-risk for Polio, Measles-Rubella, and other vaccine preventable disease outbreaks. During Nov 2022 and Feb 2023, an outbreak of circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus type2 (cVDV2) with a total of 4 incidence of cVDPV2 cases reported in Acute Flaccid Paralysis (3 from Aceh and one case from West Java), and 11 cases of cVDPV2 reported in healthy children (4 from Aceh and 7 cases from West Java) occurred. Moreover, according to the latest monthly surveillance bulletin released on 16 Oct 2023, increased incidence of suspected Measles outbreaks, and diphtheria cases are reported in 2023 versus 2020-20223.

Despite significant progress in the COVID-19 vaccination program, vaccination coverage among several target age groups remains low, inequity in vaccination coverage is apparent especially among the elderly group, increased number of zero dose and under vaccinated children, along with the issues reported with the immunization supply chain and vaccine management.

Based on the request letter from Ministry of Health through letter# IM.01.01/C.IV/ 1315 /2023 dated 31st March 2023, UNICEF will provide support to the Ministry of Health to achieve its target to prevent and control transmission of vaccine preventable diseases (VPD). In this recovery time from the COVID-19 Pandemic, UNICEF will provide: 1) Technical support at national level,  provincial and district level focusing on 10 priority provinces both on program delivery and also in demand aspects including people’s perception on routine immunization;  2) Facilitate unpacking of the communication strategy to reach zero dose children and respond to VPD outbreaks (including outbreak response immunization) in all affected provinces or districts; 3) Support routine analysis of cold chain capacity adequacy as well as cold chain management training; 4) Increasing demand for immunization through involvement of influencer/champion as immunization ambassador. The high priority provinces include Aceh, North Sumatera, West Sumatera, Riau, West Java, East Java, Central Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, NTT, and Papua.

How can you make a difference? 

The Immunization consultant will provide technical support, advocacy and facilitate the required support to the provincial and district levels, including provision of technical assistance to program strategy development (planning, budgeting, and implementation); support developing micro planning to determine the accurate denominator for targeted children <5 years using socio-economic register, focusing on zero dose children, established linkages between vital statistics birth registrations in ECD centres and Puskesmas, decentralized advocacy and communication efforts with provincial governors, and Bupatis as part of a wider Routine Immunization and RCCE agenda, and support respective local authorities to implement the immunization plan with high quality, monitoring progress and providing feedback in selected provinces.

The GOI has requested UNICEF’s support in high priority provinces with increased number of zero dose and under immunized children across several critical areas:
1) Conduct advocacy and provide technical support at provincial and district level focusing on both supply, program delivery and demand generation for routine immunization.
2) Develop local actions plan for strategic support to the routine immunization programs in targeted provinces.
3) Support, facilitate and provide technical assistance for unpacking the national immunization communication strategy to respond to vaccine hesitancy and zero dose community in all affected provinces/districts
4) Support routine analysis of cold chain capacity adequacy as well as cold chain management training.
5) Demand generation: Increasing demand for immunization through engagement of local influencer/champion as immunization ambassador.
6) Support micro planning and all relevant efforts for establishing correct denominator.
7) Provide strategic advice and course corrective actions, including adaptation of national routine immunization tools/guidelines to ensure the quality of immunization supply chain and vaccines demand.
8) Collaborate with other UNICEF sectors at sub national level, particularly education and child protection team, to ensure integration of routine immunization program plan with other sectors.
9) Provide appropriate technical support on advocacy and socio mobilization coordination activities.
10)Final report (in narrative and ppt) with recommendation and lessons learned. Summarize the best practice, strategies and methods for reaching zero dose children and the utilization of new vaccines to strengthen routine immunization programme

The consultants will be based in Jakarta with frequent field travels to West Sumatra and Riau Provinces.

Please refer to the Term of Reference attached for the detailed breakdowns of tasks and deliverables/outputs. 

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

1. Master’s degree* in medical, Nurse, Medical Doctor, Midwife and Public Health Science, and or Health related subjects.
2. Minimum 5 years of experience, 3 of which is experience in Immunization programme
3. Public Health Expert with immunization, advocacy/communications, and data/information management experience.
4. High technical knowledge on immunization programs is preferred—good analytical, advocacy and conflict resolution skills.
5. Familiarity with country, government structures and public health system especially immunization stock management.
6. Able to work independently with minimal supervision
7. Self-motivated and results oriented.
8. Proven ability to deliver under tight deadlines.
9. Good report writing, fluency in Bahasa Indonesia (is necessary), and English, with computer skills.

(*First level of relevant university degree in combination with 7 years of relevant health experience with 5 years in Immunization programme may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree)

 TOR – Zero dose Immunization Consultant W Sum Riau TMS.pdf

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS) and core competencies:

• Builds and Maintains Partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others

 To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

 UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts. This vacancy is open for Indonesians only.