Area of Expertise
Roster National Consultant / Experts – Emergency Preparedness and Response Including IHR
Purpose of consultancy
The consultancy aims to provide technical support to the government of Bangladesh in the areas of health emergencies, epidemiology, International Health Regulations (IHR), public health informatics, disease surveillance, infectious hazard management, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), pandemic preparedness, disaster management, environmental health, climate change, and related research. The overarching goal is to enhance the readiness and response capabilities to mitigate public health risks, minimize suffering, and save lives during emergencies.
Summary of assigned duties
Health Emergencies, Preparedness and Response: Provide support to public health emergency preparedness and response including development of guidelines, SOPs, participation in the Incident Management Support and Health cluster activities in the spirt of multisectoral collaboration such as One health, conduct of rapid risk assessment, UN coordination mechanisms as well as document review, situation update and other relevant activities.
- International Health Regulations (IHR): Provide support and facilitate the development, implementation, and evaluation of country strategies and workplans to advance IHR core capacity development in line with WHO standards.
- Data informatics: Facilitate the provision of up-to-date health information, data, analysis, interpretation, and presentation to support policy and decision making.
- Epidemiology & Disease Surveillance: Provide technical oversight to surveillance and management of emerging/re-emerging infectious diseases including influenza, and other epidemic prone diseases.
- Outbreak detection & control: Provide technical expertise and operational support for the timely detection and response to outbreaks/epidemics and health emergencies, in collaboration with national health officials, including laboratory staff, and other partner organizations.
- Infectious Hazard management: Support and facilitate the development and implementation of evidence-based policies, public health programmes and interventions for the management of priority infectious hazards with multisectoral collaboration using a one health approach; Provide guidance in laboratory activities in diagnostic, biosafety and quality management and develop appropriate solutions for their improvement where necessary.
- Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): To provide support and coordination for AMR surveillance and reporting among all the sentinel sites in the country as well as support the reporting of national AMR data to the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS).
- Pandemic Influenzas preparedness/Influenza surveillance: Support the Pandemic preparedness activities and coordinate different laboratory activities at sentinel sites as well as NIC and NRL according to national and international standards, as necessary. Support the enhancement of laboratory infrastructure and the implementation of standard operating procedures to enhance safe collection, handling, shipment, storage and analysis of human and environmental specimens.
- Disaster Management: Support the implementation of DRR, comprehensive Emergency Risk Management for health and disaster management. Maintain liaison with relevant ministries and stakeholders for information management and coordination. Monitor all matters related to procurement of emergency drugs and medical supplies, anticipate needs, and take follow-up action as and when necessary.
- Environmental Health: Support national priorities concerning health and environment and recommend feasible plans and strategies under the aegis of Environmental Health Unit (EHU); Support the promotion of innovative activities in environmental health sector, and advancing health and environment initiatives as well as water supply, sanitation, hygiene, chemical safety, radiation safety, occupational health.
- Climate Change: Facilitate key climate change and health activities -health vulnerability and adaptation assessments, implementation of health national adaptation plan, climate-resilient water and sanitation safety planning, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities, and climate informed health surveillance and early warning systems.
- Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): Provide support for ongoing water, sanitation, and hygiene, environmental and climate sensitive disease outbreaks such as water borne diseases and vector borne diseases.
- Risk Communication and community engagement: support the development and operationalization of a risk communication plan with multisector collaboration to set the strategies, approaches, resources (human resources and budgeting), standard operating procedures and mechanisms for the function of RCCE; Review existing resources, processes, mechanisms for risk communication, community engagement and infodemic management towards improvement; support in management of social media accounts and prepare digital and social media plans in line with regional guidance and in-country specific context and priority topics;
- Capacity building: Support workforce development through trainings, and other capacity building and strengthening activities across all aspects of health emergencies.
- Development of guidelines: Support adaptation, development and implementation of technical guidelines and SOPs for various health emergency activities, including those caused by (re-) emerging and other infectious diseases.
Background
The WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme in Bangladesh continues to provide technical and policy guidance and assistance to the government in area of assessment of health emergency preparedness and development of national plans to address critical capacity gaps; developing strategies and capacities to prevent and control high-threat infectious hazards; and monitoring new and ongoing public health events to assess, communicate and recommend action for public health risks. The programs also support readiness to reduce public health risk as well as provides life-saving health services to affected populations when necessary to minimize suffering and death during emergencies.
Deliverables
Deliverables will be shared with specific candidate/s along with Terms of Reference at the time of actual selection of consultant from the roster.
Qualifications, experience, skills and languages
Educational Qualifications
Essential:
- For NO- A & NO-B: Completion of a first degree or medical degree (depending on the position) in public health or other relevant discipline such as epidemiology, statistics, database management or public health, medical virology, communication, from an accredited/recognized institute.
- For NO- C & NO-D: Completion of medical degree or advanced degree in public health or other relevant disciplines such as in epidemiology, statistics, database management or public health, medical virology, communication, from an accredited/recognized institute.
Desirable: Additional or specialized training in communicable diseases, or global health security.
Experience
Essential:
Below mentioned experience for specific grade level at national level is essential in ANY of the following health systems functions:
- Implementation of public health surveillance, outbreak investigation and management as well as monitoring, evaluation and interpretation of data related to infectious public health events and response in humanitarian settings.
- Experience in planning, developing and implementing health security and working with inter-agency mechanism used to coordinate preparedness and response to health emergencies.
- Experience to design and implement Microbiological and mycological test for different kind of microorganisms and able to perform molecular testing.
- For NO- A: 2 to 5 Years of relevant experience in Bangladesh
- For NO- B: 5 to 10 years of relevant experience in Bangladesh
- For NO- C: More than 10 years of relevant experience in Bangladesh
- For NO-D: More than 15 years of relevant experience in Bangladesh
Desirable:
Previous experience in UN organizations/agencies, health cluster partners, recognized humanitarian organizations, international institutions, or nongovernmental organizations, particularly.
Skills/Knowledge
- Proven ability to lead the area of expertise and requirement.
- Excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate complex issues clearly and concisely.
- Demonstrated ability to maintain effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders in government and beyond, including other development agencies.
- Skills in training and facilitation.
- Knowledge of working in or with multilateral organizations, preferably WHO.
Languages and level required (Basic/Intermediate/Advanced):
Essential: Expert knowledge of English with excellent written and verbal communication skills is essential.
Location
On-Site: Dhaka, and other locations in Bangladesh.
Travel
The assignment may involve travel and details of which form part of ToR for specific assignment. Travel related expenses will be reimbursed as per WHO policies.
Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):
For NO-A
Daily pay band range: BDT 17,639 to BDT 23,379
Monthly pay band range: BDT 352,781 to BDT 467,576
For NO-B
Daily pay band range: BDT 24,611 to BDT 32,672
Monthly pay band range: BDT 492,211 to BDT 653,433
For NO-C
Daily pay band range: BDT 34,383 to BDT 45,498
Monthly pay band range: BDT 687,657 to BDT 909,968
For NO-D
Daily pay range: BDT 44,205 to BDT 58,322
Monthly pay band range: BDT 884,099 to BDT 1,166,434
Actual renumeration (monthly or daily basis) will be offered based on the requirements of the terms of reference for the individual consultant contract and in relation to the individual’s academic and professional experience in accordance with WHO’s consultant’s pay band ranges.
Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited): n/a
Expected duration of contract: 2 weeks to 11 months depends on actual requirement.
Additional Information
This vacancy notice is being issued for establishing Roster National Consultant / Experts – Emergency Preparedness and Response Including IHR.
- 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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