Technical Specialist (Oxygen Systems Support) – P3  

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, health.

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens addressing inequity not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Before the onset of COVID-19, UNICEF had been investing towards improving oxygen access in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). COVID-19 further exposed the massive oxygen gap that had existed for many years in LMICs, including limited oxygen infrastructure/production capacity, hospitals ill-equipped for oxygen provision and the lack of trained human resources – both biomedical staff to install and maintain oxygen equipment as well as clinicians to provide safe oxygen therapy for patients. In the last three years, COVID-19 has put additional extensive pressure on existing medical oxygen supply chains that saw an exponential increase in demand for therapeutic oxygen and related supplies.

In order to respond to the urgent needs for therapeutic oxygen in countries, UNICEF embarked on a programme of work to help countries strengthen their medical oxygen ecosystems by providing a financing facility for procurement of new medical oxygen sources (i.e., oxygen plants, concentrators, liquid medical oxygen), creating a centralized procurement service and providing technical support and tools to aid countries with forecasting oxygen needs, site readiness, installation and maintenance.

As part of this effort, UNICEF Supply Division developed the Plant-in-a-Box (PIB), a bundled oxygen production solution aimed for swift deployment to countries with limited oxygen production capacity or those faced with a sudden surge in demand for oxygen. UNICEF secured PIB solutions through long term arrangements with leading manufacturers, and these were made available to countries for ordering through UNICEF’s procurement services. To date, UNICEF has procured more than 130 PIBs for 50 countries. Approximately 30% of these PIBs are installed and commissioned and delivering oxygen to the hospitals, and the remaining 70% are at various stages of implementation. UNICEF also established LTAs with vendors for the provision of Plant Repair and Biomedical Engineering Services to further support implementation of oxygen systems.

UNICEF now must accelerate the implementation of PIBs with strong technical support and guidance to countries, as well as establish new LTAs for PIB solutions as well as Biomedical Engineering Services.

Strategic office context:

The position is located with the Oxygen Team of the Medical Device Unit (MDU) within the Health Technology Centre (HTC). The core function of the MDU is to ensure that the Medical Device product portfolio procured and supplied by UNICEF is safe, fit-for-purpose and meets the required quality standards.

To respond to the increased demand from countries and partners seeking oxygen therapy solutions, HTC established a specialized Oxygen team within the MDU for the procurement of oxygen therapy supplies and solutions. This team provides technical and commercial expertise for the procurement of the Plant-in-a-box solutions, as well as local procurement of medical gas pipeline systems and other necessary biomedical engineering services for the implementation of PIBs.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision and general guidance of the P3 Technical Specialist, the Technical Specialist, Oxygen Systems Support applies specialized product knowledge to provide technical assistance in the following areas: support to countries currently procuring and installing oxygen PIBs, support to countries requesting Local Procurement Authorization for local procurement of oxygen systems including medical gas pipeline systems, and strategic guidance and support to ensure sustainability of all PIBs – from initial commissioning, during the 2 years of service coverage support, and beyond 2 years by providing guidance to in-country partners for establishing sustainable practices for maintenance and use.

You will be accountable for: 

Technical support as PIB implementation Focal Point for several countries:

• Comprehensive technical assistance, including follow up on site assessment and preparation, site readiness, installation and commissioning
• Regular status updates to the broader PIB team on the progress of technical assistance, including challenges and recommended solutions for successful PIB implementation in the designated countries.

Country support for local procurement authorization:

• Input to terms of reference/solicitation documents
• Review of technical proposals (e.g. Medical Gas Piping Design and/or implementation)

PIB maintenance oversight and reporting:

• Provide technical follow-up for the maintenance of PIBs during the 2-year standard maintenance package.
• Quarterly reports on the status of PIB maintenance within the 2-year standard maintenance package, highlighting any issues, improvements, or recommendations.
• A final report summarizing the overall maintenance performance during the 2-year period, with lessons learned and best practices.
• Receive all maintenance reports and file them in the designated system/tracker.

PIB maintenance tools and guidance:

• Develop a guidance document for Country Offices (COs) on the implementation of preventative and corrective maintenance services and effectively communicate this guidance whenever needed.
• Produce and communicate necessary tools and guidance, such as a template maintenance contract, a list of spare parts, and information on how to select the right maintenance support to ensure the sustainability of PIBs.

PIB maintenance strategy development:

• Develop, approve, and communicate a strategy for sustaining PIBs beyond the initial 2-year maintenance period.

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

Education

• University degree in engineering (Biomedical/Electrical/Chemical/Mechanical/Civil), medicine, logistics, public health, business administration or related discipline.  Advanced university degree (Masters) is preferred.

Work Experience

• Minimum 5 years of years professional and relevant work experience in medical devices and/or oxygen delivery systems (ideally plants specifically)
• Familiarity and experience working in LMICs is considered a strong asset
• Hands-on experience in implementation of oxygen delivery systems including PSA plants is considered a strong asset
• Experience in producing detailed technical specifications, guidance and SOPs for use and maintenance of medical devices and/or oxygen systems is considered a strong asset
• Familiarity and experience working in UNICEF or other UN agencies is considered an asset
• Experienced knowledge and understanding of public procurement principles is an asset

Languages

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues

 The core competencies required for this post are:

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness
• Works Collaboratively with others
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships
• Innovates and Embraces Change
• Thinks and Acts Strategically
• Drive to achieve impactful results
• Manages ambiguity and complexity

Functional Competencies:

Functional:

• Problem solving oriented
• Able to work in a multi-cultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships
• Strong communication skills
• Proven capacity to work with collaborative teams across different locations and with different technical skills

Technical:

• Strong technical understanding of oxygen delivery equipment and systems
• High level of technical writing expertise
• High level of analytical skills and attention to detail
• Knowledge of MS Office Suite
• Knowledge of the environment in which UNICEF operates (i.e., global health sector)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework 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.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. 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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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:

UNICEF 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 at: http://www.whed.net/

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

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

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