Consultants - Infection Prevention and Control and Clinical Management, IMST/WHE/WPRO

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Purpose of the Consultancy

This consultancy will support the Infection Prevention and Control and Clinical Management team in the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific and/or Country Offices related to COVID-19.

Background

The mission of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) is to help countries, and to coordinate international action, to prevent, prepare for, detect, rapidly respond to, and recover from outbreaks and emergencies, guided by International Health Regulataions (IHR 2005).

As cases continue to be reported and surges are anticipated, additional preparedness and response efforts are required in the Region. To cope with the situation, the emergency team in the WHO Regional Office requires strengthening in order to provide technical assistance to Member States for preparedness and response efforts, including in areas of epidemiology, clinical management and public health interventions. The COVID-19 response operations in the Region are expected to continue for several months.

Reporting to the Incident Manager, and under the leadership of the Health Service Delivery Pillar, the incumbent is accountable for the clinical management activities throughout the full cycle of the emergency, in the Western Pacific region.

The purpose of this emergency deployment is to support effective country response operations related COVID-19 as part of the Incident Management Support Team (IMST) of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office in Manila and/or the Incident Management System (IMS) Team in WHO Country Office.

Planned timelines

(6 months with possibility of extension;subject to confirmation)

Start date : 1 March 2022
End date : 30 September 2022

Work to be performed

Under the overall supervision of the WPRO IMST Incident Manager and the direct supervision of respective sub-pillar, the consultant will:

Provide technical and operational assistance to the COVID-19 response activities from the Regional Office and/or WHO Country Office:

Output 1 : Work in coordination with the COVID‐19 incident management team to ensure all issues and queries related to COVID-19 case management, including triage, diagnostics and therapeutics, essential and advanced care (e.g. ICU) are managed effectively and align with WHO global recommendation, latest scientific evidence, and clinical reports.

Output 2: Critically review country, regional, and global documents pertinent to COVID-19 clinical management and ensure technical recommendations are up-to-date and evidence-based.

Output 3: Provide technical assistance to the logistics team in the specification and quantity estimations, supplies, medications and equipment including mechanical ventilators and other life support devices.

Output 4: Support reviewing and strengthening capacity in countries for provision and storage of oxygen supplies to respond to COVID-19 pandemic and future potential pandemic of respiratory infections

Output 5: Provide technical assistance on strengthening care pathway/health system to respond to COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics, including and not limited to provision of support to existing health facilities, makeshift hospitals, quarantine and isolation centers and home based care, following updated and standard guidelines and principles for quality of care and case management as deemed necessary.

Output 6: Work in coordination with the COVID‐19 incident management team and provide assistance on clinical management concerns in the regional office’s development of subnational care pathways.

Output 7: Ensure close coordination between clinical management, Infection Prevention and Control, and laboratory response;

Output 8: Perform any other COVID-19 clinical management related duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

Deliverables:

• Weekly activity summaries
• Monthly progress report against activities 1 to 7;
• Technical report at the end of consultancy.

Specific Requirements

Education

Essential: University degree in medicine with advanced university degree (Master’s level or above) in COVID-19 related fields, e.g. emergency medicine, intensive care, pulmonology, anaesthesiology, public health or infectious diseases, from an accredited/recognized institute.
Desirable: Qualification in specialised medicine in aforementioned clinical fields, with extensive experience in public Health, health systems, hospital management, clinical coaching and education, and/or other related area.

Experience

Essential: At least seven years of clinical practice at the national and/or international levels.
Desirable: Experience in intensive care units, epidemiology, research and analysis, and/or the development of quality assessment tools and databases for monitoring and evaluation purposes

Skills / Technical skills and knowledge

• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent analytical, planning and organizational skills
• Ability to work in a team with limited supervision
• Ability to work under pressure

Language requirements

Proficient in written and spoken English; mastery of other UN languages used in WPR region is a plus.

Competencies

• Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
• Moving forward in a changing environment
• Ensuring the effective use of resources
• Fostering Integration and team work
• Communication in a credible and effective way

Place of assignment

The consultant will perform tasks remotely for the duration of the consultancy.

Medical clearance

The selected Consultant is not expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

Travel

The Consultant is not expected to travel during the assignment.

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.
• 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 prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the 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.
• 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.