Consultant – Maternal Health Commodities

Purpose of consultancy

To provide technical input to clinical maternal health operational guidance materials and documents on clinical interventions and commodities.

Background

The Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing (MCA) Department at WHO HQ aligns with the goals and targets related to maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health as set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health to support the achievement of WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work. The Department works closely with other technical units in HQ, WHO regional and country offices and partners to:

1. Generate and synthesize evidence and define norms and standards for maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health.
2. Support the adoption of evidence-based policies and multisectoral strategies for better health, through strengthening health systems and delivery of high-quality services towards universal access to people-centred health care.
3. Monitor and evaluate progress towards implementation of evidence-based policies and strategies for ‘survive, thrive and transform’.
4. Strengthen capacity for all the above functions across WHO, countries and partners.

Each year, almost 300,000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth, 2.6 million babies are stillborn, and 2.4 million babies die in the first month of life. WHO/MCA has a maternal health unit which is committed to strengthening generation of evidence, development of guidelines and tools, supporting country adaptation and implementation, and monitoring and measurement for country level impact.

WHO/MCA/MAH is in the process of developing operational guidelines and other documents to support maternal health programmes. This position will support WHO/MCA/MAH in developing and finalizing these materials in additional to building consensus with UN agencies and development partners with a focus on maternal health commodities and clinical interventions.

Deliverables

Task 1: Develop materials to support implementation research and implementation guidance materials for scaling up maternal health interventions.
Deliverable 1: Develop protocol for implementation research and monitoring of scaling up maternal health intervention to improve intrapartum care.

Task 2: Contribute to the development of guideline process for pre-eclampsia/eclampsia point of care tests to improve maternal survival.
Deliverable 1: Contribute to developing a guideline on pre-eclamspia/eclampsia point of care tests.

Task 3: Contribute to following up on the STAGE recommendation to develop an implementation strategy for scaling up WHO recommended commodities.
Deliverable 1: Contribute to the establishment of working group with key partners, professional organization and other stakeholders.
Deliverable 2: Develop and implement process for prioritization of WHO recommended commodities for scale up to improve maternal survival and well being in collaboration with working group.
Deliverable 3: Develop outline and plan for implementation strategy for scaling up prioritized WHO recommended commodities as part of health systems strengthening.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• Advanced university degree in midwifery, medicine, and/or obstetrics and gynecology.

Desirable:

• Advanced university degree (Masters or PhD) in Epidemiology, Public Health, International Health, or public health science related field.

Experience

Essential:

• Over 10 years’ experience in clinical practice for maternal and newborn health including providing clinical services to women and children.
• Experience in maternal and newborn health programmes.
• Experience living and working in low- and middle-income countries.

Desirable:

• At least 10 peer reviewed publications.
• Experience in maternal and newborn health research including midwifery research.

Skills/Knowledge:

• Ability working with colleagues from various cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to conceptualize and write about complex health topics.

Languages required:

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable:

• Basic knowledge of French.

Location

Off site: Home-based

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration:

Band level C-USD 10,000-12,500 per month.

Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited):

N/A

Expected duration of contract:

11 months

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 each location/jurisdiction in which the work hereunder is performed, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any reimbursement thereof by WHO.
• Consultants working in Switzerland must register with the applicable Swiss cantonal tax authorities and social security authorities, within the prescribed timeframes (Guidelines issued by the Swiss Mission are available at: https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-onu-geneve/en/home/manual-regime-privileges-and-immunities/introduction/Manuel-personnes-sans-privileges-et-immunites-carte-H/Non fonctionnaires et stagiaires.html