BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Development of an IOA guided approach (IOA Toolkit) to support Public Health Emergency (PHE) responses in humanitarian settings and crises

Scope of Work:

Integrated Outbreak Analytics (IOA) applies a multidisciplinary (and multi actor) approach to understanding outbreak dynamics and to inform outbreak response. It aims to drive comprehensive, accountable, and effective public health and clinical strategies by enabling communities, and national and subnational health authorities to use data for operational decision-making. IOA embraces a holistic perspective of outbreak dynamics throughout: from the analytical questions to the data that are collected or accessed, to the interpretation of results and the recommendations that follow. In addition, IOA promotes co-development of evidence-informed recommendations with Ministries of Health (MoH). To track uptake of these recommendations, mechanisms have been developed to monitor implementation.

IOA is produced through partnerships and a multi-disciplinary community of practice. It is primarily a field-based initiative that leverages support from national, regional, and international experts to reinforce pre-existing local capacity. In response for growing demand for IOA technical guidance and support, in 2020, a network of agencies and organizations that work or are interested in working with this approach have come together under the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). This IOA Initiative seeks to support health ministries to lead accountable and evidence-based outbreak responses through technical expertise (trained local, national, international capacity), guidance (tools, training packages) and knowledge exchange (working groups, field exchange) as well as identifying IOA subject matter experts. The IOA network mobilizes multiple actors, entities, and organizations, and optimizes.

In order to support actors working in Public Health Emergency (PHE) responses in humanitarian settings and crises, UNICEF is seeking to hire a consultant to work with IOA leadership (UNICEF as well as the IOA Core Team partners of WHO, MSF-Epicenter, CDC-Atlanta, IFRC and ITM) on the development of an IOA guided approach (IOA Toolkit). The IOA toolkit aims to create a guided approach (framework) for IOA, a set of core principles, procedures, and practice. This will be achieved through the development of an IOA toolkit consisting of an IOA guidance, including associated standard operating procedures (SOPs), IOA tools and existing case studies and animations.

The consultancy focuses on project management support in the IOA Toolkit development as well as the monitoring components for the toolkit piloting.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

• A draft landscape review of existing tools for IOA is produced by 28 February 2024
• A repository of existing IOA tools and resources is produced by 31 March 2024
• Drafted summary guide to IOA training packages (tools, use and how to set and run IOA trainings-simulation). Including 1 sample from each section by 30 April 2024
• 3 Workshop presentations (as well as folder with all preparatory notes, background work and agendas etc) for the review and feedback on toolkits. 3 workshop reports including collated feedback and concrete actions (with tracker and deadline)   by 31 July 2024
• 1 Monitoring framework for IOA toolkit including.

1. Tools for collecting feedback.
2. Timeline required.
3. Analysis plan

By June 10, 2024

• 1 trip report

1 summary of actions for IOA Toolkit amendment

1. including history and notes on decision making and recommendations (archived for process documentation)

By 31 July 2024

Qualifications

Education:

Master’s degree in public health, Epidemiology, Social sciences (with health)

Work experience:

• Min 3-5 years’ experience working in public health programming; project coordination related to health and/ or project management with research
• Experience working on / with Integrated Outbreak Analytics teams (or similar type of initiative in country or desk position)
• Experience in developing trainings, guides, project tools; coordinating health research and stakeholder events
• Experience in developing toolkits and guidance in group/ multi actor projects, Literature and /or landscape review, facilitating meetings with multiple stakeholders for product develop (concrete outcomes)

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and

• Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include/ reflect:
  • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.

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

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

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: 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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.