• Country: Manila, Philippines
• No of vacancies: N/A
  
• Salary: N/A
• Organization: WHO
• Gender: Both
• Deadline: 2024-02-20

Purpose of the Consultancy

The incumbent will provide support to the Executive Officer, Office of Director for Programme Management, and the Technical Officer (AMR Coordination) to facilitate joint missions with relevant divisions to countries and develop AMR country strategy case studies accordingly.

Background

Advancing the development of cross-cutting programmes – in which multiple sectors are involved – is always challenging, given the complexity of issues and the joint efforts needed to coordinate between sectors and divisions. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of it, which was included as one of the thematic priorities of WHO in the Western Pacific Region to fulfil the vision of building the healthiest and safest region. Cross-cutting coordination is essential to foster a sustainable system in which antimicrobials remain effective to save lives. Combatting AMR involves managing interactions between humans, animals and the environment, as well as a wide range of sectors, including: infection prevention and control; surveillance; water sanitation and hygiene; food safety; immunization; regulatory strengthening for medical products; laboratory capacity and diagnostic stewardship; environmental health; animal health; awareness-raising and advocacy.

The key is to engage all stakeholders in order to amass expertise and influence. With this concept in mind, the WHO Regional Office started early in 2023 to bring together stakeholders within the Organization with the Mechanism. Led by the directors of Programme Management and Health Systems and Services, the Mechanism also includes technical divisions responsible for programmes related to AMR in the divisions of Health System and Services, Health Security and Emergencies and Programmes for Disease Control. The Division of Healthy Environments and Populations, the Data, Strategy and Innovation group and communications team also contributed by expanding partnerships and adapting new approaches, including Communication for Health. The Division of Pacific Technical Support and WHO country offices are also key members of this Mechanism, given their role in strategic planning, implementation and advocacy at the country level.

The AMR Coordination Mechanism focuses on action for country impact through cross-cutting collaboration. The Mechanism has been working to identify key drivers of AMR and gaps in countries, as well as priority actions with result-based metrics, the Global Action Plan and the Framework for Accelerating Action to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance in the Western Pacific Region as a foundation. Specifically, a project was launched in 2023 by the Regional Office to identify key gaps and priorities in selected countries. The project went through situation analysis based on available resources, identified potential gaps using a people-centred framework, and proposed a set of key priorities with timeline based on impact-feasibility metrics for each country – Philippines, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Viet Nam. Based on the findings at country level, the report advised the Regional Office with a set of priority topics where coordinated support from relevant divisions could focus on.

As a follow up of this study, the Regional Office plans to organize a series of joint missions with relevant staff and experts to look into the findings of the study, identify the root causes and explore the tipping point that can trigger the change to address the root cause. This is to ensure that WHO is providing a more targeted support and advice to the Member States, and also the coordination around AMR is objective- and project-based and can lead to country impact as it originally planned.

With this idea in mind, the DPM Division at the Regional Office is looking for a consultant to provide full-time support to this joint mission(s), facilitate in-depth discussion during the mission and write country case study for AMR coordination accordingly. The consultant will also support organizing and developing conference materials for the AMR Ministerial Meeting planned for 2024.

Deliverables

Under the supervision of the Executive Officer, Office of Director for Programme Management, and the Technical Officer (AMR Coordination), the incumbent provides support to the team as follows:

Output 1: Organize of a series of joint mission to countries consisting of relevant staff and experts, and facilitate meetings and discussions to identify the root causes of the key gaps of AMR and the action point to initiate the change at country level

Deliverable 1.1: Based on the key findings of the AMR gap and priority assessment study (report will be provided), develop concept note of phase II of the study, including the terms of reference of a joint mission on a certain topic in collaboration with relevant staff at the Regional Office and country offices
Deliverable 1.2: Work with TO (AMR Coordination) and develop the participants list of each joint mission, draft agenda and meeting documents, and facilitate in-depth discussion during the mission
Deliverable 1.3: Prepare mission documents including meeting minutes, travel report, summary of the mission, discussions and recommendation to WHO and Member States as next steps

Output 2: Write country case studies based on the two phases of the AMR gaps and priorities assessment study
Deliverable 2.1: Write country case studies for AMR coordination to support prioritization and implementation at country level
Deliverable 2.2: Assist WHO in submitting the case studies in a WHO publication and/or academic journal.

Output 3: Support organizing and developing conference materials for the AMR Ministerial Meeting planned for 2024
Deliverable 3.1: Support developing meeting materials including agenda, talking points, press release, communique, and meeting summary
Deliverable 3.2: Support facilitating discussions during the meeting as required.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential: University degree in public health, medicine, infectious diseases, social science or communication.

Experience:

Essential: Minimum five years of working experience in the field of AMR, One Health, prevention and management of infectious diseases with drug-resistant pathogens or relevant areas Experience in strategic planning Experience in cross-cutting coordination
Desirable: Experience in policy advocacy and communications. Experience working with WHO or other UN agencies.

Skills and knowledge:

Ability to develop strategies and planning document
Ability to write quality documents that meet the publication standard
Proactive and capable of effective communication and teamwork.

Language:

Expert knowledge of English (speak/read/write)

Location

On site: Manila, Philippines

Travel

The consultant is not expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget

Remuneration:  USD 7,000
Expected duration of contract: 11 months, 1 March 2024 to 31 January 2025

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.
•    The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.
The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply for WHO jobs.
Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to  reasonableaccommodation@who.int
•    An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. 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 (https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values) 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 short-listed candidates.
•    WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
•    Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority.
•    WHO shall have no responsibility 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.
•    Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.
•    In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click the link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates    .

APPLY NOW