International Consultant: Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) at UNICEF

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International Consultant: Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) at UNICEF

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Afghanistan

Opportunity Deadline

26/02/2025

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Job Description

580144

As per organization's salary scale

5 Year

Both

Master Degree

Full title name: International Consultant: Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) Assessment and Continuous Improvement Development Plan (cIP) for Vaccine Management Optimization, Kabul, Afghanistan, 60 working days(Hybrid)

Job no: 580144
Contract type: Consultant
Duty Station: Kabul
Level: Consultancy
Location: Afghanistan
Categories: Programme Management

Job Description

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, Care

How can you make a difference?

The purpose of this consultancy is to support NEPI, MoPH, UNICEF, and partners in conducting the EVMA and developing a multiyear cIP based on the EVMA results.

Objective:

1. Conduct the Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) assessment in Afghanistan using EVM 2.0 tools.

2. Develop a multi-year continuous Improvement Plan using the result of the EVMA

3. Suggested timeline for follow up targeted assessment across criteria and stores

4. Populate the cIP in the global SCIP (supply chain improvement plan) for progress tracking.

Scope of Work:

Background:

Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) is a part national Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) planning process endorsed and supported by UNICEF and WHO. It is designed to assess and prioritize improvements in the immunization supply chain (iSC) and is embedded within the iSC’s continuous improvement planning process.

EVM 2.0 was developed by building on lessons learned from EVM 1.0 assessments conducted across multiple countries, as well as experiences gained from using the original EVM 1.0 assessment tool. The goal of EVM 2.0 is to provide countries with a broader, more powerful, agile, and sustainable solution for enhancing immunization supply chain systems (iSCS). The EVM initiative equips countries with the necessary tools to monitor and assess their immunization supply chain while also strengthening broader immunization program performance.

The last Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) assessment in Afghanistan was conducted in 2020 using the EVM 1.0 tool. Since then, the country has made significant advancements in its immunization program, including improvements in cold chain capacity and infrastructure at both the national and subnational levels.

In October 2024, Afghanistan conducted a external EPI review for the country, excluding the vaccine supply and logistics component. This component will instead be covered by the planned EVM assessment (EVMA) in 2025, the results of which will be incorporated into the overall EPI external review outcomes.

Ensuring continuous, high-quality childhood vaccination is a critical public health priority in every country, as it protects children from deadly vaccine-preventable diseases. Any decline in immunization quality and coverage increases the risk of preventable diseases, disability, and death among children.

The effectiveness of a country’s immunization system depends on the efficiency of its supply chain. Therefore, periodic assessments to identify gaps and challenges in the supply chain, along with continuous improvements, are essential to ensuring the timely supply of vaccines and other logistics, ultimately enhancing program performance.

One of Afghanistan’s key priorities for 2025 is to conduct a comprehensive EVM assessment using the EVM 2.0 tool. This assessment will help determine the current status of immunization supply chain management in key areas and support the development of an evidence-based continuous improvement plan.

The assessment will cover four supply chain levels in Afghanistan:

1. Central/National (Primary Level)

2. Regional (Subnational Level)

3. Provincial (Lower Distribution Level)

4. Health Facilities (Service Delivery Points)

A statistically agreed sampling method, embedded within the EVM 2.0 tool, will be used for the assessment.

A short-term international consultant will be hired to support and strengthen the country’s capacity in planning, training, and conducting EVM assessments, as well as in developing continuous improvement plans (cIP) and the EVMA narrative report. The consultant is expected to support the coordination of all critical components of the planned Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) Assessment using EVMA 2.0. Additionally, they will ensure capacity building, skills enhancement, and knowledge transfer to the Ministry of Health (MoH) and country office staff, enabling them to independently conduct targeted or follow-up EVM assessments after this full-country assessment.

The consultant will be responsible for ensuring the smooth execution of these tasks, adhering to timelines, and delivering high-quality outputs to strengthen the vaccine management system.

The consultant’s work arrangement will be hybrid, with both offsite and onsite responsibilities. For onsite work, they will be based in Kabul and will conduct field visits alongside the national EVM team.

Under the overall guidance of the Immunization Manager, the consultant will be supervised by the Immunization Specialist for Cold Chain. S/he will work closely with the National EPI Team of the Ministry of Public Health, the Immunization Unit, and other health units within UNICEF’s Country Office, as well as the EPI team of the World Health Organization and other partners/stakeholders.

Work Assignments Overview	Deliverables/Outputs	Delivery deadline
Task 1: Collated background population data for sampling and populate relevant details in the prescribed format to prepare for trainings and assessment. Support uploading of a complete setup file with units, locations, vaccine details and Supply chain parameters on the EVM tool Generate facilities samples and create assessment on EVM tool Work closely with the UNICEF and national EPI team to customize the EVM training presentations in local context as required.	Deliverable 1: Afghanistan assessment created on EVM2.0 tool and EVM training material customization	5 working days
Task 2: Review existing EVM SOPs to align with EVMA 2.0 Support NEPI and UNICFE country office team and partners in the review and adoption of the existing EVM SOPs in the country to align with EVMA 2.0	Deliverable 2: Finalise EVM SOPs	8 working days
Task 3: Orientation/training of national managers: Organize the Managers training on EVM2.0 Prepare a brief training report with pre and post training evaluation and participant feedback	Deliverable 3: EVM2.0 manager training report	4 working days
Task 4: Assessors’ identification, account creation and Training of assessors Finalize the list of assessors and team for undertaking field assessment along with MoPH. Ensure the EVM2.0 account creation for all the identified assessors. Organize the assessor’s training on EVM2.0 application tool usage and questionnaires Submit a brief training report with pre- and post-training evaluation and participants’ feedback.	Deliverable 4: EVM Assessors training report	8 working days
Task 5: Data collection and Quality assurance: Provide support remotely to all the assessors to clarifying any doubts while doing an assessment in the field. Undertake National Vaccine store assessment Ensure that all questionnaires of sampled facilities are completed and uploaded by assessors. Undertake measures for data quality assurance. Support the manager for assessment of program management section and questionnaires review and approval	Deliverable 5: Data uploaded and approved on the EVM2.0 tool	12 working days
Task 6: Data validation, analysis, and presentation: Organize data review and cleaning workshop to validate data collected. Conduct data analysis using EVM heat maps. Prepare a Power Point presentation with preliminary findings with SWOT analysis. Organize a debriefing meeting to disseminate the preliminary findings. Produce a preliminary report.	Deliverable 6: EVM2.0 preliminary report with SWOT analysis and key recommendations to guide cIP workshop	5 working days
Task 7: Development of a multi-year continuous improvement plan: Organize and facilitate cIP development workshop using Cip tool assistance Lead finalization of cIP and put the approved cIP in the SCIP tracking tool Train CO staff on the SCIP tracking tool.		10 working days
Task 8: Final report: A comprehensive report on the process, data, findings, and recommendations, inclusive of an executive summary, focused on the E1 to E9 and M1 to M4 criteria, categories C1 to C6 (Output and Performance) and Immunization supply chain performance with a SWOT analysis and clear recommendation for improvement of Immunization supply chain system	Deliverable 8: EVM final report with cIP as part of i	8 working days

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

An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in public health, supply chain management, health systems management, Business administration and any other related field
At least 5 years’ experience in Health System and Supply Chain Strengthening, including vaccine management.
Proven experience in undertaking EVM assessment preferably in mid-to-large countries
Familiarity with the EVM 2.0. tool
Capacity building of MOH staffs and skill transfer experience
Strong collaboration and coordination skills and ability to work collaboratively in multicultural and multidisciplinary teams.
Fluency in English (and other language(s) for the region/country if relevant) is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

How to apply:

Interested applicants are required to submit a financial proposal with an all-inclusive fee. Please see the financial proposal template here: Consultancy Financial Offer template.docx
Financial proposal must include travel costs (economy class) and daily subsistence allowance, if travel is required as per TOR and any other estimated costs: visa, travel/health insurance
Applications without a financial proposal will not be considered.

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For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Remarks:

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract 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 and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors 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.

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