Organization: UNICEF – United Nations Children’s Fund
Location: Monrovia
Grade: Mid level – NO-C, National Professional Officer – Locally recruited position
Occupational Groups:
Public Health and Health Service
Malaria, Tuberculosis and other infectious diseases
Closing Date: 2024-05-04
UNICEF Liberia is seeking to hire a qualified candidate to coordinate and supervise the work of 15 Vaccine Management Consultants who will be deployed to the 15 counties of Liberia to support the planning, implementation and monitoring of the nationwide polio vaccination campaign.
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, immunization is a must!
How can you make a difference?
I. Background:
Liberia has recorded two positive environmental samples of polio (CVDPV2) as of March 1, 2024 indicating the risk of further positives (either environmental or human). There are ongoing polio transmissions in Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone which are all bordering Liberia.
This situation coupled with the sub-optimal routine immunization data places Liberia as a high-risk country and an outbreak response including a nationwide immunization campaign needs to be conducted as soon as possible. The immunization campaigns need to be synchronized across the four countries to achieve maximum impact once all logistics, vaccines, surge requirements are in place.
In this light, a Vaccine Management Consultant (NOC) is needed to coordinate and supervise the work of 15 Vaccine Management Consultants who will be deployed to the 15 counties of Liberia to support the planning, implementation and monitoring of the nationwide polio vaccination campaign.
II. Purpose of Activity/Assignment:
Effective management of nOPV2 vaccines in an outbreak situation is critical to ensure that vaccines are deployed timely, enough vaccines are issued, and all vaccines issued are retrieved and accounted for. UNICEF is a key partner to support vaccine management during Polio outbreak response hence the justification to engage national field consultants who will be to be supervised at the national and operational levels. The consultant will work in close collaboration with international vaccine management consultant, the Immunization Specialists, MoH counterparts, WHO counterparts and UNICEF staffs a large.
III. Scope of Work:
Support the regional, county and health facility vaccine store managers, the national vaccine management consultants to plan the nOPV2 campaign, implement the campaign as well as to distribute vaccines and other related logistics to the various levels of the health system in efficient and timely manner.
Support national vaccine management consultants, the district and health facility Vaccine Accountability Coordinators to ensure that all vials are retrieved, and unused vials properly destroyed.
To identify gaps and put in place strategies and detailed plans on vaccine and cold chain management aspects of the polio emergency response based on field monitoring visits and report.
IV. Work Assignment Overview:
Objective 1: Support the national vaccine management consultants, the regional, county and health facility vaccine store managers to distribute vaccines and other related logistics to the various levels of the health system in efficient and timely manner. Ensure the rigorous accountability of every vial of vaccine sent to each county as well as the retrieval of every single vial of vaccine sent to each county.
Tasks/Milestones
Deliverables/Outputs
Timeline
Estimated Budget
Key Activities/Task
Develop the detailed plan on vaccines requirements, last-mile distribution, and end-user monitoring with technical forecasting, and quantification of bundled polio vaccines, CCE and other logistics with timely distribution of bundle vaccines and data collection tools to all levels of the supply chain
Review and analyze cold chain storage capacity to accommodate the required polio vaccines for each round of polio campaign as well as the functionality assessment of cold chain equipment (CCE) at all levels of the supply chain
Organize weekly coordination meetings with all Vaccine Management Consultants two weeks to the campaign and daily coordination meetings one week to the campaign.
Estimate the needs for vaccines and associated supplies for counties of the outbreak response in accordance with micro-plans.
Support country office and MOH logistics teams to streamline planning, ordering and arrival of vaccines and consumables
Train staff and partners involved in the response in vaccine management, logistics and cold chain management in accordance with the guidance note and available learning modules. This includes the deployment of management tools and training materials in the country.
Detailed bundle vaccines and data collection tools distribution plans developed
Detailed report on cold chain storage capacity and CCE functionality developed
Coordination meeting reports
Supplies sales orders raised, distribution plan developed and all other vaccine logistics arranged in time.
National cold chain inventory and nOPV2 logistics plan updated or developed
All SOPs on cold chain and vaccine management updated to reflect nOPV2
Staffs at all levels of the supply chain are trained on the management of nOPV2 (storage, distribution, handling, retrieval and disposal)
Ongoing from 1 May – 30 June 2024
25%
Objective 2: Support Vaccine Management Consultants, district and health facility Vaccine Accountability Coordinators to ensure that all vials are retrieved, and unused vials properly destroyed.
Tasks/Milestones
Deliverables/Outputs
Timeline
Estimated Budget
Collect and analyze vaccine stock and utilization status at all levels of the supply chain after each round;
Submit vaccine stock reports when submitting requests for additional vaccines.
Ensure that all unusable vials are destroyed according WHO guidelines and or Country laws and regulations
Provide frequent and regular reports to the technical manager on all aspects of vaccine management, cold chain logistics and contribute to the drafting of SITREPS and bulletins. Prepare reports according to GPEI requirements at the end of each round and at the end of the campaign.
Undertake other tasks and responsibilities (especially in support of routine immunization), at the request of country or regional office and other partners, to contribute to the success of the response to the epidemic.
Review and analyze vaccine wastage and final disposal of nOPV2 with proper documentation and reporting on Vaccines Accountability Monitoring (VAM) in line with national and GPEI global guidelines.
Vaccine stock and utilization report for each round of campaign
Vaccines accountability and disposal report available
Full report of campaign implementation covering vaccine management, cold chain and logistics
Report of support provided to strengthen routine immunization
Vaccine management reports (Forms A for nOPV2 or equivalent for other vaccines) are verified, signed and collected. Those include physical inventories and details on open and unopened vials 5 days after each round of campaign
Detailed nOPV2 utilization and disposal report for each campaign
Ongoing from 1 May – 30 June 2024
25%
Objective 3: To identify gaps and put in place strategies and detailed plans on vaccine and cold chain management aspects of the polio emergency response based on field monitoring visits and report.
Tasks/Milestones
Deliverables/Outputs
Timeline
Estimated Budget
Participate in various coordination meetings, including the meetings of the Logistics Subcommittee.
Ensure the proper storage of vaccines and consumables at each level of the supply chain;
Develop mechanisms to accelerate the preparation, verification, correction and compilation of reports (vaccine utilization reports and form A) and their daily transmission to coordination center and central levels;
Coordination of Independent Vaccine Monitoring activities including training of supervisors, coordinators and monitors, supervision, compilation of monitoring data and transmission of reports.
Coordinate with partners to implement appropriate logistical solutions to ensure the availability of vaccines in hard-to-reach areas.
Reports, minutes and attendance of all meetings attended by the consultant
Regular (weekly and monthly) vaccine stock and utilization report
Training report of all vaccine accountability monitors (VAM), supervisors and coordinators on nOPV2 (storage, distribution, handling, retrieval and disposal)
Field reports on vaccine management, logistics and supportive supervision in urban and hard-to reach areas.
Ongoing from 1 May – 30 June 2024
50%
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Education:
Degree in health related discipline, logistics management, supply chain, health logistics, business management ).
Work Experience:
Professional/Technical Experience: At least, 2 years of professional experience at related to Cold Chain, Vaccine Management, Waste Management, vaccination campaign logistics management, field experience of OPV management will be an asset.
Relevant work experience in emergency response especially epidemics; Experience with public health supply chain and cold chain management issues.
Leadership skills, teamwork and ability to conduct training.
Masters EPI logistics tools (SMT, Cold Chain Inventory tools).
Additional training in immunization and cold chain is an asset
Other skills and competencies required:
Results-driven and good writing skills.
Language Proficiency:
Fluency in English and a local dialect is essential.
VI. Working conditions
Office Based
The consultant is expected to use his/her own ICT equipment.
VII. Supervision:
The consultant will be supervised by Immunization Specialist.
VIII. Technical and Financial Proposals:
Applicants are invited to submit with their online application:
A technical proposal that outlines their understanding of the task and proposed methodology or cover letter explaining why they are well placed to undertake this assignment
A recently updated CV
A financial proposal which must be an all-inclusive cost (consultancy fees, mission expenses, travels, etc.).
Applicants are invited to submit their financial proposals in USD using the template below:
Description
Unit
Quantity
Unit cost
Total (USD)
Consultancy fees
Daily subsistence allowance, if applicable
Other (to be specified)
Total
Selection criteria will be based on qualifications, skills, expertise and experience in the required field, and quality of the technical and financial offer. Each application will be assessed first on its technical merits and subsequently on its price.
Evaluation Criteria (This will be used for the Selection Report)
A) Technical Evaluation (e.g. maximum 75 Points)
B) Financial Proposal (e.g. maximum of 25 Points)
Selection criteria will be based on qualifications, skills, expertise and experience in the required field, and quality of the technical and financial offer. Each application will be assessed first on its technical merits and subsequently on its price.
Recourse:
UNICEF reserves the right to terminate the contract and/or withhold all or a portion of payment if the rules and the regulations regarding confidentiality, ethics and procedures of UNICEF and the partners are not followed, the performance is unsatisfactory, or work/deliverables are incomplete, not delivered or fail to meet the deadlines. The deliverables will remain the copyright of UNICEF.
The consultant must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference.
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 here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
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:
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.