Purpose of consultancy

The consultant is expected to coordinate and support the drafting and completion of technical documents, research papers, programmatic and other materials to promote dissemination of lessons learnt from WHO’s support in multiple countries for Maternal and Child Health, Infection Prevention and Control (IP, Surgical and Critical Care Strengthening and Quality Safety.

Successful applicants will be added to the Consultancy Pool and will be contacted and offered opportunities to quote for short‑term consultancies when appropriate opportunities arise.

Background

Safe and Affordable Surgery (SA

Strengthening safe surgical care is a priority of the Western Pacific Region given its critical role in reducing death and disability and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage. Surgical care has received less attention compared to other health interventions despite its potential benefits. The Action Framework for Safe and Affordable Surgery in the Western Pacific Region (2021–2030) was adopted by Member States at the seventyfirst session of the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific in WHO WPRO has supported surgery operational planning in Cambodia, and Mongolia, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. Of these, Fiji, Cambodia, Mongolia and Solomon Islands began improving the sterilization of medical equipment in 2022 and Additional activities under SAS include prevention of surgical infections in selected countries of the Region.

Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child Health (RMNC

In response to the challenge of continued high rates of newborn mortality, the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRdeveloped an Action Plan Towards Healthy Newborns in the Western Pacific Region (2014–2020). The Regional Action Plan outlines an approach for implementing and scaling up an Early Essential Newborn Care (EENpackage of interventions delivered to the mother and newborn between delivery and the first three days after birth. Implementation of EENC and Kangaroo Mother Care (KMhas focused in nine countries of the WPRO Region. WHO/WPRO is supporting improved quality and reach of EENC by improving routine health systems.

Deliverables

Based on individual selection and discussions, the consultant(will perform selective duties from the below:

Output/s

Output 1: In coordination with the MCQ team – support the drafting and completion of technical reports, research papers for publication, and other materials as needed. Support the dissemination of findings and lessons learnt.

Deliverable 1: Regional case report on safe and affordable surgery
Deliverable 2: Paper on healthcare quality and safety in the WPRO region
Deliverable 3: Paper on IPC regional scoping review methodology drafted and submitted for journal peerreview.
Deliverable 4: Paper on wellchild care findings from the Region drafted and submitted for journal peerreview.
Deliverable 5: Prepare communications materials and provide support for dissemination of findings including preparing powerpoint decks, newsletters and regional products.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential: Bachelor’s degree in public health with a focus on epidemiology, or health systems.

Experience

Essential: Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience in writing articles, journal papers and technical documents.
Experience in writing research papers, technical guidance documents and peerreviewed papers.

Desirable: Experience in working on quality of care and health systems strengthening.
Work experience in lowand middleincome country (LMIcontexts

Skills/Knowledge:

Essential:

Ability to independently determine and carry out statistical analysis and write the methods section.
Ability to independently draft the structure for technical documents.
Good knowledge of the use of study design, data entry, and data management.
Ability to proofread and edit technical documents, skilled in referencing documents.
Ability to conduct literature review, document review.
Ability to synthesise findings and develop/edit power point decks
Good analytical skills (making statistical and epidemiologic analysis in an appropriate and reliable manneand use of statistical software such as excel, STATA, SPSS, SAS or R
Familiarity with public health programs, use of programmatic data and indicators, and monitoring and evaluation of public health program

Languages and level required:

Essential: Expert knowledge of spoken and written English

Location

Off site: Homebased

Travel

The Consultant is expected to be available for travel ondemand basis as necessitated by project requirements. Travel details, including destinations, duration, and any related logistical considerations, will be communicated in advance to facilitate planning and coordination.

Remuneration and budget:

Remuneration: Band level A, USD 200300 (dail, depending on qualification.

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(/diploma(/certificate(required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHE, a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IA/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESC. 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 socioeconomic 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/diversityequityandinclusion) 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/whoweare/ourvalues) into practice.
• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SE, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassmen. 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 shortlisted candidates.
  WHO has a smokefree 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 (SH. 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. Countryspecific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccinationrelated queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.
• In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefo; (iclearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browse; or (iiretry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click the link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates.
• The purpose of this vacancy is to develop a list of qualified candidates for inclusion in the advertised roster. Successful candidates will be placed on the roster and subsequently may be selected for consultancy assignments; however, contracting of rostered candidates is not guaranteed..