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Qualifications

Purpose of consultancy

The aim of this consultancy is to provide appropriate and timely health interventions to respond to needs of survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in countries of the African Region (AFRO) that experience health emergencies, disasters, or armed conflicts.  Based out of the Dakar Hub, and under the supervision of the Technical Officer on Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies (GBViE) for AFRO and the EPR Hub Coordinator, the consultant will be responsible for advocating for the inclusion of GBV in WHO’s responses to health emergencies, conducting scoping missions to identify gaps/needs, ensuring that GBV health interventions in emergency responses are timely and appropriate, supporting in-country and virtual trainings of health providers and managers on WHO’s standards on First-Line Support and Clinical Management of Rape and Intimate Partner Violence, and reviewing and/or contributing to regional or national adaptations of key technical and normative guidance/tools.

Background

Support from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration for the past five years has allowed WHO to make considerable progress towards institutionalizing the response to GBV within its global, regional, and country-based emergency work. Key accomplishments include:

·         Strengthened institutional capacity to address GBV;

·         Improved coverage and quality of health service delivery to GBV survivors in humanitarian settings;

·         Improved capacity of the Health Cluster/Sector to respond to GBV in new emergencies;

·         New and updated technical tools;

·         Influencing the Health Cluster/Sector to take action to address GBV;

·         Improving availability and quality of clinical care for GBV survivors; and

·         National adaptations of WHO guidelines and tools.

Despite significant progress, challenges remain. In this sixth year of an initiative to strengthen WHO’s work on GBV in humanitarian contexts, we would like to pursue and deepen this area of our emergency response and consolidate our achievements.

As the institutional commitment to GBViE improved within WHO, the demand for technical support on GBViE by country offices, Ministries of Health, Health Clusters, and partners on GBViE has increased dramatically across AFRO. Two regional initiatives have contributed heavily to this increase in demand:

·         The deployment of a GBViE consultant to the Sahel Command Centre to raise awareness among target countries on WHO’s mandate on GBViE and provided technical support to the national Health Clusters to ensure that GBV was included in their analyses of humanitarian needs and emergency response design (from August 2022 to February 2023) and;

·         AFRO’s SURGE (Strengthening and Using Emergency Response Clusters) flagship project created a huge opportunity for WHO to sensitize Ministries of Health in each of the 47 countries on GBV in the context of efforts to empower them to mobilize and respond to public health emergencies within 24 hours.  A 3-day module on GBV was piloted in the summer of 2022 in Mauritania, Togo and Niger and finalized in May 2023.

This consultancy aims to build on WHO’s key GBViE achievements in AFRO since 2018 and maintain the momentum generated by the Sahel IMS and SURGE Flagship Project so that GBV is embedded as a core component of the health response every health emergency, disaster and/or armed conflict in the African Region.

Deliverables

Output 1: Inclusion of GBV in WHO’s responses to health emergencies

·         Activity 1.1: Technical assistance to Health Clusters/Sectors to ensure that GBV is considered in humanitarian needs analyses and response plans.

·         Activity 1.2: Review of grant applications to ensure GBV is included.

·         Activity 1.3: Monitoring of key performance indicators for GBViE.

Output 2: Technical support to WHO Country Offices

·         Activity 2.1: Deployment to a new or ongoing emergency to conduce scoping missions, rapid assessments and/or needs analyses, including on SEA risks, depending on the context.

·         Activity 2.2:  Initial planning with WCO to produce GBViE RoadMaps (action plans to integrate GBV into WCO’s operations).

·         Activity 2.3: Technical assistance to lead Health Facility Readiness exercises.

·         Activity 2.4: Verbal debrief with WR and key WCO staff in country, and scoping mission/rapid assessment and/or needs analysis reports outlining main successes, challenges, and recommendations for programming.

·         Activity 2.5: Follow-up of recommendations of scoping missions/rapid assessments/needs analyses.

Output 3: Strengthening capacity of WHO staff, Health Cluster/Sectors and partners on the health response to GBV in priority countries

·         Activity 3.1: Provide training packages to WCOs as requested, adapting case studies and scenarios as needed.

·         Activity 3.2: Conduct and/or co-facilitate in-country trainings of health providers on WHO’s standards on First-Line Support and Clinical Management of Rape and Intimate Partner Violence.

·         Activity 3.3: Support virtual trainings of health providers on WHO’s standards on Clinical Management of Rape and Intimate Partner Violence.

·         Activity 3.4: Facilitate Module 4 on GBV as part of the SURGE Flagship Initiative, in collaboration with PRSEAH colleagues.

·         Activity 3.5: Provide follow-up of trainers via online survey and individual interviews to document lessons learned and impact of capacity-building initiatives on trainers and participants.

Output 4:  Dissemination and uptake of French WHO materials

·         Activity 4.1: Review and/or contribute to regional or national adaptations of key technical and normative guidance/tools.

·         Activity 4.2: Support implementation of dissemination strategy for French VAW/GBV products and training materials.

Educational Qualifications

Essential

ü  Master’s degree in one of the following fields: social work, nursing, medicine, public health, women’s or gender studies.

Experience

Essential

ü  At least 5 years’ work experience in health-related interventions in emergencies, including violence against women/gender-based violence.

Desirable

ü  At least 3 years field experience in areas of GBV in emergencies, ideally in a range of settings, including in a coordination role.

ü  Training and experience in public health is desirable.

ü  Sexual and Reproductive and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support experience with Internally Displaced Populations and/or refugees an asset.

ü  Experience in high security risk environments desirable.

Skills/Knowledge

Essential

ü  Technical knowledge of gender-based violence in humanitarian settings and strong training skills required.

ü  Knowledge of the IASC, UN agency mandates, and role of Cluster Leads, and practical experience as Health Cluster or GBV Sub-Cluster Coordinator an asset.

ü  Experience assessing health services and coordinating support to GBV survivors preferred.

ü  Experience providing mental health services and/or psychosocial support an asset.

ü  Excellent spoken and written French required and preferably working knowledge of English.

Desirable

Ability to deliver key mandate-specific advocacy messages on GBV in emergencies desirable.

Languages required

• Expert knowledge of French is required and working knowledge of English is an asset. 

Location

On-site – Dakar, Senegal

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel.

The Consultant is expected to travel, including for deployments, technical support missions and training activities, according to relevant itineraries and schedules, based on country demand, as requested by Team Lead, and in consultation with the GBViE Technical Advisor for AFRO.

All travel arrangements will be made by WHO – WHO will not be responsible for tickets purchased by the Consultant without the express, prior authorization of WHO.  Visas requirements: it is the Consultant’s responsibility to fulfil visa requirements and ask for visa support letter(s) if needed.  While on mission under the terms of this consultancy, the Consultant will receive subsistence allowance in line with the instructions applicable locally, or up to the maximum of the UN DSA.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration:

Band level B – USD – USD 8500-9980 per month

Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited)

A living expense is payable to on-site consultants

Expected duration of contract

3 months initially

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. 
• WHO is committed to workforce diversity. 
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco. 
• Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged. 
• 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 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 final candidates. 
• Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority. The execution of the work under a consultant contract does not create an employer/employee relationship between WHO and the Consultant. 
• WHO shall have no responsibility whatsoever 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.