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JOB SUMMARY

Summary

This Special Service Agreement (SSA) holder will provide support for SAFER Uganda, a partnership led by the Ministry of Health in Uganda and the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen implementation of effective and cost-effective interventions to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. The consultancy includes provision of operational and technical support on a fulltime basis (100% FTE) for 9 months, including project management of the SAFER Uganda implementation roadmap; research, analysis and development of SAFER Uganda technical products; convening stakeholder engagement; and development of advocacy and fundraising materials.

2.     Background

Alcohol consumption in Uganda

According to the WHO Global status report on alcohol and health 2018, 36.3% of Ugandans aged 15 years and older (49.1% of men and 23.8% of women) are current alcohol users.^[1] Total annual per capita consumption of alcohol among Ugandans aged 15 years and older is 12.48 L, which is very high compared to 4.8 L in the WHO African Region and 5.8 L globally.^[2] Harmful use of alcohol is associated with more than 60 diseases and conditions, including liver cirrhosis, mouth cancers, breast cancers, tuberculosis, suicides, interpersonal violence, alcohol use disorders and road traffic injuries and deaths. Among Ugandans aged 15 years and older, 7.1% have an alcohol use disorder,^[3] compared to 3.7 in the WHO African Region and 5.1 globally.^[4] The estimated road traffic death rate per 100 000 population is 29.39, compared to 27.21 in the WHO African Region and 17 globally.^[5]

National alcohol control policy

The Government of Uganda recognizes its responsibility to protect the population against the impacts of harmful use of alcohol and is committed to use proven cost-effective and affordable interventions for mitigating the harmful use of alcohol.³ The National Alcohol Control Policy, approved in November 2019, acknowledges that interventions to address concerns related to production, sale, consumption, regulation and the negative health impacts of alcohol have been fragmented and ineffective in addressing the problem. The policy provides a comprehensive approach to guide the development of a regulatory framework to address the priority interventions for ensuring safe production, sale, consumption of alcohol, in addition to regulation and management of alcohol related problems and conditions. To further advance its alcohol policy objectives, the Government of Uganda is developing an Alcohol Control Bill.

Description of Duties

The Special Service Agreement (SSA) Holder will be required to the following duties:

1. Provide technical and operational support for overall SAFER activities including development of the communication materials, policy briefs, strengthening and mainstreaming alcohol use control and delivering through existing national and local structures.

2. Work closely with WCO Technical Officer for noncommunicable diseases, AFRO, HQ and SAFER initiative partners in implementation of the SAFER road map, coordination and advocacy, including liaison with external partners (NGO, CSO, and youth).

3. Participate in monitoring and evaluation of SAFER interventions, at subnational level, and advocate for integration of the findings into technical and operational decision-making.

4. Participate in the capacity building activities and contribute to building the national capacity through needs identification, development, operationalization.

5. Where necessary, participate in the formative research, and/or liaise with stakeholders/partners conducting alcohol related research, including alcohol outlet density and alcohol advertisement density in selected sites.

8. Support the SAFER planning and mainstreaming interventions and activities as necessary.

9. Provide operational support for the SAFER Secretariat and working groups and coordinate implementing partners as well as track and report on implementation progress at various national and international fora.

10. Engage and convene stakeholders, as provided for in the SAFER roadmap.

11. Finalize the draft Communication and advocacy strategic documents in consultation with MOH and partners and facilitate their dissemination and use.

12. Support finalization of the SBIRT manual and monitor its use at PHC level.

13. Any other related role as may be assigned by the World Health Organization Representative

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education Qualifications

Essential: A Masters’ degree in public health, alcohol /substance abuse control from a recognized university.

Desirable: Specialized training in alcohol and substance use disorder prevention and control, training and impact evaluation substance use programs.

Experience

Essential: At least 5 years of relevant experience, at the national level, in applying multidisciplinary approaches in prevention and management of alcohol related harm.

1.       Strong organizational and project management skills and experience in managing alcohol control programs

2      Strong research and analytical skills, particularly in relation to alcohol control or similar public health policy

3.       Familiarity with the political, legislative and economic contexts in Uganda, particularly in relation to alcohol control or similar public health policy

4.       Experience facilitating multisectoral stakeholder engagement

5.       Proven experience in the application of participatory models of engagement in the health context.

Desirable: Experience in WHO, the UN System and/or NGOs in the area of alcohol-related harm prevention and management

Knowledge of WHO mandate and goals or experience in UN Organizations, international institutions or NGOs is considered an asset.

Skills

Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office applications.

Competences

·         Teamwork

·         Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

·         Communication

·         Producing results

·         Moving forward in a changing environment

Qualifications

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