Emergency Roster of Consultants – Field Coordinator at World Health Organization

Purpose of consultancy

• The purpose of the roster is to provide short-term support during acute events for up to three months which may be extended up to six months to one year depending on operational needs. Placement on the roster entails a general commitment from the external candidate to deploy within 1 to 2 weeks from when a request for availability is made.

During deployment, the duty station may change, and duties may be modified based on the technical needs of the Programme:

• Coordinate WHO's incident management system at the Sub-national level, assess and reassess the emergency, determine strategies, set objectives appropriate to the level of the required response, prioritizing filling health service delivery gaps, develop an operational planning cycle to reach health sector performance standards and approve the incident action plan (IAP) ensuring fulfilment of WHO's critical functions.
• Hold regular coordination meetings with operational partners working at the Sub-National level, building when possible on existing coordination fora in collaboration with the subnational Health Cluster Coordinator
• Ensure the implementation of the IMS, ensuring synergies and smooth functioning between the operational and technical components, oversee the monitoring and evaluation of the operations, and take corrective actions as necessary.
• Manage and supervise all WHO staff under his/her jurisdiction
• Participate in joint risk assessment needs analysis and ensure that humanitarian response needs (human resources, logistics, financial, security etc) are identified by planning and jointly coordinating with partners rapid assessments.
• Identify and make contact with local partners involved in the response and existing Sub-National coordination mechanisms, including Sub-National health authorities, international organisations and civil society - to advocate for operational gap-filling
• Guide the respective sub-national level's capacities with respect to emergency preparedness, response and recovery; ensure the participation of the country office in the joint risk assessment process of any suspected or actual emergency event.
• Build external relations to represent WHO and its positions in negotiations in relevant inter-agency and international for a involved with the incident management system at the country level. Immediate actions:
• Lead and Manage the Health Emergency Operations at the subnational level and provide technical advice to other agencies, emphasising the coordination and consolidation of health agencies and health cluster activities. Coordinate overall incident health-related activities to ensure the concerted approach of WHO in all required functional areas as per incident management structure.
• Support national and local health authorities and partner with UN agencies, international, governmental and nongovernmental organizations/institutions, in respect of the mobilization and coordination of resources, identify needs and funding gaps; encourage donors to fund the overall health sector response to affected populations.
• In cooperation with other levels of response, authorize the release of related information, communications, advocacy products and statements to internal and external partners as well as to the public. Provide information to/briefing of senior and elected officials as required, manage sensitive issues arising from the incident.
• Determines WHO response team staffing needs and ensures deployment arrangements and the mobilization of the required human resources. Provide leadership, motivation, guidance, and performance management of staff and experts, build dynamic and efficient teams to bolster WHO's incident management operations, take concrete measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all WHO responders.
• Collect information from all WHO technical experts, Regional Health bureau, other UN agencies and operational partners at Sub-National partners on Who, Where, since and until When, doing What, and regularly report to the National coordinator for feeding into the database managed by WHO. Provide consolidated feedback to all partners
• Assess and monitor the response activities related to humanitarian crisis in line with the Sub-National operational plan, including increasing access to basic lifesaving services, outbreak preparedness and response, Disease outbreak surveillance, social mobilisation and community engagement, case management; IPC, laboratory, communication and information management.
• Establish daily contact mechanisms with each affected area (hotspot) to monitor the situation and facilitate the implementation of required actions. Summarise and provide daily Sub-National updates to the Incident Manager using a standard reporting template and ensure the following of agreed actions.
• Promote adherence of standards and best practices by all response personnel, taking into account the need for local adaptation. Promote use of the available response guidelines to ensure the application of common approaches, tools and standards.
• Oversee demobilisation of the Operations Centre and restocking of supplies, as appropriate.
• Ensure that after-action activities are coordinated and completed, including collection of all event documentation and conduct of staff debriefings to identify accomplishments, response and improvement issues. Identify needed revisions to the event management procedures, job action sheets, operational procedures, records, and/or other related items

 writing the after action report and improvement plan.

Essential

Educational Qualifications

• A university degree in health-related fields, management, emergency, humanitarian, disaster management or related fields from an accredited/recognized institute.

Desirable:

• Specialized training in emergency management; specific training in humanitarian response. Medical degree.

Experience

Essential

• At least 5 years of related experience in emergency management and operations, with proven experience in emergency response. Substantial experience at both national and international levels in leadership positions, capacity-building and their implementation.
• Experience in developing and promoting collaborative partnerships and/or experience in developing countries. Substantial experience in efficient human and financial resource management.
• Desirable:
• Relevant work experience in outbreaks and/health emergency management and related strategy development with WHO and/or UN agencies, health cluster partners; experience working in relevant nongovernmental or humanitarian organizations.

Skills/Knowledge

• Demonstrated knowledge of the rapid response operations and their implementation in emergencies as related to public health, complemented by demonstrated ability to identify and manage difficult situations, to lead and direct multidisciplinary and multinational staff.
• Excellent skills in the assessment, monitoring, analysis, and evaluation of emergency situations, with the ability to conceptualize and implement innovative strategies and advocate their implementation.
• Authoritative and comprehensive knowledge of the theory, principles, methods, and techniques in international emergency incident management system.
• Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to quickly comprehend strategic and tactical objectives and to formulate comprehensive plans to address challenges/risks.

Closing Date

Oct 24, 2023