UNICEF recrute 01 Consultant Roster

Consultant Roster – Vaccine Management – WCARO, Dakar, Senegal

Job Number: 521811 | Vacancy Link

Locations: Africa: Senegal

Work Type : Consultancy

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, hope

Background

Proper logistics planning and vaccine management is crucial in improving vaccination campaigns results (child immunization) and any other outbreak response measures. UNICEF assists several countries to have effective vaccine management support to disease outbreak response planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and national immunization programs.

Despite the encouraging progress made in West and Central Africa towards polio eradication where no wild poliovirus has been reported since August 2016, the region continues to be affected with a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) with 1 confirmed case in 2016, 24 in 2017 and 62 in 2018 in Nigeria (33), DRC (19), and Niger (10). Other countries in the region have been considered at risk of re-emergence or importation of the polioviruses due to the existence of important pockets of unimmunized/under-immunized children. The region also notified other VPDs such as measles in twelve countries; as well as Yellow Fever in three countries in 2018, and ongoing Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in DRC. Many of these outbreaks are affecting the high-risk groups i.e. insecurity areas, nomadic, high ethnic minority populations, urban populations and populations living in slum areas, migrants, etc. One of the underlying causes is often the lack of evidence-based communication interventions to address the demand side barriers in certain ethnic groups or other high-risk populations.

As a key partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), UNICEF has the mandate of providing technical assistance to the countries to ensure a fast and effective logistics and vaccine management support whenever a disease outbreak is confirmed.  The organization relies on highly trained and experienced personnel of staff and consultants to meet this obligation.

How can you make a difference?

Objectives

This consultancy aims to identify professionals for the roster in Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI), Vaccine Management. The consultant is expected to provide Vaccine Management technical assistance to WCARO country offices (COs) in Polio Eradication Initiative, vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks, and any other disease outbreaks (ex: Ebola Virus Disease). This vacancy announcement is a campaign to attract Vaccine Management experts who are interested in short term (3 to 6 months) outbreak response assignments with UNICEF in WCARO countries.

Under the supervision of the CO Polio coordinator, and in close coordination with the CO Immunization section, the incumbent is responsible for providing technical guidance, leadership and strategic inputs, supporting the development and implementation of targeted and data driven vaccine management strategies, to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of health for timely and effective planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of logistic plans for Polio SIA and any Vaccine-Preventable Disease (VPD) outbreak response, and the preparedness and response to any Public Health Emergency situation with focus on diseases outbreaks.

The Vaccine Management consultant will collaborate closely with national counterparts in the Ministry of Health, as well as the partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), including WHO, CDC, Gates Foundation, and any potential partners to coordinate logistics and vaccine management efforts during outbreaks response.

Scope of work

The Vaccine Management consultant will work with country PEI, VPD initiatives, and any other outbreak response partners in the country to:

Estimate the needs for vaccines,

Develop the cold chain and logistics aspects of the national response plan: distribution plan, accountability framework, collection, verification, and disposal of mOPV2;

Adapt operational procedures for epidemic management and vaccine management in accordance with the country accountability framework.

Participate in various coordination meeting, including the meetings of the Logistics Subcommittee.

Liaise with UNICEF programme and supply divisions and support country office and MOH logistics teams to streamline:

Planning, ordering and arrival of vaccines and consumables;

Authorizations from national regulatory authorities necessary for the receipt of vaccines.

Support the MoH and GPEI teams to monitor the implementation of all aspects of the Cold Chain, Logistics and Vaccine Management as outlined in the Epidemic Response Plan and the Guidance Note on CDC and Vaccine Management in Polio SIAs:

Ensure that the inventory of active and passive cold chain equipment is updated, that the cold chain operates properly (temperature measurement, battery recycling, vaccine packaging, etc.) and facilitate the optimization of storage capacity through short, medium and long-term planning of cold chain equipment;

Facilitate the distribution and optimal use of vaccines and consumables according to macro and micro-plans and ensure that receipts comply with the distribution plan;

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 A forms) and their daily transmission at the antenna, coordination and central levels;

Collect and analyse 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.

In the case of SIAs using mOPV2, the Vaccine Management and Cold Chain specialist will provide technical assistance to the MoH and GPEI partners to ensure compliance with procedures, such as :

At the end of each cycle, all open mOPV2 vials are disposed in accordance with WHO and/or national guidelines and all unopened and in good condition vials are recovered at a predetermined level in the supply chain for later use;

Coordination of Independent Vaccine Monitoring activities includes: training of supervisors, coordinators and monitors, supervision, compilation of monitoring data and transmission of area of responsibility reports.

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.

Coordinate with partners to implement appropriate logistical solutions to ensure the availability of vaccines in hard-to-reach areas.

Monitor the performance indicators of health facilities and take corrective actions to optimize results to improve the quality of activities.

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.

Support epidemic response assessment teams (OBRAs) with information related to vaccine management, logistics and the cold chain.

Undertake other tasks and responsibilities, at the request of country or regional office officials and other partners, to contribute to the success of the response to the epidemic.

Deliverables and Schedules

Deliverable	Timeline
The cold chain inventory for areas of responsibility is updated.	4 weeks prior the campaign
The distribution plan for cold chain equipment (if applicable), vaccines, management and communication tools and inputs is shared at all levels	7 days prior the campaign
Vaccine management training has been provided and the results of post-tests have been reported.	7 days prior the campaign
Vaccine management reports (Forms A for mOPV2 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 campaign
Vaccine consumption data and performance indicators are collected, verified and compiled in the vaccine management report for each level, transmitted on time, analysis has been carried out and corrective actions have been prescribed.	Two weeks after each campaign
Independent Monitoring questionnaires are collected, verified and compiled in the Independent Monitoring report.	Two weeks after each campaign
The destruction reports of vaccine vials (if applicable) in the area of responsibility, are collected, verified and compiled in a report.	4 weeks after each campaign
All national consultants have been evaluated, the evaluation sheets are collected, and a summary table has been sent to the national level.	4 weeks after each campaign

Timing

The Vaccine Management consultant will be deployed to the disease outbreak country two weeks after the confirmation of the outbreak and will stay in the country at least 6 months until the closure of the outbreak.

Reporting Requirements

The Vaccine Management consultant will be required to report on bi-weekly basis on the progress of supported activities, to his CO supervisor and to the WCARO Polio Team (the Vaccine Management Focal Person, and the Team Lead). Bi-weekly activities progress reports will be submitted electronically.

The Vaccine Management consultant will also be required to submit an electronic report, to his CO supervisor and WCARO Polio Team, of all special activities including:

Trainings

Investigations

Country level coordination meetings

Special advocacy meetings

Etc.

Administrative Issues

The Vaccine Management consultant will be working under the supervision of the CO Polio coordinator or any designated supervisor, in close coordination with the CO C4D and Immunization sections.

Consultant will have his/her own equipment (laptop and software) and UNICEF will provide him or her with the office space.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

The specialist in Vaccine Management, Cold Chain and Logistics should:

Have a Master’s degree in logistics management, supply chain, health logistics or other health-related fields (pharmacy, engineer). At least two years of additional relevant work experience in the same field may be considered in lieu of a Master’s degree.

Having at least 5 years of professional experience at national and international level in EPI logistics management (Cold Chain, Vaccine Management, Waste Management), vaccination campaign logistics management, field experience of mOPV2 management will be an asset.

Have skills in leadership, teamwork and training.

Be proficient in computer tools, including Excel, Word and PowerPoint software

Masters the EPI’s logistics tools (SMT, DVDMT, Cold Chain Inventory tools).

Fluency in French is required, and a working knowledge of English would be an asset.

Have strong ability to express clearly and concisely ideas and concepts in written and oral form.

Required documents and certificates

Copy of academic diplomas

P11 updated

For every Child, a new idea

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The technical competencies required for this post are….

View our competency framework at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

“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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.”

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Closing Date Wed Jun 03 2020 01:55:00 GMT+0200 (Paris, Madrid (heure d’été))