Job no: 564309
Contract type: Consultant
Duty Station: Dar-es-Salaam
Level: Consultancy
Location: United Republic of Tanzania
Categories: Health
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, health
Through ongoing surveillance, as part of the global initiative to eradicate polio, recently there has been a detection of a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in Burundi in March 2023 and in the south-western part of Tanzania, in Rukwa region in May 2023. In response to this outbreak, and to interrupt the transmission of the virus, Tanzania is in the process of implementing two rounds of targeted Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIA) covering Kigoma and Kagera as a response to the outbreak in Burundi, and Katavi, Songwe, Rukwa and Mbeya, as a response to the outbreak in Rukwa. The SIA targets children under 8 years old using a novel Oral Polio Virus type 2 Vaccine (nOPV2) and is planned from August 2023.
How can you make a difference?
UNICEF intends to recruit 4 vaccine management specialists as full-time individual consultants to be deployed to Rukwa, Songwe, Katavi and Mbeya to provide technical assistance during the campaign. The vaccine management specialists will play a critical role in ensuring efficient and effective management of the nOPV2 vaccines during the campaign in the respective regions. Moreover, the specialist will be responsible for overseeing the planning, implementation, and monitoring of the vaccine distribution and administration, ensuring the availability, quality, accessibility, and accountability of all usable and unusable nOPV2 vaccine vials throughout the campaign.
Scope of work
The individual consultant, under the supervision and overall guidance of the UNICEF Immunization specialist, will provide technical and management support to the Immunization and Vaccine Development program (IVD), MOH PORALG, and Regional and Council Health Management Teams (RHMTs & CHMTs) in Mbeya, Rukwa, Songwe and Katavi, to accelerate the planning and implementation of polio campaign related to nOPV2 vaccines and cold chain management.
Specific tasks include:
• Development of a comprehensive effective vaccine management implementation plan with a monitoring framework for the nOPV2 campaign, outlining strategies, timeliness, and responsibilities for vaccine distribution, storage, and administration.
• Provide technical support and guidance to field teams during nOPV campaign, ensuring adherence to national policies, safety standards, and best practices for the effective implementation of SIA.
• Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the vaccine management plan, identifying challenges ad proposing corrective measures to optimize the campaign’s impact in subsequent rounds.
• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders including government authorities, healthcare workers, and partners in the respective regions and the EOC, to ensure a coordinated and efficient implementation of the nOPV2 campaign.
• Work with MoH and WHO to conduct capacity-building activities for healthcare workers involved in the campaign (RHMTs, CHMTs, district and health facility team supervisors, Vaccine Accountability monitors and partners), focusing on vaccine management protocols, cold chain maintenance, and proper administration techniques.
• Work with RHMT and CHMT (RIVOs, DIVO, VAM) to ensure continuous availability of nOPV2 vaccines and related supplies to all vaccination teams during the campaign and take appropriate measures to replenish the stock when there is a shortage/stock out.
• Collaborate with data management teams to ensure accurate and timely reporting on vaccine utilization, wastage, and coverage rates during the campaign.
• Using the available tools to provide technical leadership in nOPV2 monitoring and accountability of usable and unusable vaccines vials and ensure submission of the equivalent number of nOPV2 vials (used & unusable) to regional/national level at the end of the SIA.
• Work with MoH and relevant authorities to ensure retrieval and destruction of all unusable vials at the end of the campaign.
• Documentation and reporting: Preparing a comprehensive report on effective vaccine management during the implementation of the SIA and documentation of the lessons learnt. This includes the development of UNICEF information products related to the response including situation reports.
• Perform other duties as assigned within the scope of this work by the supervisor.
DELIVERABLES, TIME FRAME AND PAYMENT
| Work Assignments Overview | Deliverables/Outputs | Delivery deadline | Estimated Budget |
| Development of the comprehensive effective vaccine management implementation/logistic plan for nOPV2 campaignhttps | Regional logistic needs and effective vaccine management plan (not more than 10 pages) | End month 1 | 20% |
| Develop weekly analytical technical report covering achievements, gaps, and recommendations for improvement. | Six (6) weekly analytical technical reports covering achievements, gaps, and recommendations for improvement (2-4 pages) | End month 2 | 20% |
| Training health workers at national regional, district and facility level on nOPV2vaccine accountability | Training report + additional 4 weekly analytical technical reports as above | End month 3 | 20% |
| Participate in all assigned activities such as coordination meeting, supportive supervision etc. and share relevant updates | Coordination meeting updates, Supportive supervision reports etc. + additional 4 weekly analytical technical reports as above | End Month 4 | 20% |
| Develop final report | Final implementation report (including the report on remained usable and unusable nOPV2, and destruction of all unusable nOPV2 vials) | End month 5 | 20% |
| Total Payment | 100% | ||
ASSESSMENT / SELECTION PROCESS AND METHODS
Evaluations: The applicant should submit both technical and financial proposal which clearly stipulate how the work will be conducted. The Financial Proposal should include all costs of this assignment including fee, travel costs, accommodation as UNICEF will not pay any DSA.
Proposals will be both technically and financially evaluated. The technical part will carry a weight of 75%, in which the consultant will put clear his/her technical approach to ensure quality attainment of each deliverable and the consultancy in totality. The financial part will carry 25% showing the proposed budget breakdown of consultancy cost for each deliverable (fees, travels and accommodation) and eventual total consultancy cost.
LOCATION, DURATION & LOGISTIC
The consultants will be deployed to Songwe, Rukwa, Mbeya and Katavi (one consultant per region). The validity of the contract will be for 5 months. The consultant should indicate the travel costs in the financial proposal.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
- Advanced university degree (master level) in Public Health, Epidemiology, and other relevant fields with a background in health (MD, Nursing, Pharmacy or other relevant health disciplines)
- Five (5) years of professional work experience in health programming, implementation monitoring and/or evaluation of health programmes
- Proven expertise in vaccine management, cold chain, and logistics
- Experience of working with the national Immunization and Vaccine Development Department (IVD) in Tanzania mainland.
- Proven work relations with national (MoH, PORALG), regional, district and sub-district structures (RHMT and CHMT level).
- Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) to be able to liaise with a wide variety of people, good attention to detail
- Excellent facilitation skills, negotiation skills, and oral and written communication
- Fluency in written and spoken English and Swahili is required
- Strong analytical skills
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).
To view our competency framework, please visit here.
UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.
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 be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.
Remarks:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.
The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.
Deadline: 31 Jul 2023 E. Africa Standard Time
