Consultant - Health Equity

Purpose of consultancy

To provide technical expertise to WHO capacity building activities on Health Equity and contribute to reporting on the UNSWAP on poverty.

Background

The Department of Gender, Rights and Equity (GRE) is in the Director-General’s Office. The Department works closely with a wide network of focal points at the three levels of the WHO secretariat, provides leadership, technical expertise and country support, and also provides capacity building for advancing gender equality, rights and health equity across the organization.

GRE’s Health Equity unit aims to catalyze change across WHO, Member States and partners for Leaving No One Behind (LNOB) in progress towards health-related SDG targets. This delivers on health equity commitments in the WHO 13th GPW and GRE Roadmap; World Health Assembly resolutions 62.14 (2009), 65.8 (2012) and 74.16 (2021); the declarations on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Primary Health Care (PHC); UNGA resolution A/RES/77/183; and the UNSWAP on poverty.

In keeping with cross-UN work on LNOB and poverty, there is an explicit but not exclusive focus on those left furthest behind. This includes a focus on extreme and multidimensional poverty, while also paying attention to inequities across the social gradient and spatial divides. In the context of mainstreaming, GRE/Health Equity coordinates at WHO-HQ with the “Health Inequality Monitoring” team in DDI; the Social Determinants of Health HEP units; and Regional and Country Offices.

Deliverables

• Collect data from WHO offices/departments on actions towards the UNSWAP for the Third United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2018–2027) and draft short report (5 pages /-).
  • Deliverable: Draft UNSWAP report of 3-5 pages.
    Expected by:31 May 2024
• Create training materials based on the forthcoming WHO handbook on conducting assessments of barriers to health services, for use by WHO AFRO and other Regional Offices.
  • Deliverable: PowerPoint sets for each module of the handbook.
    Expected by: 1 July 2024
• Provide technical and organizational expertise for an online orientation for WHO AFRO on the forthcoming WHO handbook on conducting assessments of barriers to health services.
  • Deliverable: Progress report.
    Expected by: 1 October 2024
• Provide technical guidance to at least 3 WHO country offices in Africa for adapting and applying WHO tools on health equity, including the barriers assessment handbook and the Innov8 approach for reviewing national health programmes to leave no one behind.
  • Deliverable: Progress report.
    Expected by: 1 November 2024
• Facilitate the production of French and Arabic versions of the WHO handbook on conducting assessments of barriers to health services, in collaboration with the WHO Translation team and Designer.
  • Deliverable: Completed translated versions.
    Expected by: 1 December 2024
• Provide technical inputs on Health Equity mainstreaming through commenting and participation in meetings for at least two WHO/HQ programmes.
  • Deliverable: Progress report.
    Expected by: 1 December 2024
• Contribute to the design of the GRE-specific course for the WHO Academy, in consultation with WHO learning designer and GRE-DEI capacity building colleagues.
  • Deliverable: Progress report on the development of Equity content for course.
    Expected by: December 2024
• Deliver at least 2 Equity presentations/sessions during global / regional workshops during the course of 2024.
  • Deliverable: Recording of workshop session.
    Expected by: December 2024
• Participate in the GRE Help Desk 1 hour every three weeks to provide technical expertise on Health Equity approaches to participating WHO staff.
  • Deliverable: Progress report outlining requests for TA.
    Expected by: December 2024

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• Advanced university degree in a subject relevant to health equity, primary health care, universal health coverage, and social determinants of health.

Experience:

Essential:

• Over 10 years relevant experience in advising and conducting analysis of socio-spatial inequities and working with Member States’ authorities to redesign health programmes and intersectoral actions for health to address these.
• Over 10 years of relevant experience in providing technical expertise to national authorities on health equity.
• Extensive experience in designing and facilitating trainings on Health Equity.

Desirable:

• Previous work experience with WHO across the three levels of the Organization.

Skills:

• In-depth expertise on issues related to poverty reduction, including work on addressing chronic and intergenerational poverty as determinants of health, in both rural and urban contexts.

Languages required:

Essential:

Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable:

Intermediate knowledge of at least one other UN language

Location

Off site: Home-based.

Travel

The consultant is not expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration:

Band level C - USD 500 - 625 per day.

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

N/A

Expected duration of contract:

9 months (6 days per month)

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.
• Consultants working in Switzerland must register with the applicable Swiss cantonal tax authorities and social security authorities, within the prescribed timeframes (Guidelines issued by the Swiss Mission are available at: https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-onu-geneve/en/home/manual-regime-privileges-and-immunities/introduction/Manuel-personnes-sans-privileges-et-immunites-carte-H/Non fonctionnaires et stagiaires.html