Consultancy - Support to Regional Immunization Group, 11 months, Geneva, Office-based

This individual consultancy will assist the ECA Regional Office to enhance partners coordination, support planning and coordination of Gavi processes and provide technical support to national immunization programmes by Alliance partners and stakeholders.

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Background

Regional Working Groups (RWGs) have been in existence in the Gavi Alliance since its inception. With the development of the Gavi 4.0 Strategic Plan for the period 2016 – 2020, and the renewed country-level approach to all Gavi related activities, the role and purpose of RWGs has been accentuated and reemphasized as critical to putting countries at the centre of Gavi Alliance work. There is consensus of key partners and the Secretariat of the importance of moving the focus of management and oversight of country assistance from the global level closer to countries.

The Gavi Alliance relies on RWGs as the primary regional forum for partner and programme coordination, consensus building, and monitoring of the implementation of Gavi resources and support. The EURO RWG serves as an important and necessary bridge of information flow between countries, regional partners and other management and governance bodies at the global level, both to ensure the adherence to Gavi policies and principles and the effective implementation of Alliance resources and to allow countries and regions to provide input into Gavi policies and principles.

In this role, EURO RWG will coordinate the Alliance-financed technical support and activities and contribute to the efficiency of resources provided to national immunization programmes through the Partner Engagement Framework (PEF) and direct financial support (i.e., Health System Strengthening-HSS, Vaccine Introduction Grants-VIGs, and Transition Plans-TPs).

The EURO RWG will be further strengthened by the active engagement of Gavi Secretariat staff led by the Regional Head and the Senior Country Managers (SCMs) who will actively participate in the EURO RWG meetings to share Alliance messages and engage in discussions and efforts to resolve country immunization programme bottlenecks. Moreover, the Gavi Regional Head will act as Secretariat focal points for the EURO RWG. As such, the EURO RWG will be the formal regional structure responsible to coordinate and monitor on the implementation of Gavi resources and supported activities

Currently, 6 RWGs exist, located in the various regions. As of January 1, 2018, UNICEF ECARO Regional Office will undertake the role of the RWG Secretariat for the following two years, after which hosting of the Secretariat will be reviewed by the agencies and funding availability. The regional team will require additional support to ensure effective functioning of the RWG, to coordinate Gavi technical assistance among Alliance Partners.  This will be borne out through the establishment of a small secretariat to support the demands and needs of the RWG.

Scope of Work and Objectives

The objective of the consultancy is to assist the ECA Regional Office to enhance partners coordination, to support planning and coordination of Gavi processes and technical support to national immunization programmes by Alliance partners and stakeholders.

Tasks to be performed

• The consultant will support the enhancement of RWG structure and mechanisms in order to position the RWG as a platform for the exchange of information, lessons learned and experiences among countries and the region and the global level;
• Organize the EURO RWG meetings and phone calls;
• Prepare and disseminate summaries and recommendations of meetings within one month of the meeting, after input and agreement by the parties present;
• Monitor and report back on the recommendations of the EURO RWG;
• Monitor and document the implementation of the Gavi processes to inform the RWG on successes, challenges, constraints and opportunities in strengthening national immunization programs;
• Ensure linkages and harmony between regional level data collection and analysis and on-going country level monitoring initiatives and processes;
• Collect and present EURO portfolio performance data for review to the RWG members and help identify performance issues and bottlenecks;
• Support Alliance partners and National stakeholders in joint planning and monitoring of implementation Targeted Country Assistance, Transition plans and Health System Strengthening Grants;
• Perform additional tasks requested by the chair to support effective functioning of RWG

Location and Duration

 This is a full-time, office based assignment based in Geneva, Switzerland, for a period of 11 months starting 19 March 2018.

Work relationships

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Regional Immunization Specialist and in close consultation with Gavi secretariat and other Alliance’s partners

Payment Schedule

Monthly payment will be processed upon receipt of monthly reports. Overtime, weekend and official holidays will not be compensated, nor will any holiday/leave time be granted.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

Education  

• Advanced degree in Public Health /Health Management;  Public Administration/Social Policy or equivalents

Work experience

• At least 5 years progressively responsible professional work experience at international and regional levels, preferably in ECA region with demonstrated experience in effective collaboration with key stakeholders, including Gavi, UNICEF Supply Division, WHO, WB and others
• Previous experience in developing monitoring frameworks and systems
• Experience in working with UNICEF, other UN agencies, and other international partners is considered an asset;

Technical knowledge

• Strong knowledge of immunization programmes and strategic partnerships
• Familiarity with Gavi transitioning mechanisms is considered an asset

Languages

• Strong written and verbal communications in English. Knowledge of Russian is highly desirable. 

Competencies of Successful Candidate

• Communicates effectively to varied audiences;
• Consistently achieves high-level results;
• Analyses and integrates verbal and other data from a number of sources;
• Sets clearly defined objectives and plans activities
• Demonstrates, applies and shares expert technical knowledge across the organization;
• Translates strategic direction into plans and objectives;

Evaluation Process

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

1. Cover letter demonstrating A) understanding of tasks/ deliverables, objectives, completeness and coherence of response and B) proposed approach/methodology and work plan
2. Financial quote as a monthly lump sum for professional fees in US Dollars (travel costs not to be included)
3. CV
4. Examples of previous, relevant work as applicable
5. At least 2 Referees

Late submissions, incomplete packets, or submissions with an incorrect email subject heading will not be considered.

Successful applicants may be invited for further technical assessment and offers will be evaluated by the following criteria:

The candidates with receive a minimum of 70 points will be considered further

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel to relevant countries, as well as participate at RWG meetings. For individual consultants, UNICEF will manage and pay for travel via Travel Authorization.  However, this will be subject to the following prerequisites:  Medical Clearance, Security Clearance through the Travel Request Information Process (TRIP) system, the Basic and Advanced Security in the Field Trainings, Travel Visa, and liability waiver. Trip prerequisites will be met at the expense of the consultant.

Travel cost shall be calculated based on economy class travel, regardless of the length of travel.  Costs for accommodation, meals and incidentals shall not exceed applicable daily subsistence allowance (DSA) rates, as promulgated by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC at http://icsc.un.org). 

UNICEF will issue a consultant contract in USD. The payment will be made in USD by bank transfer on monthly bases as per contractual agreement.

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