Consultant – Advocacy for rehabilitation, ear and hearing care

Purpose of consultancy

To contribute to advocacy activities of the WHO Sensory Functions, Disability and Rehabilitation unit, with a particular focus on rehabilitation, ear and hearing care. Key tasks will include developing and implementing a stakeholder engagement plan, and contributing to webpage updates, email campaigns and newsletters to update key stakeholders.

Background

An estimated 2.4 billion people worldwide would benefit from rehabilitation at some point in their lives. This number is expected to increase in the coming years due to people living longer and with more chronic disease and disability. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on future rehabilitation needs is also yet to be seen. Despite this huge need, rehabilitation services remain limited in much of the world. Where rehabilitation is available, major barriers often persist including lack of funding, leadership, available data on rehabilitation and functioning, skilled workforce and resources.

The need for ear and hearing care services is also increasing worldwide. Over 430 million people live with disabling hearing loss that affects the quality of their lives, with an overwhelming majority of these residing in low- and middle-income countries. Unaddressed hearing loss is one of the leading causes of morbidity, in terms of 'disability adjusted life years (DALYs)' and years lived with disability (YLD), globally. Moreover, it is estimated that such hearing loss poses an annual global cost of $980 billion. It is expected that this prevalence may rise considerably in coming decades due mainly to changing population demographics, increasing exposure to risk factors such as noise, as well as persistence of untreated ear conditions such as otitis media. Many of the causes that lead to hearing loss are preventable, and those who have hearing loss can be greatly benefitted by timely and appropriate interventions.

WHO is committed to supporting member countries in addressing these challenges through several strategies. These include the provision of technical support, the development of normative guidance and practical tools, and increasing the development of robust research and evidence for rehabilitation, ear and hearing care. Advocacy is another fundamental component of WHO’s work, aimed at increasing awareness on the health, social and economic benefits of rehabilitation, ear and hearing care services, and building political support for these health services amongst decision- and policy- makers. WHO’s rehabilitation, ear and hearing care advocacy efforts include two key initiatives:

• The World Rehabilitation Alliance: A WHO-hosted global network of stakeholders whose mission is to support the implementation of the Rehabilitation 2030 Initiative through advocacy activities.
• The World Hearing Forum: a WHO-hosted global network of stakeholders promoting ear and hearing care worldwide, and supporting implementation of World Health Assembly resolution WHA70.13 on “Prevention of deafness and hearing loss” through advocacy.

WHO Sensory Functions, Disability and Rehabilitation unit is now seeking a consultant to support their advocacy activities on rehabilitation, ear and hearing care.

Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Develop and implement a stakeholder engagement plan to promote the World Rehabilitation Alliance call for membership applications. Expected by: 31 July 2022
• Deliverable 2: Develop an advocacy toolkit and accompanying training materials for World Rehabilitation Alliance members. Expected by: 30 September 2022
• Deliverable 3: Evaluate World Rehabilitation Alliance membership applications and draft a report on findings according to an established due diligence and risk assessment protocol and reporting template. Expected by: Report completed for each submitted application by the end of every month, for the contract duration.
• Deliverable 4: Provide monthly updates to key rehabilitation stakeholders including members of the World Rehabilitation Alliance through WHO webpage updates, social media activities, email campaigns and a newsletter. Expected by: Monthly updates completed for duration of contract.
• Deliverable 5: Provide monthly updates to key ear and hearing care stakeholders including members of the World Hearing Forum through WHO webpage updates, social media activities, email campaigns and a newsletter. Expected by: Monthly updates completed for duration of contract.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:
First university degree in communications, such as digital marketing, media studies, linguistics, journalism or similar.

Experience:

Essential:

• Minimum 4 years’ experience working in the area of communication;
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing stakeholder engagement plans and social media marketing.

Desirable:

• Experience with rehabilitation, ear and hearing care;
• Previous experience working for WHO or another multilateral organization.

Skills/Knowledge:

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Languages required:

Essential:
Expert knowledge of English.

Location:

Off-site – Home-based.

Travel:

Not required

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration:

Band level A: USD 3.955 – 6.980 per month

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

N/A

Expected duration of contract:

8 months

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 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