National Vaccine Management Consultancy, Gaborone Botswana (Opened to Botswana Nationals only)

Botswana Country Office is looking for a national consultant to provide technical and management support to the EPI Team and Ministry of Health (MOH) to accelerate the planning and implementation of polio Supplementary Immunization activities (SIA) related to vaccines and cold chain management.

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Background:

Botswana achieved polio-free status in 2004 and was certified as such in 2005. Recently, in October 2022, a case of Vaccine Derived Polio virus (cVDPV) from an environmental sample at a sewer plant at Glen Valley Gaborone was reported. This cVDPV was isolated and traced to DRC. The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for polio response was immediately activated. Active case search at household level was immediately sanctioned by MOH around the 3 affected districts. This was followed by active case search of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) in over 30,000 households in the affected area. Several activities have been proposed as follow up, actions by the Botswana EOC for polio outbreak response. Plans are being rolled out for a rapid response with IPV antigen around the affected areas and a nationwide SIA consisting of two rounds and a possible mop up is forecasted for the coming weeks thus the need for experienced hands in vaccines management and SIA implementation.

In April 2016, Botswana switched from tOPV to bOPV; the country has not used the mOPV2 for any immunization. Injectable Polio IPV was introduced into the routine immunization schedules in December 2015. The current polio routine immunization schedule is: OPV1 2 months, OPV2 at 3 months, OPV3 and IPV at 4 months and booster doses at 18 months and standard 1. The implementation of polio eradication activities is coordinated by the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). All VPDs as well as acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) are included in a national passive surveillance system for communicable disease detection within the framework of IDSR. Initial clinical diagnoses are to be reported within 48 hours by the district or community hospital and followed up by laboratory confirmation. Data is subsequently reviewed, aggregated, and passed on from the district to the National level- Disease Prevention and Control (DPC) programs.

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:
The Polio Vaccine Management consultant, under the overall guidance of Health Specialist – Community Health will provide technical and management support to the EPI Team and Ministry of Health (MOH) to accelerate the planning and implementation of polio Supplementary Immunization Aactivities (SIA) related to vaccines and cold chain management.

The Polio Vaccine Management consultant will facilitate a timely and effective implementation of polio SIA and ensure that the capacity of local institutions is strengthened, to respond to, and coordinate the polio SIA interventions that demonstrate results and impact achieved with high coverage. In summary, the local consultants will be responsible for assisting country programmes in proper planning, utilization, stock management, disposal (if necessary) and reporting of all vaccines used in polio outbreak response campaigns.

SCOPE OF WORK/OBJECTIVES
To provide technical assistance and build local capacity for vaccine management for the polio outbreak response nation-wide, following will be the specific tasks:
- Provide technical support to the EPI, MOH to assess the cold chain and logistics support required for the SIA 3 

- Assist the Health Specialist to develop detailed vaccine management implementation plan with a monitoring framework to ensure quality implementation of SIA and that the planned SIA results are achieved
- Assist the Health Specialist and the Supply Chain Specialist in managing the procurement and distribution of vaccines as well as monitoring of functionality of cold chain and logistics (cold box, vaccine carrier, ice packs, fridges) in the country
- Assist in monitoring vaccine arrival at national level and in country distribution to all regions and districts, including monitoring of the distribution of vaccines and related accessories from central medical store (CMS) to Regional/District Vaccines Stores and the vaccines availability at health facilities for SIA
- Work with EOC to conduct the training/orientation of the provincial/district/health facility staff on cold chain and vaccine management (cold chain recommendation, VVM, disposal etc.
- Monitor regular vaccine utilization and accountability report during the SIA and make sure that all nOPV vaccines that will be used for the OBR is returned and properly accounted for
- Assist in engaging with key stakeholders like the EOC, EPI program, WHO, Botswana Red Cross Society and other existing partners, and donors supporting the SIA activities Perform other duties as will be assigned within the scope of this work
- Provide frequent and regular reports to the MOH/EPI/EOC on all aspects of polio cold chain logistics/ vaccine management and contribute to the drafting of SITREPS and bulletins. Prepare reports according to GPEI requirements.
- Support development and accomplishment of cold chain logistics (CCL)/VM quality improvement plan (QIP) after each campaign round - - Support outbreak response assessment teams (OBRAs) with information related to vaccine management, logistics and the cold chain
- Document lessons learnt and convened stakeholders to share lessons learnt during and after the nOPV SIAs and share at end of assignment
- Make sure that vaccines collected after the campaign are accounted for and are stored in correct storage conditions at all levels
- Ensure the updating of the inventory of active and passive equipment of the cold chain, the proper functioning of the cold chain and optimization of storage capacity.
- Support the micro-planning exercise.
- Facilitate the distribution and optimal use of vaccines and consumables in accordance with the macro and micro plans and ensure that the quantities received comply with the distribution plan.
- Ensure proper storage of vaccines and consumables at each level of the supply chain.
- Ensure that vaccine management tools comply with the standards and develop mechanisms to accelerate the collection, analysis, and transmission of paper-based reports and ODK questionnaires.
- Ensure that Vaccine Accountability Monitors and their supervisors are on board and properly trained on all aspects of Logistics and vaccine Management at least three days before SIA.
- Capacity building: Training of all staff and partners involved in polio outbreak response on vaccine management and CCL in context of polio SIA per the available learning modules. This includes training in management tools, ODK questionnaires for vaccine management, use of the online dashboard and the rolling out of these training tools and resources in the country.

The key tasks and indicative timeline are provided below. The tasks will be conducted in close collaboration with the UNICEF Country and Regional Offices.

Deliverables

Administrative Issues

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
To whom will the consultant report (supervisory and any other reporting/communication lines):
- The Vaccine Management Consultant will report to the immunization and supply chain coordinator who in turn reports progress to the UNICEF Country Office Health & Nutrition Specialist.
- They are also expected to give support to the EPI team as well as the Programme Manager EPI MOH when needed.
- It is expected that the consultant prepares an implementation plan with timelines for the assignment, outlining planned tasks and concrete steps to be undertaken to accomplish the planned tasks within the scheduled time.
- Regular discussions will be held face-to-face, virtually, and the consultant is expected to stay in touch via telephone, e-mails and other means such as Teams, WhatsApp, Zoom or Skype.

How will the individual contractor consult and deliver work and when will reporting be done:

• The consultant will need to present the draft documents as well as the final report to UNICEF and MOH.
• At the beginning of the assignment, the consultant is expected to produce and agree with UNICEF on the workplan schedules for the assignment period.

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

• A first University Degree in Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health. An advanced university degree in one or more of the disciplines relevant to the area of the expertise –Medicine or Public Health, Pharmacy, Public Health or any of the sciences will be an added advantage.
• At least 5 years of professional work experience at national level in outbreak response, routine immunization, public health, and other relevant programs.
• Demonstrated experience providing technical assistance to governments on the implementation of outbreak responses (Polio)
• Emergency work experience is an asset.
• Willingness to immediately take up the assignment.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment

Skills:
- Ability to work independently, under pressure, and within deadlines, including strong planning and coordination skills
- Good communication, advocacy and people skills and the ability to communicate with various stakeholders and to express concisely and clearly ideas and concepts in written and oral form.
- Strong interpersonal communication and writing skills, with ability to lead/train a group of individuals and impart knowledge.

Languages:
• Professional level knowledge of written and spoken English is a requirement. All reports must be submitted in English.
• Fluency in Setswana will be an added advantage.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

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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.