Consultant - Violence, Injury Prevention and Road Safety

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1. Purpose of the consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to assist the WHO Representative Office for Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore (WCO) in addressing country-specific and regional priorities for preventing violence and injury in Malaysia. This will include coordinating the key global, regional and national road safety stakeholders working in Malaysia to develop and disseminate relevant national road safety resources; implementing national road safety interventions; and responding to the Member State requests.

2. Background

Violence and Injury Prevention

In the Western Pacific Region, injuries kill nearly one million people every year. Major causes include road traffic injuries, falls, drowning, poisoning, and burns, with 85% of fatal injuries occurring in low- and middle-income countries. The risk of injury is significantly increased by alcohol consumption.

WHO has the vision to reduce injury across the region through primary prevention and through addressing the social and commercial determinants of health that increase the risk of injury, including alcohol use. WHO coordinates across different sectors, stakeholders, and agendas to enable settings that support people to live long, healthy, happy, and productive lives.

To support WHO achieve this vision in Malaysia, we seek for a consultant to support, adapt and adopt a range of strategies and evidence-based interventions to reduce the harm associated with injury and alcohol use. The consultant will facilitate the engagement of multisectoral stakeholders in the injury prevention/alcohol agenda and will work in partnership with the Member States to identify and address drivers of injury and harmful alcohol use, recommending evidence-based interventions to address priority issues.

Road safety

Equitable access to safe and reliable transportation is an important determinant of good health and well-being. Road transport is an important component of daily life, often necessary for reaching employment, education, accessing healthcare, and maintaining social connectedness. As global vehicle ownership increases and road infrastructure expands, so do rates of fatal and non-fatal road traffic injuries. Malaysia has the third highest road traffic mortality rate in the WHO Western Pacific Region, at 23.6 per 100 000 population.

Road traffic injury is the leading cause of child mortality in Malaysia, accounting for 14% of deaths among children aged 5 to 14 years. The Malaysian government has recognized road traffic injury as a significant cause of death and disability in the country and in response, has publicly committed to addressing this issue. A scoping exercise to document key road safety stakeholders and current road safety priorities in Malaysia was performed in Q4 2021. A number of feasible interventions to improve road safety were identified throughout the process, giving rise to an informal Malaysia road safety workplan for 2022 developed among WHO, SafeKids, the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), Johns Hopkins University, and the Global Road Safety Partnership. WHO is now seeking a consultant to support the implementation of identified interventions in 2023 and 2024.

3. Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)

Estimated start date: 1 June 2023

Duration: 12 months (part time, 2-3 days per week)

4. Work to be performed

By working closely with the WCO and WPRO technical units, the consultant will be responsible for providing high-quality technical support to MOH and other partners, to achieve the following outputs:

Output 1: Strengthen the capacity of the key stakeholders in Malaysia to address violence and injury prevention:

1.1 Identify the relevant stakeholders who would benefit from training in violence and injury prevention, including road safety, and facilitate their engagement.

1.2 Support the capacity building for journalists and media around violence and injury prevention, focusing on road safety as an entry point.

1.3 Provide technical inputs to develop advocacy materials on violence and injury prevention.

Output 2: Strengthen the road safety legislation in Malaysia:

2.1 Collect and facilitate requests from the relevant governmental agencies for technical assistance to support road safety legislation and provide technical inputs as requested.

2.2 Facilitate participation of interested Members of the Parliament in the area of road safety.

Output 3: Strengthen the regional and global coordination around violence and injury prevention:

3.1 Participate in periodic calls and provide inputs and updates on partner engagement in the area of violence and injury prevention, including road safety.

3.2 Complete reports on progress in activities identified for violence and injury prevention, including road safety.

3.3 Complete other tasks as identified by the WHO Representative.

5. Methods to carry out the activities

• Support implementation of the relevant violence and injury prevention as well as road safety activities.
• Support process documentation, such as drafting notes for the record, progress reports, etc.
• Conduct literature search, gather data, and conduct relevant analysis, draft technical briefs, presentations, and talking points.
• Coordinate stakeholders within and outside of the organization and facilitate discussions.
• Maintain regular communication and engagement through emails, video calls, face-to-face meetings, etc.
• Provide technical support under the supervision of technical leads in the WCO and WPRO.

6. Specific requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

Required: University degree in social or behavioural sciences or a related field from an accredited institution or university

Desirable: A degree in Public Health, with work experience in violence and injury prevention as well as road safety

EXPERIENCE

Required: Excellent knowledge and at least five years of experience working in public health, favorably in violence, injury, and alcohol harm reduction.

Desirable: Experience working with the MOH Malaysia at the national or State level on violence and injury prevention as well as road safety programme(s); relevant work experience in WHO, other UN agencies, and relevant nongovernmental organizations.

TECHNICAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE

• A thorough knowledge of violence, injury, and alcohol harm prevention measures, particularly those related to road safety
• Ability to lead policy and practice implementation work within violence, injury, and alcohol harm reduction
• Excellent inter-personal skills with the demonstrated ability to work effectively with government officials as well as with national and international organizations
• Demonstrated ability to build partnerships and work in multicultural and multidisciplinary settings
• Good communication skills and a teamwork spirit
• Strong writing skills and good attention to detail
• Persistence in follow-up, tact, and diplomacy in working with diverse stakeholders

LANGUAGES

Fluent in written and spoken English and Malay.

7. Place of assignment

Cyberjaya, Malaysia

8. Competencies

• Ability to clearly and briefly generate insights based on analysis of data
• Strong capacity to communicate clearly and quickly
• Exceptional organizational skills
• Ability to work independently and produce high quality outputs
• Demonstrated flexibility to excel in a multi-cultural environment
• Willingness to provide and receive constructive feedback

9. Medical Certificate (Consultants only)

Individual consultants must provide WHO fitness for work form from their physician.

10. Travel

Consultant may be required to travel locally to meet with MOH and other stakeholders.

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.
• The purpose of this vacancy is to develop a list of qualified candidates for inclusion in this advertised roster. All applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application (whether successful or unsuccessful) upon conclusion of the selection process. Successful candidates will be placed on the roster and subsequently may be selected for consultancy assignments falling in this area of work or for similar requirements/tasks/deliverables. Inclusion in the Roster does not guarantee selection to a consultant contract. There is no commitment on either side.

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