International Consultant for One Health

Purpose of consultancy

In the context of the renewed interest from Member States to strengthen work on One Health and prevention, preparedness and response to health risks posed by unprecedented outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases of animal origin and the work of WHO Governing bodies on One Health, the establishment of a SEAR working group for One Health Coordination is critical. The One Health Initiative leads on the prevention of emerging infectious diseases of epidemic and pandemic potential and on the development of a WHO wide One Health approach. The WHO HQ has established an Internal Coordination Network on One Health (WIC/One Health) and a Coordinator for One Health has been proposed in each WHO Regional Office. The senior management has assigned Dr Gyanendra Gongal, Senior Public Health Officer as a focal point for One Health coordination in SEARO. There is a need of internal coordination with different units/departments within SEARO for operationalization of One Health activities and external coordination with regional tripartite group and other international partners. WHO SEARO is taking lead for Asia-Pacific Quadripartite One Health Coordination Group for 2023-24 which demand series of meetings and coordination for six One Health working groups.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have established Quadripartite (QDT) One Health Secretariat at the global level and they launched One Health Joint Plan of Action (OH JPA) at the World Health Summit in Berlin on 18^th October 2022.

FAO, WOAH and WHO have been coordinating and collaborating for One Health activities at the regional and country levels since 2010 and QPT Coordination Group with involvement of UNEP was established in 2022 in line with global initiative. The WHO SEARO is actively involved in regional (Asia-Pacific) quadripartite (QPT) coordination group and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) Regional Representation for the Asia and the Pacific, Tokyo (Japan) has requested WHO SEARO to lead the regional quadripartite management group effective from January 2023 and WHO SEARO has positively responded which demands lots of work for QDT coordination and implementation of planned activities (Flag 1). Similarly, WHO SEARO has proposed Bi-regional workshop on One Health-Joint Plan of Action implementation in the Asia Pacific region in September 2023 which will organized in coordination with regional QPT group. India is chairing G20 presidency this year and WHO is expected to provide technical support to proposed One Health activity through G20 Health Working Group.

Background

There is a growing acceptance of ‘One Health’ concepts and usage of the approach in recent years and countries need to adopt according to country specific requirement and situation. The political will is increasing, and more attention is needed on how the broad scope of One Health is translated into practice. On the other hand, there is a growing expectation for One Health capacity building from WHO and QPT partners. Considering the role of WHO SEARO as a regional QPT coordinator and need of supporting Member states for One Health capacity building in line with OH JPA, a consultant (One Health) has been proposed to support One Health activities at country level and to strengthen coordination and collaboration between WHO and the regional Quadripartite partners.

Deliverables

Under the overall guidance of RED/WHE and under the direct supervision of Senior Public Health Officer, the consultant will be expected to carry out time bound assignments as follows:

• Contribute in coordination with quadripartite partners for organizing Asia-Pacific One Health workshops planned in 2023-2024;
• Contribute in organization of AMR, zoonotic influenza, rabies and food safety related webinars in coordination with quadripartite and other partners as appropriate;
• Develop and update QPT share drives which includes calendar of operation, list of focal points at regional and country levels and documentation of meeting minutes and SEARO One Health webpage;
• Contribute in organization of regional QDT management meeting and meeting of technical working group on One Health at least once in a quarterly basis to brief on ongoing and planned regional activities and country support plans;
• Contribute to the preparation, organization and the execution of regional One Health events, workshops on the roll-out and implementation of OH JPA;
• Contribute in technical discussions related to the WHO One Health Initiative activities;
• Develop advocacy materials and guidance for implementation of OH JPA at country level;
• Undertake duty travel to support Member states and attend international meetings/workshops;
• Undertake any other technical activities assigned by the supervisor.
• Submit an assignment report at the end of the assignment.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• First university degree in public health, veterinary science
• Post-graduate in in public health, veterinary science

Desirable: A post-graduate degree in epidemiology, One Health, or any related field.

Experience

Essential: 7 years’ experience in public health, veterinary science, or any related field and some of international exposure.

Desirable: Experience in UN agencies or international organizations.

Skills/Knowledge:

Good knowledge of WHO’s work in the area of One Health, zoonoses, food safety and antimicrobial resistance.

Excellent communication and writing skills in English, Computer literacy (Word, Power-point, Excel etc.)

Location: WHO SEARO, New Delhi (India)

Travel: Undertake travels to identified SEAR and/or other countries as per requirement of the assignment.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

• Remuneration: Payband level: Band level B; Monthly remuneration starting from USD 7,000 to USD 9,980
• Living expenses: Per diem will be paid as per WHO rules applicable to international consultant for travel.
• 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) in English 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.