National Consultant - Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Tools and Collaborations

1. Area of expertise: Consultant – Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Tools and Collaborations

2. Purpose of consultancy: The consultant will provide technical support and inputs on the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) team’s goals by 2025 to enhance country impact through development of UHC tools, strengthening collaboration and partnership on UHC advocacy and joint work. The consultant will facilitate the development and publication of the UHC roadmap implementation guide that will be utilized to support Member States in (re)designing and implementing their own UHC roadmap.

3. Background

Universal health coverage (UHC) is a vision whereby ‘all people receive quality health services they need, without suffering financial hardship’. Achieving UHC is the central focus of WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work and a specific target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG3.8).

In WPRO, the UHC team under the Data Strategy and Innovation (DSI) group, set the vision that the team will “create significant country impact in advancing UHC through unified and tailored support using strategies that underpin collaboration, systems approach and innovation”. Based on the vision statement, the UHC team is aiming to achieve three goals by 2025: (i) create country impact to advance UHC through unified and tailored approaches, (ii) strengthen knowledge, evidence and communication for informing actions and investments towards UHC, and (iii) expand collaboration and partnership on UHC advocacy and joint works. This consultancy will facilitate the work across the three goals of UHC team.

The Technical Advisory Group on Universal Health Coverage (UHC TAG) in the Western Pacific Region throughout its two phases (2016-2019 and 2020-2022) has continued to be the robust mechanism in the Region, bringing together different health agendas with UHC as the foundation. The third phase of UHC TAG (2023-2025) will delve into country-level support to progress the realization of the country’s own UHC vision and roadmap. Two meetings have been planned to set the stage- The preliminary UHC TAG meeting in September 2023 and the 7^th UHC TAG meeting in April 2024 . These will be platforms to support Member States in setting the vision of UHC, identifying gaps, developing policies, plans, and actions for implementation, monitoring and evaluation, etc. In addition, the UHC team is planning to expand regional and global collaboration and partnership with other teams in the DSI group and divisions in WPRO, WHO HQ and other organizations to create synergies to move towards achieving UHC. All these activities will enable the UHC team to achieve the abovementioned third goal and realize the team’s vision.

Furthermore, building on the wealth of discussion and outcomes of all previous UHC TAG meetings, the UHC team has been developing a tool that will support countries to rethink and (re)design systems architecture along their UHC roadmaps or existing national health agenda or strategy. This is interlinked with the implementation of the Country Cooperation Strategy, aligning the joint works of WHO, Member States and partners. Development of the UHC roadmap implementation guide will take a participatory approach, engaging Member States, multidisciplinary experts, WPRO divisions and country offices to capture needed policy, technical and process guidance of Member States and synergize WHO support to advance UHC at programmes and systems levels. The UHC team is aiming to finalize the UHC roadmap implementation guide by the end of 2023 and roll out process in early 2024. This will be one of the key activities to achieve the team’s first goal to create country impact in advancing UHC.

4. Planned timelines (8 months)

Start date: 1 August 2023

End date: 31 March 2024

5. Deliverables
   Output 1: Technical support in organizing UHC TAG meetings

Deliverable 1.1: Support and coordinate organizing the preliminary UHC Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting planned in September 2023 and draft meeting materials, presentations, and required documents for the meeting

Deliverable 1.2: Draft and finalize the summary and final meeting report of the preliminary UHC TAG meeting

Deliverable 1.3: Draft a detailed concept note and a planning document for the 7^th UHC TAG meeting in April 2024 based on the consultation with UHC TAG members, WPRO divisions and country offices

Deliverable 1.4: Assist in the planning and preparation process of the 7^th UHC TAG meeting including session design, participants and logistics for meeting arrangements, and related meeting materials

Output 2: Technical support in expanding regional and global collaboration and partnership

Deliverable 2.1: Provide technical support in planning and implementing joint activities within DSI group (Health Information and Intelligence - HII, Strategic Dialogue - DIA, and Innovations - INR team) and other divisions in WPRO

Deliverable 2.2: Provide planning support to the UHC Day 2023 campaign collaborating with the Communication team and other divisions in WPRO

Deliverable 2.3: Support UHC team in global collaboration activities in various agendas related to UHC including WHO’s Global Health for Peace Initiative, UN High-Level Meeting on UHC, etc.

Output 3: Technical support in developing and publishing the UHC roadmap implementation guide

Deliverable 3.1: Consolidate and synthesize inputs on the UHC roadmap implementation guide by experts, WPRO divisions and country offices

Deliverable 3.2: Finalize the manuscript of the UHC roadmap implementation guide for publication

Deliverable 3.3: Support the publication process of the UHC roadmap implementation guide

Output 4: Technical support to the UHC/ DSI Team and perform other tasks as required

6. Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential: Advanced university degree in Public Health or related fields

Desirable: Trainings in Global Health Policy, Primary Health care and development communication

Experience:

Essential: 5-10 years relevant work experience in programme/project management, monitoring and implementation, strategies and policy development at national and international level.

Desirable: At least 5 years extensive knowledge and experience on health systems and strategic advocacies with focus on UHC. Has worked with International Organizations (i.e. WHO, UN, etc) and holds extensive knowledge on desired programme agenda in the Western Pacific Region. Has authored and/or co-authored publications in peer review journals related to health systems.

Skills/Knowledge:

• Excellent knowledge of Health Systems and health challenges in diverse settings including high, middle income and Pacific Island countries.
• Technical and diplomatic skills to engage and collaborate with WHO teams, ministry of health, experts and partners.
• Ability to think and work independently or with minor supervision to plan, design and implement a systematic approach to problem solving.
• Exceptionally strong writing skills including developing concept notes, reports and proposals.
• Ability to work harmoniously as a member of the team, adapt to diverse cultural and educational backgrounds and maintain a high standard of personal conduct.

Languages and level required:
Essential: Expert level of English reading, writing and speaking

7. Place of Assignment – Manila, Philippines (mandatory, onsite)
8. Medical clearance - required
9. Travel – The consultant is expected to work at the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office located in Manila, Philippines and other country offices in line with this TOR.

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.
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• 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.