Consultant - Private Sector Engagement

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1. Purpose of the consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to support the drafting of key action areas to better the engagement of the private sector to improve health in the new Western Pacific Region.

2. Background

The health of a population is affected by various factors, such as the environment, education, work conditions, and social status, in addition to access to healthcare. These social determinants of health play a significant role in shaping health inequalities across different societies. While access to quality healthcare is crucial, it is not the sole factor responsible for people's health outcomes. Improving social conditions, such as reducing income inequality, promoting education, and creating healthier environments, can significantly contribute to improving population health.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of private sector engagement in improving health and well-being. The private sector can contribute to better health outcomes by creating healthier workplaces, promoting healthy behaviours among their employees and customers, investing in community health initiatives, and using their influence to advocate for policies that support health equity.

To facilitate collaboration between the private sector and government/WHO, the Regional Office of the Western Pacific is exploring options to work with key stakeholders and partners to strengthen this partnership.

3. Planned timelines

• Start: 1 July 2023
• End: 15 December 2023

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: Contribute to private sector engagement for health in the Western Pacific Region.

Deliverables:

1. Conduct expert and stakeholder interviews and analyze relevant data to validate the feasibility of private sector engagement in the Western Pacific Region. This will involve exploring and assessing different potential approaches, such as:

1. Developing evidence-based health promotion initiatives, incentives, and certification programs for employees.
2. Establishing social investment mechanism to finance public health initiatives.
3. Fostering partnerships between public health entities and local institutions to collaborate on public health activities.
4. Identify and prioritize "quick win" opportunities for WHO and Member States to engage the private sector in playing a greater role in promoting population health. This will be based on a comprehensive analysis of the potential approaches and stakeholder input, with a focus on initiatives that can be implemented quickly and effectively.
   
5. Provide technical assistance and support to selected Member States in implementing these quick wins in identified private sector settings. This will involve working closely with relevant stakeholders to design, plan, and execute initiatives, and ensuring that the initiatives are aligned with national health policies and priorities.
   
6. Monitor and evaluate progress of implementation, and document outcomes and lessons learnt to validate the relevance and effectiveness of the identified approaches by developing appropriate metrics and evaluation frameworks and generating regular progress reports to track implementation progress and measure impact. The results of these evaluations will inform the development of a regional plan of action on private sector engagement for health in the Western Pacific Region.

Note:

• Upon finalization of the contract intellectual property of content and products shall revert to WHO.
• Any data or results may not be shared or distributed without approval of the responsible officer in WHO.

5. Methods to carry out the activities

• Support implementation of the relevant private sector engagement 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 WPRO.

6. Specific requirements

Qualifications

Required: A university degree in a public health or other health-related profession

Desirable: An advanced degree in public health and management

EXPERIENCE:

Required: Excellent knowledge and a minimum of five years of combined national and international experience working in the area of health research and or strategic partnership in health.

Desirable: Experiences in the private sector is desirable.

TECHNICAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE:

• Research and report writing.
• Experiences with private sector engagement
• Ability to lead policy and practice implementation work on health and wellbeing
• 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:

Written and spoken fluency in English (Read – Write – Speak / "Expert" level)

7. Competencies

• Teamwork
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Communication
• Producing results
• Moving forward in a changing environment

8. Place of assignment

The contractual partner will be based in the Regional Office, Manila, Philippines with option to work remotely is also open. The consultancy will require daily or weekly interaction with the technical unit.

9. Medical clearance

The individual consultant must provide WHO fitness for work form from their physician.

10. Travel

The consultant may be required to travel to sites for relevant activities (consultations, information gathering, programme reviews, training etc,) where necessary.

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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