BACKGROUND

The mission of WHE is to build the capacity of Member States to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations.

The Pacific COVID-19 Incident Management Team (IMT) supports Pacific Island Countries and Areas (PICs) to prepare for and respond to the threat of COVID-19.

PURPOSE/SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE ACTIVITY

Within the context of Pacific Health Security and Communicable Diseases Unit (PSC) of WPRO’s Division of Pacific Technical Support (DPS), and guided by the Pacific Island Countries and Areas Cooperation Strategy and WHO's General Programme of Work (GPW), this consultancy will provide support to PSC and the Pacific COVID-19 Incident Management Team (IMT) in the effective execution and monitoring of activities/programmes with a specific focus on the Pacific COVID-19 response and WHO Health Emergencies (WHE) programmes/awards. The incumbent will ensure programmatic, financial and administrative compliance with WHO and donor/partners rules and regulations, and facilitate implementation monitoring, tracking and reporting.

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES TO BE CARRIED OUT

The Consultant will support the following outputs:

• • Coordinate implementation of the Pacific COVID-19 health emergency projects/awards and ensure compliance with the defined WHO project management methodology and standards and donor requirements. 
• • Coordinate COVID-19 and WHE project/programme tracking and reporting based on detailed project planning, resource scheduling, progress monitoring, issue resolution and risk management.
• • Ensure timely progress monitoring to ensure that activities are on plan, on time, and on budget.
• • Ensure effective management of available resources, quality delivery of expected outcomes and outputs, and active engagement with PSC and IMT colleagues, and partners.
• • Develop high quality and timely project-related documentation and reports in line with internal and donor project management and reporting requirements.
• • Ensure visibility of project plans, status, dependencies, risks, and issues across teams through detailed tracking. Actively manage and track critical paths and milestones across projects.
• • Identify project risks and implementation challenges and work closely with responsible team leads to mitigate these risks and identify solutions to address business needs.
• • Ensure timely and sufficient reporting to supervisors to make informed decisions.

METHODS TO CARRY OUT THE ACTIVITY

Under overall guidance of the Head of WHO Country Office and Director, Pacific Technical Support (DPS), direct supervision and guidance of the Team Coordinator, PSC, and in close collaboration with counterparts at the Regional Office, HQ, other WHO staff and partners, the incumbent has overall responsibility for the successful initiation, planning, design, execution, monitoring, and closure of Pacific health emergency and COVID-19 projects. The Project Manager will work closely with DPS technical staff, partner agencies, the DPS Programme Management Officer and Programme Administration Officer, and counterparts in the Regional Office and HQ.

Given COVID-19 travel restrictions, the consultant may be required to work remotely until they can be deployed to Suva, Fiji.  During deployment, the duty station may change, and duties may be modified, based upon the technical needs of the WHO Health Emergencies Program.  While working outside of Fiji, the incumbent will be expected to work during the core working hours of the Division of Pacific Technical Support in Suva, Fiji (GMT + 12 time zone).

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION

Essential:  

Bachelor’s level university degree in public health, project management, finance, information management, medicine or related discipline from an institution or university recognized in the International Association of Universities' Worldwide Database of Higher Education Institutions, Systems and Credentials. Master’s degree in relevant field required. 

Desirable:

Certification in project management methodologies, such as Project Management Institute (PMI), Prince 2 or Six Sigma.

EXPERIENCE

Essential:

At least five years relevant professional experience at the international level in programme planning, design, management and reporting, including across complex cross-functional or interdependent programmes. Experience in successfully applying project management methodologies. Experience in managing large-scale and complex projects. Proven experience in implementing tracking systems, reporting mechanisms and improvement initiatives. Experience in budget development and management.

Desirable:

Experience managing complex projects within a WHO, UN and/or INGO context. Experience in change quality assurance, and communications. Experience in Western Pacific Region.

TECHNICAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE

• • Excellent communication skills and superb writing skills in English.
• • Capacity to collaborate and coordinate across multiple agencies.
• • Ability to work in multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environments.
• • Strong organizational skills, and ability to work independently with minimal guidance.
• • Strong presentation and public speaking skills.
• • Self-starter, with ability to think/plan ahead and deliver results
• • Ability to prioritize actions, and anticipate and mitigate risks

LANGUAGES

Excellent written and spoken communication skills in English. 

COMPETENCIES

• Teamwork
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Communication

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Contract duration

11 months starting 1 December 2021

Place of assignment

Remote work with possibility of travel during consultancy should border/travel restrictions be lifted.

Medical clearance

The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work.

Travel

The selected candidate must be able to travel to the designated Pacific country for the duration of this consultancy. This includes the ability to transit through required countries to reach the destination in the context of global COVID-19 travel restrictions/measures, to potentially undergo multiple periods of quarantine, and to cope with uncertainty regarding travel timelines and routings

All travel arrangements will be made by WHO – WHO will not be responsible for tickets purchased by the Consultant without the express, prior authorization of WHO. While on mission under the terms of this consultancy, the Consultant will receive subsistence allowance.  Visas requirements: it is the consultant’s responsibility to fulfil visa requirements and ask for visa support letter(s) if needed.

APPLICATIONS

Qualified and interested specialists should submit their CV {for individual contractors} and Expression of Interest {cover letter} to the Supply Officer through WP RO UNGM at < [email protected] > by 3 November 2021. 

The cover letter should outline how their experience and qualifications make them a suitable candidate for this position and should include their proposed daily consultancy fee and availability.

Please use Tender Notice No. 149274 as subject to all submission. Only successful candidates will be contacted.