UNDP Jobs - 53955- Consultant: Rapid Assessment of healthcare waste m

Consultant: Rapid Assessment of healthcare waste management of Global Fund grants implemented by UNDP Belarus and Kyrgyzstan

Location :

Home-based, with two missions

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

03-Mar-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated 1 April 2015 – 30 September 2015

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Approximately 25 working days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UNDP is the UN's global development network advocating for sustainable human development and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. In the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region, UNDP is currently implementing hundreds of projects, mainly through its country offices and the Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH). UNDP’s regional HIV, Health and Development HHD) Team is advocating with other UN agencies and stakeholders on regional and country level for a rights-based approach to health. Our portfolio addresses social, economic and environmental determinants of health from a multi-sectoral perspective in the context of UNDP’s strategies for sustainable human development.

Through the role as Principal Recipient (PR) of ‘last resort’ for Global Fund (GF) HIV, TB and malaria grants in many countries, UNDP is also engaged in large-scale health sector operations. As a member of the European Ministerial Task Force for Environment and Health (coordinated by WHO Europe) and as a founding member of the informal Interagency Task Team on Greening Procurement in the Health Sector (iIATT-SPHS) (UNDP, UNOPS, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, UNHCR, UNEP, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, UNITAID and Gavi The Vaccine Alliance), the regional HHD team is engaged in a number of projects which address systematically the impact of the health sector on the environment. These projects include for example the participation in the development of GHG accounting standards for pharmaceutical and medical devices manufacturers (under the lead of the English NHS), and the first carbon footprinting and MAC analysis of global heath initiatives (GF HIV, TB, malaria and health systems strengthening grants implemented by UNDP as PR in Montenegro, Tajikistan (1) and Zimbabwe(2))(3) .

In addition, rapid assessments of healthcare waste management under UNDP administered GF programmes have recently been conducted in various countries. The recommendations are being used to inform concept notes under the GF New Funding Model and to finalize a healthcare waste management toolkit for GF practitioners and policy makers with the goal to reduce the ecotoxicological footprint of GF grants, to introduce environmental safeguard policies and to allocate dedicated resources for healthcare waste management under all future grants. The recommendations are also used to provide critical information for the life cycle assessment of key product categories procured under GF grants that can be used for supplier engagement, for procurement specifications and selection processes of tenders as envisaged by the iIATT-SPHS.

Other countries have now expressed interest in conducting a rapid assessment of healthcare waste management under GF grants. With this call, the HHD team at the IRH is seeking the services of a healthcare waste management expert to conduct rapid assessments in Belarus and in Kyrgyzstan, and feed the results into an update of the healthcare waste management toolkit mentioned above. We anticipate a level of effort of about 25 working days in total. This work will build on and feed into ongoing initiatives in both countries, specifically endeavors to implement Best Available Techniques (BAT) and Best Environmental Practices (BEP) in the field of Healthcare Waste Management in Kyrgyzstan and preparations for development of unified National Waste Management System in Belarus.

Notes:
(1) -http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/rbec/en/home/library/hiv_aids/Carbon_footprint_UNDP_Global_Fund_health_initiatives_Montenegro_Tajikistan/
(2) - http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/hiv-aids/managing-our-climate-change-risk--an-approach-for-environmental-.html
(3) - Presentation: Greening the Health Sector (http://www.slideshare.net/undpeuropeandcis/greening-the-health-sector-global-health-initiatives-and-climate-change) – Global Health Initiatives and Climate Change, Dr. Christoph Hamelmann, Regional HIV, Health and Development, UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reports to the HHD Team Leader of the EECA region at UNDP’s Istanbul Regional Hub (Supervisor). Collaborates through RBEC’s HHD Team Leader with the UNDP country offices in Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, UNDP’s Global Fund Partnership team and all external stakeholders.

While most of the tasks can be accomplished home-based by deskwork, one mission (travel) of the Consultant to Belarus and one to Kyrgyzstan will be required. The financial offer should therefore include all travel related costs. Meetings with UNDP will be held at the office/location of the selected service provider or by telephone/video conference.

The following is an outline of the anticipated tasks:

Further standardize the rapid assessment methodology used by UNDP in other countries (Tajikistan (4) and Uzbekistan (5)) and provide a detailed work plan for the project in consultation with UNDP;
Conduct desk work in preparation of the country mission;
Carry out the rapid assessments in Belarus and Kyrgyzstan (expected time demand is about 4 working days per country mission), assess previous, current and planned UNDP administered GF grant activities in view of healthcare waste management practices, concepts and potentials for improvements. Activities in the country should include:
- Environmental review of previous, current and planned grants related to healthcare waste management aspects;
- Carrying out of stakeholder interviews with GF grant practitioners, including PR and SRs, government and its agencies;
- Reappraising the effectiveness of the environmental project implementation strategy and identifying possible approaches for improvement;
- Development of a healthcare waste strengthening concept in the country context and in the context of the GF’ new funding model.
Provide a final report using UNDP’s standard format for rapid assessments of healthcare waste components of GF grants;
Use findings of the country assessment to update Part C of UNDP’s Healthcare Waste Management Toolkit of GF Practitioners and Policy Makers (currently available as pre-final draft).

The GF grants to be included are HIV and TB grants in Belarus and the HIV, TB and Malaria grants in Kyrgyzstan.

Deliverables and milestones for payments schedule:

Initial detailed methodological design, report templates and work plan (first sub-point under 3rd bullet point in section II. Description of Responsibilities; 1 week after project start – 30% of the total amount;
Country assessment reports for Belarus and Kyrgyzstan – 50% of the total amount;
Update of Part C of UNDP’s Healthcare Waste Management Toolkit of GF Practitioners and Policy Makers (currently available a final draft) – 20% of the total amount.

Location:

Home-based, with two missions to Minsk, Belarus and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Notes:
(4) - http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/UNDP Waste Management Tajikistan_web.pdf
(5) - http://www.eurasia.undp.org/content/dam/rbec/docs/UNDP Waste Management Uzbekistan_web-V4.pdf

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Demonstrates integrity according to UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional competencies:

Team-working, leadership but also able to work independently;
Ability to work in difficult environments and being able to motivate others;
Ability to meet the deadlines;
Flexibility and creativity;
Excellent communication skills, oral and written.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

University degree (minimum requirement: master degree) in healthcare engineering, environmental engineering or related field.

Experience:

At least 10 years of experience in the field of healthcare waste management and donor financed healthcare projects;
Proven experience with developing handbooks, guidance notes, toolkits and other materials relevant to the specific thematic area for UN organization;
Proven experience in developing methodologies, protocols and instruments for assessment and/or evaluation purposes, to be demonstrated by references;
Very good and up-to-date knowledge on healthcare waste management is required; an active participation in international working groups related to healthcare waste would be an asset;
Working experience with UN organization is required;
Working experience with multilateral funding organizations (Gavi, Global Fund, WB, ADB, etc.) is desirable;
Knowledge of health sectors and systems and working experience in Eastern Europe and Central Asia;
Demonstrated experience in cooperation with key stakeholders: e.g. line ministries, municipal associations, local governments, NGOs as well as private sector subjects.

Publications:

Multiple publications related to health and development with a particular focus on healthcare waste management, in English.

Language skills:

Fluency and ability to communicate and perform complex research in English;
Knowledge of Russian language is an asset.

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and a financial proposal of a lump sum amount in US$, which includes all consultant’s costs including travel to Minsk, Belarus and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for the assessment missions.

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
Having submitted an acceptable writing sample.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria -70% of total evaluation - max. 56 points:

Education and additional qualifications (courses, diplomas) - max. 5 points;
Publications/writing sample - max. 8 points;
Work experience in the area of healthcare waste management (with proven up-to-date knowledge on healthcare waste management) and donor financed healthcare projects active participation in international working groups related to healthcare waste would be considered an asset) - max. 10 points;
Proven experience working with UN organizations (maximum 4 points), multilateral funding organizations - Gavi, Global Fund, WB, ADB, etc. (maximum 4 points) and key stakeholders e.g. line ministries, municipal associations, local governments, NGOs as well as private sector subjects (maximum 4 points) - max. 12 points;
Proven experience with developing handbooks, guidance notes, toolkits and other materials relevant to the specific thematic area for UN organizations - max. 5 points;
Proven experience in developing methodologies, protocols and instruments for assessment and/or evaluation purposes, to be demonstrated by references; - max. 5 points;
Communication skills and languages - max. 5 points;
Knowledge of health sectors and systems and working experience in Eastern Europe and Central Asia - max. 6 points.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation- max. 24 points.

Application procedure:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees
(blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ); please upload the P11 instead of your CV.
Writing sample in English, not edited by others (attached to application – documents/publications of approximately 25 pages)
Financial Proposal* - specifying a lump sum in USD, including all consultant’s costs for the consultancy (e.g. communication, office costs), including missions (to Minsk, Belarus and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan).
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials. Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). All envisaged costs (including missions) must be included in the financial proposal.
Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.
Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.