Jobs - 73296- SLE/IC/2017/024 Consultant to Conduct Research on

SLE/IC/2017/024 Consultant to Conduct Research on Epidemiology of Drug Abuse (Including HIV/AIDS, within Drug Users Groups) in Cabo Verde, Ghana, Togo, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Benin

Location :

Freetown, SIERRA LEONE

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

04-Oct-2017

Application Deadline :

29-Sep-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

40 working days

Languages Required :

English French Portuguese

Expected Duration of Assignment :

40 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

Drug abuse is major public health problem worldwide. While an estimated 246 million people aged 15 to 64 years used at least one illicit drug in 2013, more than 1 in 10 of the drug users are either injecting drugs or engaging in long duration or regular use of opioids, cocaine and/or amphetamines. Furthermore, West Africa serves as a transit area for illicit drugs such as heroin bound for Europe and other regions. While communities in West Africa suffer from psychosocial, economic, and health consequences of drug abuse, unavailability of reliable data for monitoring the extent, patterns, and trends of drug abuse constitutes a major setback to prevention, and demand reduction efforts in the region.

UNODC, in collaboration with ECOWAS is implementing the project - "Support to ECOWAS Regional Action Plan on illicit drug trafficking, organized crime related to it and drug abuse in West Africa (XAW/Z28 - SB-004586 - FED/2014/337-573)" funded by the European Union. Among the four outcomes of the project, Outcome 2 aims to ensure that harmonised information on drug abuse epidemiology and data collection are available in the region. Output 2.5 relates to the conduct of research on epidemiology of drug abuse (including HIV/AIDS within drug users groups) in selected countries in West Africa.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Programme Officer (Epidemiology) and will closely work with the experts and national focal points in the country of assignment. The consultant will carry out the following activities, in line with the priorities of Outcome 2 of Project XAW/Z28:
Prepare a full proposal for research on the planning and implementation of research on epidemiology of drug use (including HIV/AIDS within drug user groups) in Cabo Verde, Ghana, Togo, Guinea Bissau, and Republic of Benin focusing on at least one of the following:
Trends and patterns of drug use within and across populations;
Interplay of individual, family, environmental/societal factors in drug use among populations;
Assessment of size of injecting drug users in specific areas/settings, high risk behaviours, prevalence of HIV and hepatitis among intravenous drug users;
Causal mechanisms in the onset, maintenance, and remittance of drug use, as well as factors which protect against drug abuse; or
Drug use over a life course including processes in growth and development which influence drug use trajectory patterns and behavioral, socioeconomic, and health consequences of drug use including HIV and other infectious diseases.
Prepare work-plans and budget requests to ensure that the study is kept within the allocated budget.
Prepare monthly narrative and financial progress reports and communicate regularly with the research committee.
Ensure a high level of engagement with national stakeholders (government and civil society) in Member States in all phases of the research.
Develop timely and improved methodologies with high accuracy and efficiency to promote analytic yield of drug use epidemiologic data.
Ensure quality in data collection and providing support, supervision and monitoring.
Develop tools for the research in collaboration with the project research committee.
Conduct the processes of the research including data collection, entry, analysis of research data, and prepare report of research findings.
Actively participate in meetings where dissemination of the findings, recommendations, follow-up actions of the research are conducted.

Competencies

Highly organized: able to plan, implement and monitor work with good attention to detail.
Highly motivated: able to motivate and build the capacity of others and to drive initiatives forward with minimal day-to-day supervision.
Ability to take the initiative within clearly defined parameters.
Analytical and conceptual ability; excellent communication skills.
Ability to make timely and quality judgments and decisions.
Proven ability to keep to deadlines.
Ability and willingness to work as part of a team; demonstrated ability to work with people of all ages including adolescents and young people.
High tolerance for operating in an environment characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity.
Commitment to continuous learning for professional development.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master's Degree in social sciences or related technical field such as public health, development, psychology, demography, children or social research;
Postgraduate qualifications in social sciences or related technical field such as public health, development, psychology, demography, children or social research.".

Experience:

Five years of progressive professional experience in Programme design, administration, monitoring and evaluation or research design and management.
Good qualitative and quantitative research skills including experience in conducting community-based processes and/or research on drug (including alcohol) use and social issues.
Experience of managing a team
Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and relevant internet and email software.
Experience in computer data entry for research analysis is strongly required.
Experience in conducting research specifically on drug use epidemiology and large scale surveys.
Good working knowledge of drug use epidemiology and contacts relevant to the conduct of the study would be desirable.
Proven ability to work with and coordinate a multi-sectoral team.

Language Requirement:

Fluency in written and spoken english and French.
Excellent knowledge of language of country where candidate is applying to conduct the study (i.e. English, French, or Portuguese).

Note:

Candidates applying for this position must visit http://procurement-notices.undp.org/ 38937 and send proposals to procure.sle@undp.org. Submissions without Tecnical and Financial proposals will not be considered.