Short-term Consultancy for COVID-19 Information and Planning

BACKGROUND

In early February 2020, the PNG Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19 was developed, identifying 10 key areas of the response. Several revisions had been made to reflect the evolving situation in the country. On 20 March 2020, the Government of Papua New Guinea reported its first imported case of COVID-19 which prompted the declaration of a State of Emergency (SoE) for a period of 14 days. This mobilized a whole-of-society response which resulted to the establishment of the National Operations Centre, which is an inter-ministerial, inter-agency platform for coordination that functioned until the National Pandemic Act 2020 was enacted on 16 June 2020. The National Control Centre (formerly the National Operations Centre) was put under the leadership of the Controller who has the overall command over the national response, including issuance of directions, imposition of measures and coordination with Provincial Control Centres. As of 26th September 2021, the cumulative number of cases in the country is 19 523 with 17 deaths.

From the start, WHO has been supporting the PNG Government in all its preparedness and response efforts. The WHO Incident Management Team has worked closely with the government, especially through the National Control Centre, and has provided technical, operational and capacity-building support at both national and subnational levels in the following areas:  surveillance, rapid response and contact tracing; laboratory strengthening; clinical management; infection prevention and control; non-pharmaceutical public health measures; risk communication and community engagement; points of entry; operations and logistics; and, partner coordination. WHO continues to provide technical, operational and logistical support for emergency use authorisations, planning, implementation and monitoring of vaccination roll out. Critical to the ongoing technical assistance is a systematic approach to the collation, tracking and analysis of relevant intelligence and information.

• Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)
• Duration:  5.5 months (11.01.2021 - 04.15.2022)
•  
• Technical Supervision
• The selected consultant will work under the supervision of:
• Dr Angela Merianos, Incident Manager, WHO Papua New Guinea

PURPOSE/SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE ACTIVITY

This consultancy will support the Information and Planning Pillar of the WHO Country Office as part of the response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is critical in the systematic, timely and high-quality collection, analysis, generation and dissemination of data and strategic information.

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES TO BE CARRIED OUT

Under the supervision of the WHO Incident Manager and with the guidance of the Information and Planning Pillar Lead, the consultant shall perform the following tasks/responsibilities/deliverables:

1. Assist the Information and Planning Lead to support the systematic, timely and high-quality collection, analysis, production and dissemination of data/information from relevant agencies, key operational partners and relevant internal WHO teams to generate a consolidated overview of needs and requirements and help outline response strategies, workplans and budgets;
2. Assist the Information and Planning Lead with regular planning reviews and assessment on the current implementation and gaps of the National Response Plan and Operational Blueprint to provide periodic estimates and forecasts on response requirements based on needs and options to address implementation gaps;
3. Collate information to and collaborate the drafting of relevant information and planning documents including project proposals, annual reports, donor reports, etc.;
4. Collate information needed to write up weekly situation reports and updating of provincial preparedness profiles;
5. Assist the Information and Planning Lead to provide continuing technical guidance, training and capacity building to team members and partners involved in the planning and data/information management process on data gathering and analysis, quality assurance, performance monitoring, information dissemination and management;
6. Provide secretariat support to meetings and other related activities;
7. Create /maintain up-to-date internal and external email/phone lists of all members of the Incident Management Team, which shall be shared to members whenever there are updates;
8. In collaboration with the Incident Manager/Deputy Incident Manager, create/maintain up-to-date versions of the IMT structure, which shall be shared to members whenever there are changes; 
9. Create/maintain shared drives/platforms for document repository and information audit trail, which in case there is a need to set up a new document filing system, files should be transferred from various (existing) drive sites;  
10. Archive all PDF final versions of all COVID-19 documents produced by the Incident Management Team and maintain a database of all information products;
11. Maintain Incident Management Team request tracker;
12. In collaboration with Admin & Finance Pillar, maintain HR database of Incident Management Team personnel (i.e. IMT function filled, deployment start and end dates visualised in a Gannt chart, etc.); and,
13. Perform any other related duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

METHODS TO CARRY OUT THE ACTIVITY

• • Attendance to meetings and gathering information/notes
• • Organizing and archiving documents and IMT products  
• • Updating files and information databases
• • Maintaining shared drives/folders
• • Discussions with various pillars, partners and stakeholders

Deliverable/s

• • Monthly progress report
• • Final report at the end of consultancy

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION

University degree in medicine, public health, information or data management, computer sciences, or any other field; advanced degree is desirable.

EXPERIENCE

At least one year of relevant professional experience in administrative support and data management; work experience in WHO or in any UN agency is an advantage.

TECHNICAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE

Skills in data management, analysis and visualization; analytical and inter-personal skills; use of MS Office, particularly spreadsheets, data visualization and analysis tools, and databases; skills in writing

LANGUAGES

Written and spoken fluency in English is essential.

COMPETENCIES

• • Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
• • Teamwork
• • Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• • Communication
• • Producing result
• • Ensuring effective use of resources

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Place of assignment

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Medical clearance

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

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 < wproungm@who.int > by 22 October 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. 147465 as subject to all submission. Only successful candidates will be contacted.