Polio OBR Program support consultant

The upsurge in the number of cVDPV2 and WPV1 cases in Africa in Mozambique, Madagascar and DRC as well as the geographical positioning of DRC and Madagascar, with focus from the WHO AFRO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) underlines the need for continued outbreak response activities in these countries. The consultancy is designed to engage experienced polio campaign coordination personnel to support the planning, coordination, and monitoring of the campaigns as well as strengthen the project management capacity of national teams through on-the-job capacity strengthening.

Description of consultant roles

The consultant will provide direct support for, and also strengthen the capacity of national teams in the following areas:

1. Planning and coordination of the polio outbreak response

The Polio consultant will:

• Support the country Polio team to conduct country situational analysis, stakeholder mapping, and develop the Polio EOC organogram with clear reporting lines
• Support the GPEI coordinator to set up the Polio Technical Working Groups with TORs
• Engage with government stakeholders at the subnational levels to prepare micro plans and budgets, and review these for completeness, coherence, and accuracy
• Ensure the precampaign dashboard is routinely updated and tracked to ascertain campaign readiness at national and subnational levels
• Provide meeting facilitation support for daily and weekly coordination meetings; prepare and share discussion documents with stakeholders, take meeting notes and track implementation of action items
• Support the GEPI coordinator/Incidence Manager to establish a system for archiving EOC documents

2. Data analytics and data management support, and documentation of OBR activities

The Polio consultant will:

• Support the GEPI coordinator/Incidence Manager to map the flow of SIA data to identify and resolve bottlenecks with the availability of timely, complete, and accurate SIA data
• Ensure daily analysis of campaign data to identify poor performing districts, root causes and provide feedback to district focal persons
• Support the country Polio team to develop and track campaign quality improvement plans
• Support the GEPI coordinator/Incidence Manager to prepare technical documents, briefing notes, slides, and other materials for engagement with stakeholders
• Support the GEPI coordinator/Incidence Manager to develop and archive weekly and post-campaign reports that are detailed and useful for future campaign planning.

Education, experience, and language requirements

1. Relevant graduate-level degree (International Development, Applied Sciences, and Technology, Policy and Strategy Development, Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Management or similarly relevant field;
2. At least two years’ country experience with supporting planning and implementation of disease outbreak responses (Polio, Measles, Cholera, etc.)
3. Possess proven project management, stakeholder management, and problem-solving skills
4. Candidates must be bilingual. Read/Write/Speak at the advanced level of English and French or Portuguese
5. Understanding any of the local languages spoken in DRC (e.g., Swahili), Mozambique (e.g., Makhuwa) or Madagascar (e.g., Malagasy) is an added advantage