The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations. With over 8,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, where they need it. By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments.
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR) supports UNOPS offices in the region, providing management and financial/programmatic oversight of Global and Country specific Portfolios, Clusters and Operations Centers including hosting services, fund management, management advisory services, implementing projects, procuring goods and services and managing human resources.
ECR ensures that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between business units and projects across the entire region.
Background Information - Job-specific
RBM Partnership to End Malaria
The RBM Partnership to End Malaria is the largest global platform for coordinated action against malaria. Originally established as Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership in 1998, it mobilizes for action and resources and forges consensus among partners. The Partnership is comprised of more than 500 partners, including malaria endemic countries, their bilateral and multilateral development partners, the private sector, nongovernmental and community-based organizations, foundations, and research and academic institutions. The RBM Partnership Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Geneva, Switzerland. endmalaria.org
The Country & Regional Support Partners Committee (CRSPC) is one of RBM’s key partnership mechanisms. The purpose of CRSPC is to implement a formal partnership mechanism to facilitate and harmonize timely implementation support to malaria endemic countries and regions to achieve established targets. CRSPC is supporting countries to rapidly programme Global Fund allocations, through the development of funding applications, and providing ongoing support in programme implementation addressing bottlenecks as they may arise.
The Digital Health Specialist shall work for the UNOPS/RBM to facilitate and support countries with issues related to the development and/or scale up of digital platforms for malaria intervention campaigns or multi-disease campaigns, malaria or multi-disease surveillance and other interventions. The countries to be supported present highly complex technical, epidemiological and political contexts for implementation of malaria control and elimination. At the same time, significant increased investment in digital health (digitization of campaigns) is anticipated in the coming years, for example, through mechanisms such Global Fund’s C19RM. This context significantly enhances the complexity of malaria program implementation and requires senior and experienced consultants, able to command the respect of senior government officials and partners. The implementation support from the Digital Health Specialist will support issues related to the introduction or scale up of digital health platforms for malaria intervention campaigns, such as insecticide-treated nets (ITN), indoor residual spraying (IRS), seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC), and surveillance or other interventions where additional capacity and expertise is needed and cannot be found among in-country partners, following WHO guidance and country standards/policy, and working in collaboration with strategic partnerships (e.g. UNICEF DICE, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others).
The Digital Health Specialist is expected to have expertise in the assessment, development, governance and implementation of digital health tools and technologies, particularly in the context of malaria prevention campaigns or similar campaign-style service delivery and malaria surveillance. In-depth knowledge of the various existing implementations of digital health tools and technologies for digital campaigns (malaria and other diseases) and malaria surveillance (e.g. DHIS2) is also required. In addition, the consultant is expected to have a clear understanding of relevant WHO normative guidance on digital health, as well as broader global guidance, developments, partnerships and initiatives in the digital health space. In addition, the assignment requires highly developed negotiation skills and a proven track record in achieving consensus across multiple stakeholders. The consultant will be expected to visit the countries as necessary during the support period.
The position is homebased with significant duty travel required. Assignments could include, but are not limited to the following and could be for a particular intervention area or across interventions:
A. Programmatic area
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Development and/or scale up of a digital platform for malaria prevention campaigns (ITNs, IRS, SMC) or multi-disease campaigns, including malaria. This could include partial digitization (such as implementation of mobile payments) or all aspects of a campaign.
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Development and/or scale up of digital malaria (or multi-disease) surveillance systems (facility level, community level).
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Development of common georegistries of core spatial data layers relevant to GIS-based macro-planning and micro-planning of campaigns and malaria surveillance, including but not limited to georeferenced master lists/registries of health facilities (public and private), community health workers, mobile outreach sites, administrative boundaries, settlements, household footprints and target populations.
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Assess the design, governance and implementation of existing digital health platforms implemented in-country, assess country capacity, identify challenges and recommend solutions.
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Develop detailed strategies, operational and financing plans, as well as risk assessment and mitigation plans for the roll out of digital health platforms;
B. Monitoring and Evaluation
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Develop training, supervision, monitoring and evaluation protocols to support, monitor and evaluate implementation.
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Review existing support and conduct partnership mapping of current activities, resources and anticipated changes.
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Review cost and efficiencies of programs.
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Lead the fieldwork and analysis to develop an investment case for digital platforms, for example for integration of malaria within national digital health efforts (platforms, strategy and policy).
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Lead and/or support on review and validation of the comprehensive programmatic and/or financial gap analysis for a particular intervention area;
C. Coordination
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Lead high-level discussions with senior management, partner representatives and other key stakeholders to broker consensus on any of the above intervention areas.
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Undertake a technical review of chosen strategies and interventions to ensure that they are technically sound and in line with WHO normative guidance, feasible to implement and will achieve sufficient impact.
Monitoring and Progress Controls
Key Deliverables:
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To be determined based on the specific assignment, possible examples:
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Operational plan for roll out for full digitization of a malaria campaign
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Guidelines for implementing a digital malaria surveillance system
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Final report to the CRSPC analyzing support provided including recommendations for improving future support to countries.
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Write and submit a report to the CRSPC outlining in detail the support provided including suggesting lessons for future support.
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Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization.(for levels IICA-2, IICA-3, LICA Specialist- 10, LICA Specialist-11, NOC, NOD, P3, P4 and above) |
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Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion. |
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Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. |
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Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). |
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Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. |
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Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. |
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Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. |
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Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground. |
Education/Experience/Language requirements
Education
- Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in the field of Information technology, digital health technology, public health or health systems and services technology, or any other relevant field of education is required.
- A Bachelor’s degree in the above-mentioned fields (or related) with an additional 2 years of experience may be considered in lieu of the Master´s Degree.
Experience
Essential:
- At least 7 years of experience in eHealth/digital health, preferably in assessment, development, governance and implementation of digital health platforms.
- Experience in digitization of public health campaigns, disease surveillance systems and development of geo-registries of core spatial data layers e.g. georeferenced master lists of health service delivery sites, is preferred.
Desirable:
- Documented experience at national and international levels and working with multiple stakeholders
- Proven track record of success in managing assignments independently and efficiently
- Knowledge of broader health policies and National Malaria Control Programmes
Language
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Fluency in oral and written English or French is required
Contract type, level and duration
Contract type: ICA (Retainer)
Contract level: I-ICA 3
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.
For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx
- Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
- Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
- Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
- Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
- UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
- Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
- For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
- For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
- The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.
Background Information - UNOPS
UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.
UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.
Working with us
UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.
Diversity
With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.
Work life harmonization
UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.