Job Purpose
The National Consultant will provide technical expertise, support and advice to the implementation of the UN Joint Programme (JP) on tele-medicine.
The UN Joint Programme (JP) Minimizing the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Georgia through telemedicine and digital health solutions is funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia. The programme cycle is 36 months. The Action is aimed at supporting Georgia’s Primary Health Care (PHC) system in rural areas to: (a) mitigate disruption of services due to the COVID-19 outbreak; and, (b) deliver high quality PHC services, especially in hard to reach areas.
The contract duration will be October 1, 2021– September 1, 2022, (with possibility 1-year extension). The contract with the consultant will be 11 months and renewed based on satisfactory performance.
Major Activities/Expected Results
The National Consultant is expected to undertake and/or support the following tasks as deemed necessary by the UNFPA CO and the supervisor:
Technical Support and Coordination
• Provide specific technical expertise, support and advice as regards the implementation of the project activities implemented by UNFPA;
• In close collaboration with the JP partners advocate and provide technical support in introducing legislative/policy/normative revisions for telehealth SRH services to be provided at PHC level for more effective and coordinated response to COVID-19;
• In close collaboration with the UNFPA SRH Programme Analyst, support interventions for systems strengthening to ensure the application of telemedicine solutions in quality SRH service delivery;
• Lead coordination efforts with JP partners and stakeholders for implementation of planned interventions and ensuring synergies/consensus building;
• In close collaboration with JP partners support capacity development of service providers and building participatory advocacy platforms to advocate for the use of digital health/telemedicine solutions in public health services.
Communications
• Support the UNFPA CO team in social mobilization and awareness raising campaign on telemedicine services, for educating pregnant women and mothers on prevention of COVID-19 infection, danger signs of antenatal and postnatal periods;
• Assess perception and satisfaction of women and girls who received online consultation through telemedicine;
• Support project communication and visibility strategy by compiling and synthesizing relevant regional background material for use in advocacy discussions and public events.
Programme management support
Serve as Telemedicine Project Coordinator handling project tasks and preparing work products to assist with carrying out project activities:
• Contribute to ensuring timely implementation of activities in the project workplan and achievement of results;
• Contribute to monitoring implementation of activities under the JP, including travels and follow up with MoH and other national partners; prepares progress reports;
• Contribute to assessments of the quality of deliverables delivered within the JP and provision of feedback to national counterparts as needed;
• Ensure the coherence and connectedness among all key actors namely Participating UN Agencies (PUNOs) and the national stakeholders;
• Identify challenges, constraints and changes encountered during the project’s implementation and define variances/mitigation measures, in close conjunction with UNFPA SRH Programme Analyst;
• Retrieve lessons learned and good practices; advise on elements for future possible sustainability of interventions beyond the lifespan of the project;
• In conjunction with SRH PA & Head of Office, represent UNFPA in meetings with PUNOs and national counterparts (MoH, NCDC, etc.);
• Draft situation/progress papers/reports to UNFPA and Lead Agency (WHO) for internal and external use, conducts field visits;
• Oversee work of the Project Assistant;
• Any other project related matter, as requested by the supervisor.
Work Relations
The National Consultant will be contracted and supervised by the UNFPA Georgia Country Office. The project implementation team is made of staff from the different UN partners with direct responsibility for the action implementation. The Consultant will work under the supervision of the UNFPA CO SRH Programme Analyst, in close collaboration with the UNFPA/Geo Head of Office.
Job Requirements
• University degree in Healthcare Administration, Public Health, Business Administration, or related healthcare field is required.
• Post-graduate University Degree or equivalent (preferably Ph. D.) in Public Health, SRH or equivalent professional work experience is desirable;
• Minimum Five (5) years of progressive professional experience in the area of public health, preferable in maternal and reproductive health issues;
• Previous experience with design and implementation of international best practices in the area of telehealth and digital health platforms/tools, is highly desirable;
• Documented experience in working on knowledge management, provision of technical support, and preparing and conducting capacity building initiatives;
• Ability to communicate technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences;
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision;
• Solid written and verbal communication skills in English and Georgian are the requirements;
• Experience in development of communication campaigns, and communication and advocacy strategies and material is an asset.
A letter of interest, a UN Personal History Form (P11) filled in English, and a CV should be sent to the following email address unfpa.procurement@
The Position title - National Consultant - should be indicated in the subject line.
