Consultant – EIOS Training and System Evaluation
( 2307730 )
Contractual Arrangement : External consultant
Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days) : 11 months
Job Posting: Aug 29, 2023, 1:25:13 PM
Purpose of consultancy
To better support training and EIOS system adoptability, and strengthen global, regional and national capacity, the consultant will contribute to the development of the EIOS training materials and activities as well as evaluation of new EIOS System categories and features.
Background
The Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) initiative is a unique collaboration between various public health stakeholders around the globe. It brings together new and existing initiatives, networks and systems to create a unified all-hazards, One Health approach to early detection, verification, assessment and communication of public health threats using publicly available information. In September 2017, WHO accepted the leadership of EIOS under the Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) with a governance structure involving multiple stakeholders. The mission of WHE is to build the capacity of Member States to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations.
The EIOS initiative is led by the EIOS Core Team (ECT) which is hosted within the Intelligence Innovation and Integration (III) unit of the Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence Systems (ISY) department. In January 2022, the department became part of the new WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence under the new Health Emergency Intelligence and Surveillance Systems division (WSE) of the WHE. The division is responsible to build a system of collaborative intelligence enabling better decisions to avert and manage public health threats and risks. Its goal is to enable, strengthen and support countries, and regional and global actors in averting and managing public health threats and risks through collaborative problem solving and decision-making for short-term action and long-term policies, informed by better data and analytics. EIOS is one of the new Hub’s flagship initiatives and one of its main vehicles for building a strong Public Health Intelligence (PHI) community of practice, as well as a multidisciplinary network to support it, as a part of its mission.
Since its inception in 2017, the initiative and related global EIOS community has grown considerably and continues to rapidly expand to Member States, organizations and expert networks across the globe. The EIOS initiative plays a key role in strengthening public health intelligence (PHI) capacity and fostering collaboration among PHI professionals and adequate training is essential for a sustained skilled workforce able to perform the PHI function. Meaningful training and engagement activities are key to ensure not only a successful implementation of the EIOS system in participating entities but also to further strengthen and build capacity within the global PHI network more broadly. To better support training and strengthen global, regional and national capacity, the ECT is seeking support for the development of the EIOS training materials and activities.
Deliverables
The consultant will facilitate training activities for EIOS and the broader III unit as well as evaluation of new EIOS System categories and features.
- Deliverable 1: Revise and update as needed the EIOS Online Training Course, the 3-day EIOS Training Package. This may include coordinating the translation and adaptation of some of the some of the materials when relevant to accommodate the needs of the global EIOS Community including Member States and other collaborators such as UN agencies, national and international institutions.
- Deliverable 2: Develop, revise and update the EIOS Community Manager Training Package, the EIOS Source Editors Training Package and the EIOS Category Editor training.
- Deliverable 3: Organize as EIOS Trainer the EIOS Clinics and respond to technical training requests from members of the global EIOS Community including Member States and other collaborators such as UN agencies, national and international institutions. Support the planning and facilitation of EIOS Training of Trainers Workshops.
- Deliverable 4: Contribute to the design, development and feedback gathering of other training modules in Public Health Intelligence.
- Deliverable 5: Contribute to the iterative modification, evaluation and improvement of category definitions including addition of language annotations. Contribute to the development of identified missing category definitions.
- Deliverable 6: Test and conduct a short evaluation of one or more features recently deployed within the EIOS System.
Qualifications, experience, skills and languages
Educational Qualifications:
Essential:
- First university degree in public health, pharmacy, epidemiology, life sciences, international health, education, curriculum and instruction, learning and technology, or related field.
Desirable:
- Advanced postgraduate training in public health.
Experience
Essential:
- At least 3 years of relevant experience with a successful track record in epidemiology, surveillance and/or public health intelligence at the national and/or international levels plus demonstrated experience in the development and delivery of related training material.
- Experience in developing and delivering training material to public health professionals (e.g. facilitated training workshops, self-study material, online training modules, etc).
- Demonstrated experience in the development and delivery of related training material.
- Experience in using and providing training on non-traditional surveillance systems such as Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS).
Desirable:
- Experience in organizing training workshops and using multiple training approaches and styles, including group discussion, role play and other active training methods.
- Experience in developing audiovisual training materials.
- Field experience in epidemiology, surveillance and/or public health intelligence.
- Experience working with event-based surveillance and risk assessment.
- Prior experience working with WHO or another UN organization.
Skills/Knowledge:
Essential:
- Knowledge of adult learning theory and previous experience in the use of andragogic methodology.
- Demonstrated ability to interact in complex situations involving technical, cultural, and political elements.
- Ability to create a positive, inclusive and supportive training environment, motivating trainees and adapting to different learning styles.
- Sound analytical and organizational skills.
- Good interpersonal skills and ability to work remotely.
- Strong communication and facilitation skills.
- Demonstrated knowledge of surveillance issues and emerging diseases in an international context.
- Expertise with the organization of virtual sessions, Zoom and other IT platforms.
- Good knowledge and mastery of Microsoft Office tools including PowerPoint, Word and Teams.
- Results-oriented and ability to work in a team.
Languages required:
Essential:
- Expert knowledge of English.
Desirable:
- Expert knowledge of Arabic or another UN Language.
Location
Off site: Home-based.
The consultant must be available for meetings during Geneva working hours.
Travel
The consultant is expected to travel.
Remuneration:
Band level A-USD 3,955 – 6,980 per month.
Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited):
N/A
Expected duration of contract :
11 months
Additional Information :
- This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
- Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
- A written test may be used as a form of screening.
- If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
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