Consultancy: Immunization Forecasting Strengthening Consultant – Req.#563388

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, hope. 

Vacancy Announcement: Consultant

Consultancy Title: Consultant, Immunization Forecasting Strengthening

Section/Division/Duty Station: Health – Immunization, Programme Group – Copenhagen

Duration: 14 August 2023 to 30 April 2024 – REMOTE

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world’s leading children’s rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection and development. UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/Assignment: 

The goal of immunizing children everywhere is premised on timely availability of vaccines and supplementary materials and the prevention of expiry, unexpected wastages, and overstock. To achieve this, Immunization planning requires dedicated forecasting which triangulates statutory needs with consumption, wastages and variations in product requirements including during diverse disruptions.

While most countries conduct forecasts at the national level based on aggregated target populations and (in few instances) previous consumption, there are wide disparities across sub-national needs and key unreached and underserved populations are not directly and systematically planned for.

To ensure that bottlenecks to providing immunization services to all populations are removed, including recent backsliding due to the pandemic, in-country stakeholders must be supported to ensure that sub-national vaccine and immunization products needs forecasts and supply planning are dynamic and innovative; and that stakeholders while they monitor/triangulate expiry, manage both stock-outs and overstocks and mitigate avoidable wastages; there must be targeted prioritization of unreached and underserved populations. Strengthening stock management systems will be critical to this.

A recent eight-country UNICEF analysis indicated strategies to strengthen forecast accuracy to include government-led forecasting teams, harmonized quality forecasting processes, standardized forecasting methods that ensure data quality and investment in staff capacity-building.

UNICEF and partners are finalizing a forecasting toolbox- a suite of guidelines, guidance, frameworks, tools, SOPs etc. to provide end to end forecast and supply planning strengthening to national and sub-national stakeholders.

Thus, UNICEF is seeking one (1) Immunization Forecasting Strengthening Consultant to provide expert forecasting materials in the toolbox, develop country operationalization materials, facilitate regional and country workshops, and produce evidence of forecast strengthening.

The consultancy assignment will be supervised by the Health Specialist, Immunization Supply Chain and the consultant will collaborate with a wide range of partners in iSC2, regions and countries.

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the Health Specialist, Immunization Supply Chain, the Immunization Forecasting Strengthening Consultant will:

• Develop (as part of an iSC2 multi-partner forecasting toolbox) guideline, framework, tools, etc. to show how forecasts can be used to target unreached and underserved populations including in remote rural, urban, conflict and other settings (and ensure that other materials align with these) and at the sub-national levels, generally.
• Develop appropriate guideline, case studies, tools, SOPs etc. (in alignment with the UNICEF Forecasting and Supply Planning Strengthening consultancy recommendations) that support strengthening of sub-national forecasting processes and practices linked to strengthening in-country forecasting practices including the reporting into and use of stock management tools that contribute to Thrive 360.
• Operationalization of the forecasting toolbox: develop operationalization materials (especially related to targeting unreached and underserved populations and sub-national level generally), operationalization support in up to 3 countries, facilitate (and document) regional and country (as well as partner-wide) consultation workshops on forecast strengthening and forecasting toolbox operationalization and lessons learnt
• Document evidence and learnings from operationalization of toolbox including (minimum of) one report, two case studies, two news items and two webinars.
• Collate partner inputs and engagements in developing toolbox materials, operationalization and documentation of evidence and learnings.

Terms of Reference / Deliverables

– Review existing (UNICEF and others) vaccines, immunization supplies and CCE forecasting guidance/guidelines/tools/frameworks and previous assessments, landscape country (periodic) forecasting processes and global/regional/national forecasting goals and targets- identifying gaps and including analysis of country practices, challenges, and lessons

• Landscape and analysis report   

– Conceptualize a methodology (based on country/regional/HQ feedback) that ensures that vaccines, immunization supplies and CCE forecasting practices and processes target key unreached and underserved populations including in remote rural, urban, conflict and other settings

• Outline of methodology and plan for developing guideline, case studies, tools, evidence etc.

– Develop appropriate guideline, case studies, tools, and SOPs (in alignment with the UNICEF Forecasting and Supply Planning Strengthening consultancy recommendations) to operationalize the methodology for ensuring vaccines, immunization supplies and CCE forecasting practices and processes contribute to programme outcomes and target key unreached and underserved populations including in remote rural, urban, conflict and other settings, including at sub-national levels generally (such as dose sharing, reallocation, and risk mitigation etc.)- include planning/coordination, SOPs, KPIs, innovative mechanisms etc.      

• Guideline, case studies, tools, KPIs, SOPs etc. developed and approved   3rd

– Contribute to strengthening use of in-country stock management tools for monitoring and reporting stock management practices and aggregation and date use for action from Thrive 360

• Make expert inputs into Framework and provide support to at least (5) countries to strengthen stock management practices including data tools uptake and use, reporting into Thrive 360 and date use for action   

– Operationalization of the forecasting toolbox- develop operationalization materials (especially related to targeting unreached and underserved populations and sub-national level generally), operationalization support in up to 3 countries.

Develop training materials, facilitate (and document) regional and country as well as partner-wide consultation workshops on forecasting toolbox operationalization and lessons learnt.

• Forecasting toolbox operationalization materials developed.
• Forecasting strengthening (using toolbox operationalization capacity building materials) support provided to 3 countries.
• Finalized training materials, and facilitation of (1) regional and (2) country forecast review/strengthening workshops.
• Report of regional and country forecast workshops

– Document evidence and learnings from operationalization of forecasting toolbox              

• Evidence produced (1) report, (2) case studies, (2) news items and (2) webinars on operationalization of toolbox      

Qualifications

 1) Education

• Advanced degree in Engineering, Public Health, Supply Chain, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Business or Public Administration or related field is required.
• Additional qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the university degree.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English is required. Knowledge of other UN languages is an asset.

2) Work experience

• At least (8) years of experience in international public health programming including at least (3) years in immunization and immunization supply chains, with experience in low- and middle-income countries.
• Familiarity with in-country supply chain processes and strengthening such as stock and logistics management, inventory policies, allocation, ordering and distribution strategies, temperature monitoring, waste management and other supply chain operations
• Very good knowledge of:
• country’s national and sub-national forecasting processes and practices
• country forecasting bottlenecks and diverse methodology to address these
• programmatic practices to identify, design, target, measure, and document evidence from supply chain/immunization interventions that seek to reach unreached and underserved populations including remote rural, urban slums, conflict settings etc.  
• Experience with/ in:
• health systems strengthening including supply chain strengthening
• engaging multiple stakeholders at countries’ national and sub-national levels, including communicating ideas in a collegiate manner
• planning, coordination and working with teams in different time zones is a must.

3) Competencies

• Ability to work in the multi-cultural environment. 

Requirements: 

• Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and provide Personal History Form (P11) Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include:
• Cost per deliverable or lumpsum for the whole deliverables as indicated in the terms of reference
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

 To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.