International Consultant to support the strengthening

UNICEF in Vientiane, Lao PDR is looking for an International Consultant to support the strengthening of Village Health Volunteer (VHVs) Programme in Lao PDR. The duration of this assignment is 6 months, starting as soon as possible. The consultant will be based at the Government Office (MOH/DHHP).

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:  

The Consultant will support various streams of work on community based RMNCAH. This will include the following:

• Work closely with the Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion (DHHP)- Ministry of Health (MoH) to plan and facilitate refresher training sessions for central-level trainers with emphasis on building communication and counseling skills of facilitators.
• Review and revise the current guidelines for Quarterly Community Meetings (involving VHVs, village chiefs, and health facility staff) at health centers in coordination with DHHP and UNICEF technical team).
• Provide technical expertise to UNICEF’s T4D team, DHHP, the Department of Planning and Finance (DPF), and jointly work with T4D consultant for designing the online registry and reporting system for VHVs.
• For facilitating effective learning based on RMNCAH manual develop a script for a demonstration and capacity-building video on VHV counseling during RMNCAH home visits. Coordinate and support UNICEF’s communication team, MoH/CHSI, and DHHP during the video production process.
• Document best practices and lessons learned from the whole VHV capacity building initiative including field visits and provide actionable recommendations and propose solutions to address identified challenges.
• Undertake field visits to provinces and districts to monitor and support sub-national teams in VHV trainings and VHVs conducting home visits (MoH+WVI) to identify gaps and provide actionable recommendations for improvement.
• Perform additional tasks as assigned by the supervisor, ensuring alignment with the scope of the consultancy and emerging needs.
• a detailed end of assignment report aligned with agreed deliverables.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

• Post-graduate degree in Medicine, Public Health, Social Sciences, International Development or another relevant area.

Qualifications, experience, knowledge and skills: 

• At least 10 years of relevant experience in Health systems including Community health workers’ curriculum development, capacity building, DHIS, Community Health Information system development, planning, coordination, and implementation of community primary health care health with a specific focus on community RMNCAH.
• Experience of working with MoH on community health programmes/systems would be an advantage.
• Experience in facilitating community- based workers training would be an advantage.
• Have hands-on experience of managing community health including community based RMNCAH would be an advantage.
• Familiarity with the Lao PDR community health system context is required.
• The ability to work and collaborate with Government, UN agencies and NGOs.
• Experience in providing technical assistance to the government staff and capacity building activities.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team and have the initiative to work independently to meet deadlines.
• Excellent analytical, report writing and communication skills.
• A good command of English (speaking and writing) is required.

Source: https://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/578494