National Consultant for strengthening vaccination services (Home-Based), Romania, Bucharest, 20 working days between June and August 2024

The scope of the consultancy is to provide knowledge and evidence on primary health care for closing the gap between public health and primary care through integration in Romania by understanding and strengthening childhood vaccination governance in under-immunization settings. It is vital to improve the effectiveness of vaccination interventions in reducing excess morbidity and mortality and to improve the equitable delivery of vaccines to zero-dose and under-immunised communities.

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, Health

How can you make a difference? 

Purpose of Activity/Assignment.

Global improvements in routine immunization services mask significant inter- and intra-country disparities warranting novel approaches to reach persistent pockets of unvaccinated children. Recently, the adoption of different strategies to reach zero-dose children and their communities has been put forward as a pathway towards achieving universal health coverage (UHC).  Primary health care (PHC) has three main elements: 1) primary care and essential public health functions as the core of integrated services, 2) multisectoral policy and action, 3) empowered people and communities.

Immunization is a critical component of PHC and offers a clear entry point for multisectoral efforts to strengthen PHC more broadly. Recent technical work has been developed in partnership with and aligned to the Immunization Agenda 2030 Strategic Priority on PHC/UHC, describing potential areas of synergies between immunization and primary health care.

During the past years, several assessments were carried out to understand the reasons for low demand to tailor the immunization activities. One of the reasons for the low vaccination coverage in Romania, which is reported by family physicians, as vaccinators, through the National Electronic Vaccination Registry (NEVR) as the first place among the reasons for non-vaccination is occupied by non-attendance, the percentage reported by general practitioners in the urban environment 42.3% being slightly increased compared to that reported in rural areas of 40.5%.

Understanding and addressing the reasons for non-attendance can help build trust and confidence in vaccination programs. When individuals feel heard and their concerns are addressed respectfully, they are more likely to engage with vaccination efforts and follow public health recommendations in the future. And, last but not least, certain populations may face systemic barriers to accessing healthcare services, including vaccination. By identifying and addressing these barriers, health authorities can work to reduce health disparities and ensure equitable access to vaccination for all individuals, regardless of socioeconomic status, geographic location, or other factors.

The real challenge to any health system is how to strengthen the relationship between public health and primary care to synergistically enhance both functions.

Scope of Work:

The scope of the consultancy is to provide knowledge and evidence on primary health care for closing the gap between public health and primary care through integration in Romania by understanding and strengthening childhood vaccination governance in under-immunization settings. It is vital to improve the effectiveness of vaccination interventions in reducing excess morbidity and mortality and to improve the equitable delivery of vaccines to zero-dose and under-immunized communities.

The generic task of the consultancy is the following:

•  Analyzing the systems or processes, e.g., coherent national systems that review/address operational immunization issues such as hesitancy, staff performance, etc.—program structures that define clear roles and responsibilities

•  Practical identification of administrative and financial barriers for a sustained financial and operational plan implementation to define and achieve vaccination aims

•  Proposing framed ‘prioritization’ of target populations/geographical areas for vaccination or of vaccination over other public health interventions, or specific vaccines over others

•  Providing support to strengthening institutional capacity, especially at the subnational level through evidence generation

•  Taking a broader perspective so that care for individuals is framed in the context of population outcomes (e.g. equity and social cohesion)

•  Collaborating with all relevant stakeholders to ensure good quality deliverables. The consultant will work under the supervision of UNICEF’s Health Specialist.

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

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Management, Health Economics, Public Health, Digital Health or another relevant field.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *:

– A minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in health systems strengthening and assessment particularly in Primary Health Care and national health programmes in Romania;

–   Experience in research and contributing to technical analysis, preparation of technical documents and reports related to primary healthcare policies and guidance in the context of health reforms;

–   Previous experience in working with UN Agencies and/or various structures of the Health System of Romania is considered an asset;  

–    Analytical and conceptual ability; communication skills;

–    Availability for work within the proposed time frame;

–    Fluent in Romanian, working knowledge of English (both written and oral).

Please submit an all-inclusive professional fee in RON  to undertake this 20-working days assignment as per the attached document.  Financial Proposal for national consultant vaccination.xlsx 

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/individual contractors 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. 

Remarks:  

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract 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 and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors 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 visa (applicable) and 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.