Public Health Lead Consultant

Duration of Assignment: Approximately 90 days

1. Background

The Central Mediterranean is considered to be the deadliest migration route in the world, with more than 13,800 deaths recorded in this area since 2014. There is also evidence that the rise in the number of migrant deaths on this route is a result of several factors, in particularly increasingly dangerous smuggling practices, leading to high numbers of migrant fatalities not only after their departure from Libya on unseaworthy boats, but even before, on their way across the Saharan desert. It is also a known fact that the routes are changing and becoming more dangerous, exposing these migrants to higher risks for their life, whenever smugglers attempt to avoid checkpoints or border patrols, hence increasing the likeliness of suffering from technical problems because of the harsher driving conditions on the desert tracks used. If smugglers face troubles en route, they often kick the migrants out of their vehicles and leave them to fend for themselves, without water, food or shelter in the middle of nowhere, without having the possibility to contact anybody to get help.

In this context, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the financial support from the Government of Sweden, launched a project entitled “Central Mediterranean Migration Route (CMR): Enhance Capacities of Governments to Counter the Dangers and Hazards as well as Health Security Issues in Mixed Migratory Flows” to enhance the capacities of governments to counter the dangers and hazards as well as health security issues in mixed migration flows.

The project aims at taking a comprehensive, but tailored, approach in tackling this situation more effectively: on one side through enhancing the access for vulnerable people and those ending up in distress along the CMR, providing immediate humanitarian assistance by non-governmental organizations or concerned governmental institutions, on the other side through improving the mechanisms for international cooperation and collaboration of concerned stakeholders.

The scope of project activities may include, but not limited to, the following two main components:

1. Convene the Operational Heads of Border Services including Border Guards and Border Police at a Regional Roundtable Meeting to discuss possible ways forward to improve (operational) capacities, coordination and information sharing mechanisms among all stakeholders along the CMR, inter alia through targeted capacity building support, and

2. Establish an evidence-based cross-border coordination mechanism on disease surveillance and early warning system among all key stakeholders in the health sector, including immigration officials, along the CMR in particular the borders of Libya-Tunisia, Libya-Niger and Algeria-Niger, as well as providing health related basic equipment and training to targeted border crossing points/border posts in order to enhance the preparedness and response capacity for health security in particular prevention of cross-border infectious diseases.
   

2. Main tasks and responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of Migration Health Officer in IOM Libya, and in close coordination and collaboration with the designated health focal points in IOM Algeria, Niger, and Tunisia, the Senior Regional Immigration and Border Management Specialist and the Regional Migration Health Specialist based in Cairo, Egypt as well as the Regional Migration Health Specialist in Dakar, Senegal, national consultants recruited for this project as well as the other relevant colleagues in IOM, the incumbent will successfully implement the health component including coordination among the implementing countries as well as with the stakeholders, conducting needs assessments.

The incumbent will undertake the following tasks:

• Draft the border health assessments protocol and tools for the assessments through stakeholders’ consultations, present them at the first coordination meetings, receive inputs from the stakeholders, and revise and finalize them;
• Supervise and instruct in coordination with the designated health focal points in the country offices the national consultants recruited for this project;
• Supervise the overall logistics and administrative tasks, with the support from the implementing country offices, to organize the first and second border health coordination meetings as well as conduct technical trainings for the stakeholders from the identified borders;
• Plan and organize the field visits for the stakeholders to the border sites;
• Draft the detail plans for the procurement and deliveries of equipment and supplies for border health preparedness and response capacity;
• Conduct the border health assessments including data collection, cleaning, and analysis in coordination and collaboration with the stakeholders from the identified cross border points;
• Draft and finalize the assessments in a quality manner that is up to the IOM standards, with technical inputs from and in close coordination with the stakeholders;
• Support to disseminate the outcomes of the assessments to the stakeholders;
• Report on the progress of the activities and budget consumption to the Migration Health Officer in IOM Libya on a weekly basis and to Regional Migration Health Specialist in Cairo, Egypt on a monthly basis;
• Support the Regional Migration Health Specialist to produce donor reports as per the donor requirements;
• Provide any other support to contribute to establish and/or enhance the border health coordination mechanism.
  

3. Deliverables and estimated schedule

• Final border health assessments protocol, tools as well as the detail plans for the first and second border health coordination meetings as well as technical trainings
• Final assessments as well as the summary overall report of the Output 2

4. Payment schedule

• First instalment: upon signing of the contract (20%)
• Second instalment: upon submission of the final border health assessments protocol, tools as well as the detail plans for the first and second border health coordination meetings as well as technical trainings (40%)
• Final instalment: upon submission of the final assessments (40%)
  

5. Qualification

§ Education

• o Postgraduate degree in public health, epidemiology, statistics or related field

§ Experience

• o At least five years of international experience in health project coordination and management or monitoring and evaluation on health project
• o Experience in taking lead in conducting health assessments using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies
• o Experience in coordinating and facilitating a large conference with various stakeholders in different sectors including health
• o Experience in working with the government, in particular with the Ministry of Health
• o Experience in migration issues, an asset,
• o Experience in International Health Regulations and border health issues, an asset

§ Language Skills

• o Excellent both spoken and written competency in English
• o French and Arabic an advantage

§ Computer Skills

• o Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc)
  

§ Skills and Competencies

• o Ability to work independently, with flexibility and meet deadlines
• o Demonstrated ability to identify, approach and coordinate with stakeholders of diverse backgrounds and levels of expertise
• o Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• o Excellent management skills
• o Ability to work in a team and good interpersonal skills

6. Reporting

The incumbent will report to the Migration Health Officer in IOM Libya regularly and to Regional Migration Health Specialist in Cairo, Egypt on at least a monthly basis, to assess the progress of the project.

7. Fee

All-inclusive daily fee of up to USD 450 depending on the qualification and expertise assessed.

When travelling on duty outside the designated duty station, Daily Subsistence Assistance (DSA) based on the IOM’s regulations will be provided separately besides the consultancy fee.