Health emergency management specialist

Background

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), established in 1986, is a non-profit, autonomous, regional organization, international in status and non-political in management, staffing, and operations. ADPC has been created for scientific, educational, developmental, and humanitarian purposes that work to build the resilience of people and institutions to disasters and climate change impacts in Asia and the Pacific region.

ADPC has more than 34 years of working experience in Asia along with the national and local Governments of its founding charter member countries as well as countries of the Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) on Disaster Management. ADPC works to strengthen disaster risk reduction at all levels, from regional to national, sub-national, and even to community levels. ADPC aims at supporting governments, strengthen institutions, and build capacity for mainstreaming DRR into development processes. It includes developing institutional systems, assessing disaster risks, undertaking programs for disaster risk reduction and adapting to climate change, etc. Further details on ADPC and its programs can be found at www.adpc.net.

ADPC is currently implementing two programs, namely “Program for Strengthening Preparedness for Emergency Response and Recovery in India (PROSPER-India): and “COVID-19: PROSPER-India Program Support to Bihar Government (INCOV)” in Bihar, India with financial support from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

PROSPER-India is a three-year program focusing on providing technical support to the Government of Bihar in the implementation of DRR activities identified in the Bihar DRR Roadmap (2015-2030). The India COVID-19 Grant is being implemented from June 2020 – March 2021 to strengthen the emergency preparedness and response functions of the Government of Bihar (GoB) for COVID-19. These efforts are primarily targeted at the Disaster Management Department (DMD) and Department of Health (DoH) of Government of Bihar to strengthening Emergency Operations Centers for Response, Risk Communication, and Awareness-raising and enhanced Knowledge Management for COVID preparedness. 

Statement of Intent

Under the output on “Disaster preparedness actions for Agriculture, Health and DM sectors consolidated and scaled up in high-risk districts of Bihar state,” one of the proposed activities is to strengthen the Public Health Emergency Operations and management system of Government of Bihar.

The services of a consultant are required to work with the ADPC team in Bihar to assist the Department of Health in managing emergencies, including the current crisis of COVID-19 in Bihar. The person is expected to work with government officials deployed at the Health Emergency Operation Center (HEOC) and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), Department of Health, GoB, to design, develop, implement and monitor suitable solutions for managing public health emergencies, through HEOC/war room of DoH/State Health Society Bihar (SHSB) in Bihar.

This consultant position is open for Indian Nationals only. The position is based in Patna, Bihar State of India.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor degree in medicine with a post-graduate degree, preferably in Public Health from a recognized university.
• At least 10 years of working experience is essential. 
• Additional qualification in Disaster Management/proven experience in disaster preparedness, emergency response, and good knowledge of Government working system in the Health Department would be preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting training, application of specific technical information and data into training & capacity building programs, and deliver training using adult teaching methodologies.
• Proven ability to develop quality reports, manuals, guidelines, case studies, training modules, and deliver training.
• Familiarity and at least five years of experience working with the National and State Governments in the field of Disaster Management. 
• Previous experience in working with Humanitarian NGOs or international organizations in similar programs.
• Knowledge of working ethics of National or State Government agencies, International NGOs, National NGOs, the private sector, and International Organizations would prove to be an added advantage.

Personal Qualities

• Self-motivated, pro-active and takes initiatives;
• Demonstrated ability to plan, and organize work & time independently and proactively;
• Verbal and written communication skills in English and Hindi are essential;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, team-oriented work style, and experience in working in a multi-cultural environment
• Strong networking capacity and understanding of development work at national and regional levels;
• Strong desire and enthusiasm to learn, undertake new challenges including working during COVID-19 outbreak, must be a creative problem-solver, and must have self-confidence;
• Committed to timely delivery of outputs and willing to work hard, good sense of humor but with seriousness about the quality and excellence of work.

Purpose of the assignment

The primary purpose of the assignment is to extend support to the Department of Health (DoH), Government of Bihar in emergency management of the current crisis of COVID-19, and strengthening the HEOC operations.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the Program Manager, ADPC and designated focal point within the Department of Health, Government of Bihar, the consultant shall be responsible for working with government officials deployed at HEOC and IDSP, DoH, to design, develop, implement and monitor suitable public health emergency management solutions for emergencies including the current spread of COVID-19 in Bihar. 

• Immediate identification of any surge of symptoms or defined cut-offs of epidemiological trends or any emergencies in any particular location/ demographic groups.
• Prepare compendium of existing and new guidelines and tools for management of COVID-19 and other outbreaks.
• Technical documentation of guidelines in the form of SOPs, video documentation, and other related tools as required by DoH.
• Work with IDSP and BMGF partners to develop HEOC and COVID-19 information management system at DoH. 
• Support the program team for the training/orientation of HEOC and field team. Those include Rapid Response Teams (RRTs)/ Quick medical response Teams (QMRT) as per Government of Bihar (GOB) and Government of India (GoI) operational guidelines for understanding case definition, protocols of testing, treatment, isolation, etc. 
• Contribute to strategy formulation and development/revision of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Guidelines, Protocols, etc. to manage the crisis in line with the guidelines of GoB and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)/IDSP, GoI. 
• Serve as surge capacity at HEOC.  
• Preparation of work plan to carry out the above tasks within the duration of the assignment.
• Submit a completion report of tasks carried out, key learnings, and recommendations for the way forward. 

Key deliverables

• Compendium of existing and new guidelines and tools for management of COVID-19 and other outbreaks.
• Work with IDSP and BMGF partners to develop HEOC and COVID-19 information management system at DoH 
• Training/orientation of the HEOC and field team for understanding case definition, protocols of testing, treatment, isolation, etc.
• Serve as surge capacity at HEOC.
• Completion report.

Reporting Relationship

In performing the duties and responsibilities indicated above, the consultant will be supervised by the assigned Program Managers, under the overall guidance of the Director, Preparedness for Response and Recovery (PRR) Department of ADPC. The consultant will closely work with Senior Technical Specialist- Health, other team members, and concerned officials of DoH, GoB. 

Remuneration and Terms of Paymen

The consultant will be paid a daily remuneration of professional fee for a maximum of 110 days during the contract period. The payment will be made upon submission of final deliverables based on the actual number of days involved in each task/ deliverables. The consultant is expected to submit timesheets related to the tasks along with the above-stated deliverables to be approved by ADPC.

The consultant’s duty station would be in Patna, Bihar State of India. During official missions outside of the duty station, the consultant will be entitled to local travel, daily subsistence allowance, accommodation, and other related travel costs as per ADPC financial policy.