Health Emergency Management Specialist (Consultant)

About Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

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.

Background

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 April – December 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

The services of a consultant are required to work with the ADPC team in Bihar to assist the Department of Health in guiding the approach for preparedness for response of emergencies, including the management of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the state of Bihar. The person is expected to work with government officials deployed at the Health Emergency Operation Center (HEOC), the Integrated Operation Center (IOC) 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 and integrated operations center (IOC)/State Health Society Bihar (SHSB) in Bihar. It is further intended from the consultant to also cater innovative and constructive support to the emerging needs of Department of Health’s central command centre.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in medicine (MBBS) from a recognized Indian university. Medical Council of India registration is preferable. A minimum of 8 years of working experience is essential.
• Any post-graduate degree or certificate in Public Health from a recognized university/institution is preferable.
• Additional qualification in disaster management, epidemiological prediction model, emergency response, and good knowledge of government working system would be preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting training, application of specific technical information and data into Safer communities and sustainable development through disaster risk reduction.
• Proven ability to develop quality reports, manuals, guidelines, case studies, training modules and process documents.
• Previous experience in working with humanitarian NGO’s or international organizations in similar programs.
• Must demonstrate excellent skills in monitoring the ongoing health schemes using relevant technology.

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 pandemic in the state of Bihar and strengthening the HEOC operations. The consultant is expected to cater innovative and constructive support to the emerging needs of Department of Health’s central command centre for descision making.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the assigned Program Manager(s), 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, IOC and IDSP, to design, develop, implement and monitor suitable public health emergency management solutions for emergencies including the current spread of COVID-19 in Bihar. Specific tasks will include:

• Immediate identification of any surge of symptoms or 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.
• 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.
• Technical development and documentation of guidelines in the form of SOPs, process documents and other related tools as required by DoH.
• Work with IDSP and BMGF partners to contribute and develop HEOC/IOC 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, laboratory coordination for protocols of testing, treatment, isolation, etc.
• Liaison with district control room for trends, monitoring of implementation and strategy formulation based on epidemiological trends and any other additional tasks requested by DoH.
• Serve as surge capacity at HEOC and IOC including but not limited to COVID-19 vaccination strategy and other similar health schemes, including pilot testing of IOC functions in selected districts.
• Facilitate and develop mechanisms for the enhanced coordination between HEOC, State EOC (Disaster Management Department) and other key sectoral departments.
• 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. Safer communities and sustainable development through disaster risk reduction.

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 andintegrated operations center (IOC) and COVID-19 information management system at DoH by providing innovative technical support.
• Training/orientation of the HEOC and field team for understanding case definition, protocols of testing, treatment, isolation, etc.
• Serve as surge capacity at HEOC, including pilot testing of IOC functions in selected districts.
• Facilitate and develop mechanisms for the enhanced coordination between HEOC, State EOC (Disaster Management Department) and other key sectoral departments.
• 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.