PAHO Consultant - Health Systems And Services

Consultancy for Human Resources for Health and Quality Improvement in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

This requisition is for a consultancy at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO). The consultant will support the translation of global and regional guidance into context-appropriate policies, tools, and practices; strengthen stewardship, governance, leadership and management arrangements; build local capacities through mentoring and training; and support the use of data for decision-making and accountability.

The consultant will work collaboratively with counterparts from the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment (MoHWE) and other actors/stakeholders, applying relevant PAHO/WHO frameworks and tools.

The consultant will deliver technical support as outlined below:

• Conduct an alignment review of current national policies, strategies and plans (HRH, quality, IPC, cancer control, emergency preparedness) against PAHO/WHO guidance.
• Support strengthening of HRH governance, leadership and management.
• Plan and oversee a WISN application in select priority programs (e.g., IPC, cervical screening/PHC), including workload data collection tools, sampling plan, and analysis.
• Map HRH information flows; recommend minimal data set for HRHIS, and assimilation of HRHIS in decision-making.
• Develop HRH density standards that safeguard patient referral and critical care, oxygen systems and continuity of essential services based on the IHR (2005) and Joint External Evaluation.
• Support defining surge staffing needs for patient referral and critical care, oxygen systems and continuity of essential services, integrating IPC, based on health scenarios planning.
• Support development of proposed staffing norms, skill-mix options, and role delineation.
• Support development and implementation of a national quality framework, including the establishment/strengthening of facility quality improvement (QI) teams.
• Support the update/development of facility IPC manuals/SOPs (standard and transmission-based precautions, hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, safe injection, waste management), integrating antimicrobial stewardship basics.
• Strengthen HAI/IPC surveillance procedures consistent with national capacity.
• Attend regular communication and coordination meetings between the Ministry of Health, PAHO, and other stakeholders.
• Support the development of national implementation plans and timelines for HPV screening rollout.
• Support adaptation for collecting and reporting data on HPV vaccine, HPV screening coverage, treatment uptake, and program performance.
• Support the Ministry in monitoring implementation progress, identifying barriers, and proposing solutions.
• Contribute to the preparation of progress reports for the Ministry of Health, PAHO, and donors.

Additionally, the consultant shall:

• Develop work plans, reports and policy briefs during the life course of the project as directed by the project manager.
• Plan for, coordinate, or support as directed by the project manager and participate in virtual and in-country meetings/discussions/workshops, during the life course of the project.
• Collaborate with other PAHO colleagues, as well as relevant OECS and country level counterparts as required.
• Other related responsibilities as directed by the project manager.

The consultant will be contracted using the guidelines for the recruitment of PAHO International Consultants contained in the PAHO/WHO Contractual Mechanism, revision 8, September 2017. The consultant must provide his/her own computer for the full duration of the consultancy and must have access to email, telephone and video conferencing communication tools.

Compensation will be based on days worked. Pay band A (Mid: USD$4572) – Daily rate of pay – USD$228.60. Remuneration will be by deliverables as outlined:

• Inception report with a detailed work plan and timeline within the first month of assignment
• WISN study protocol & tools — Program selection, sampling plan, data tools, training for data collectors. Field-ready pack approved.
• HRH governance package — ToRs and schedule for HRH leadership/TWG; management strengthening plan. Endorsed by HRH lead.
• 1st Progress report summarising activities, achievements, and challenges related to the implementation of the cervical cancer elimination program
• HRHIS minimum dataset & use SOPs — Data dictionary, flow map, dashboard mock-ups etc.
• HRH density & surge framework — Density standards and surge staffing model for referral, critical care, oxygen, continuity of services (IHR/JEE-aligned)
• National Quality Framework & QI start-up — Draft NQF/NQPS roadmap; facility QI teams launched; PDSA toolkit. MoHWE consultation record + 2 facilities initiating QI
• PC program package — Updated IPC manuals/SOPs (standard & transmission-based precautions, hand hygiene, cleaning, injection safety, waste, AMS basics) + audit plan
• 2nd Progress report summarising activities, achievements, and challenges related to the implementation of the cervical cancer elimination program
• Final WISN study report
• Final framework detailing national HRHIS
• Final assimilation report on achievements and value added

The majority of work during the consultancy is expected to be conducted in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Travel will be as required and based on instruction of the Project Manager.