Advisor- TB Epidemiologist and Government Liaison

The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) brings together diverse expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and expert teams operating globally, GPO leads multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding - including in some of the world’s most challenging environments. By leveraging our collective expertise and global networks, GPO supports UNOPS’ strategic priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals across more than 130 countries. We work closely with major global partners - including governments, international financial institutions, and UN agencies - to deliver a wide range of services, such as project management, fund management, hosting services, and HR support.

From Geneva, UNOPS facilitates the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), working with governments, other United Nations (UN) agencies and partners by providing quality servces, integrated solutions and management support through strategic, cost-effective and results-oriented approches. This includes supporting platforms and hosting high-profile, flagship initiatives and funds focusing on health, nutrition, water and sanitation, sustainable cities, environment, energy, climate and trade. UNOPS is a recognized resource for the UN system in Geneva – from fund management and oversight and advisory services, to providing hosting solutions to a range of global initiatives, as well as operational support to partner organizations.

From Geneva, UNOPS facilitates the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), working with governments, other United Nations (UN) agencies and partners by providing quality servces, integrated solutions and management support through strategic, cost-effective and results-oriented approches. This includes supporting platforms and hosting high-profile, flagship initiatives and funds focusing on health, nutrition, water and sanitation, sustainable cities, environment, energy, climate and trade. UNOPS is a recognized resource for the UN system in Geneva – from fund management and oversight and advisory services, to providing hosting solutions to a range of global initiatives, as well as operational support to partner organizations.

UNOPS hosts the Stop Tuberculosis Partnership Secretariat (STBP) as of 1 January 2015, in Geneva, Switzerland. The vision of the Stop TB Partnership is to realize the goal of elimination of Tuberculosis (TB) as a public health problem and, ultimately, to obtain a world free of TB by ensuring that every TB patient has access to effective diagnosis, treatment and cure; stopping transmission of TB; reducing the inequitable social and economic toll of TB; and developing and implementing new preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic tools and strategies. Stop TB partners include international and technical organizations, government programmes, research and funding agencies, foundations, NGOs, civil society and community groups and the private sector.

Within the Stop TB Partnership ED Office, implement Facility and Community based service Delivery Support (FC-SDS) project, a multi-country project aimed at strengthening the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care of Tuberculosis (TB) with US government funding.US Country post and USG support the FCSDS project and apart from the Tribal TB project being implemented by an Implementing Partner (IP) would like Stop TB Partnership to set up a small team of specialized experts to provide high end technical assistance and coordination to both Tribal TB project and Central TB Division, MoHFW, Govt of India.

India has the highest TB burden in terms of numbers and is implementing ambitious National TB Elimination Programme (NELP) to reach SDG targets on TB. FCSDS project will be implemented in India focusing on active tb case finding and care in Tribal areas covering 10 million population. The project will also support scaling up similar activities in 100 million population with domestic resources through the NTEP.

The role will involve close collaboration with the Central TB Division (CTD), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and other national stakeholders to support evidence-based planning, monitoring, and innovation in TB control in India. The incumbent will report to the Deputy Executive Director Stop TB partnership

Under the guidance and supervision of the Deputy Executive Director Stop TB partnership, the Advisor will :

• Lead technical stewardship to TB Epidemiological research activities including ‘TB impact measurements’.

• provide capacity building of project implementing partners

• provide guidance and feedback through supervision and monitoring of implementation

• Oversee technical inputs & guidance for planning and designing interventions

• assist in preparatory activities for the introduction of newer screening & diagnostic tools in the project whenever available

• monitor the project with technical & financial performance indicators

• conduct data analysis and provide interpretation for use within the organization for various purposes, including advocacy, donor reporting, scientific meetings, proposal developments, resource mobilization, etc.

• review real-time data, monthly & quarterly & annual report (narrative / qualitative & quantitative) of the projects

• generate research questions, write research proposals (if needed), write scientific briefs out of knowledge generated from the projects and develop manuscript for publication

• Oversee strategic vision & technical support to NTEP in designing interventions to prevent Tuberculosis in India

• foster innovation to improve functionality of Ni-Kshay & TB surveillance system

• Coordinate technical support to CTD/NTEP, ICMR and development partners to introduce newer technologies, innovations and initiatives including but not restricted to differentiated TB care, pulmonary rehabilitation, Post TB lung disease management, subnational certification (incidence and mortality estimation), vaccines, TPT, AIC, etc.

Deliverables:

• Technical documents on TB epidemiological studies and relevant reports.

• Technical reports on supporting validations, trials, demonstration scale-up of newer screening, diagnostics, treatment and prevention tools, including vaccines

• Technical Reports on supporting NTEP for estimation of TB disease burden & health care service utilization trends, impact (developing & updating protocol, execution mechanisms, tools, capacity building, supervision, monitoring, evaluation and dissemination)

• Collaborative models of implementation for differentiated TB care, pulmonary rehabilitation, Post TB lung disease management, subnational certification (incidence and mortality estimation), genomics, vaccines, TPT, AIC.

• Reports on Technical capacity building of implementing partners & States/UTs under donor-assisted & domestic projects to scale-up TB case finding in vulnerable communities and geographies

• Results framework for the projects & surveillance systems in vulnerable communities and geography

• Assessment of current functionalities of India’s digital recording reporting system of NTEP (Ni-Kshay) & plan for further augmentation

Duration of Assignment

The consultancy is for 12 months.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Public Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, or related field or related fields with 9 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Public Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, or related field with 7 years of relevant experience is required

Required

• Minimum 7 years of of progressive professional experience in TB epidemiology and research

• Proven experience in TB program implementation, epidemiological analysis, and digital health systems.

• Strong understanding of NTEP monitoring frameworks and indicators.

• Experience working with government health systems, especially CTD, is essential.

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