Consultant for Infection Prevention and Control Physician

Consultant for Infection Prevention and Control Physician – (2502291)

Contractual Arrangement: External consultant

Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days): 6 months

Job Posting

: Jun 12, 2025, 9:03:12 AM

Closing Date

: Jun 26, 2025, 9:59:00 PM

Primary Location

: Afghanistan-Kabul

Organization

: EM_AFG WHO Representative’s Office, Afghanistan

Schedule

: Full-time

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that the deadline for receipt of applications indicated above reflects your personal device’s system settings.

..

International Consultancy Contract for Infection Prevention and Control Physician to Lead the Implementation of the Infection Prevention and Control Component of the HER AF2 Project at National Level in Afghanistan

This consultancy is requested by:

Unit: WHO Health Emergency (WHE) Programme

Country Office Afghanistan

1. Purpose of consultancy

Lead the implementation of the IPC component of the HER AF2 project through provision of strategic guidance, clinical mentorship, and oversight for the rollout of infection prevention and control (IPC) interventions across 11 hospitals as part of the agreement with the World Bank to fulfil the commitments under the Health Emergency Response project Additional Financing 2 (HER AF2) in Afghanistan.

2. Background

Afghanistan continues to suffer the consequences of four decades of conflict, entrenched poverty, climate-induced crises, and barriers to women’s equality and participation in public life. This has negatively affected the lives of the Afghan people including growing unemployment, loss of livelihoods and assets, deteriorating health care systems, forced migrations, and other human rights violation.

The health system in Afghanistan continues to face enormous challenges due to conflict, under-resourcing, and weakened governance. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pose a significant threat to patient safety, especially in hospitals lacking adequate Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) infrastructure, trained personnel, and standardized practices.

Under the Health Emergency Response Project – Additional Financing 2 (HER AF2), funded by the World Bank, WHO is leading the support to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to strengthen infection prevention and control (IPC) in 11 strategically selected hospitals across multiple provinces. These hospitals were identified based on high or moderate surgical workloads and include regional, provincial, and district-level facilities where infection prevention and control are critical for patient safety and clinical outcomes.

The project focuses on two core domains: (1) foundational IPC infrastructure (policies, training, staffing, and equipment) and (2) implementation of targeted interventions to prevent surgical site infections (SSIs).

3. Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)

Start date: July 01, 2025,

End date: December 31, 2025

4. Work to be performed

Supervised by the WHE TL and under the overall guidance of the Head of the WHO Country Office, and working closely with counterparts at the Regional Office, the incumbent will act as an IPC Physician

Output 1: manage the IPC component of the HER AF2 project, assessment, support the revision and update of the IPC standard operating procedures, implementation actions at the selected 11 hospitals and provide guidance to the MoPH.

Output 2: establish and maintain good collaboration with partners (WB) and liaise with other units/teams within the Country Office, across the organization and partners for facilitating the implementation of the different activities under the IPC component of the HER project.

Output 3: responsible for reporting, performance assessment and evaluation of the IPC planned activities and ensure proper communication with partners and as appropriate.

Deliverables

1. Coordinate with the IHP team to manage IPC component in the context of HER project implementation and in line with the WHO and national IPC guidelines.

2. Conduct IPC capacity assessments using a modified infection prevention and control assessment framework (IPCAF) and identify facility-specific gaps and action plans.

3. Oversee implementation of WHO surgical site infection (SSI) prevention recommendations, including pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis and environmental cleaning.

4. Mentor hospital IPC focal points and support the establishment and operationalization of IPC committees.

5. Develop and deliver modular, certificate-level training for senior facility staff and IPC focal points.

6. Support integration of SSI surveillance data into HMIS and collaborate with Central Public Health Laboratory for lab-confirmed SSI data.

7. Provide technical advice on the contextualization of IPC SOPs and IEC materials for hospital use.

8. Support analysis of SSI process indicators and recommend data-driven improvements.

9. Provide technical advice on procurement and use of IPC-related equipment and materials.

10. Prepare a comprehensive update on the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) component for inclusion in donor progress reports. This should include key achievements, implementation status across the 11 HER-supported hospitals, challenges encountered, and planned next steps, in alignment with project indicators and deliverables

11. Join the technical discussions with the donor’s technical team, partners, and MoPH on the IPC component of the HER project, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and technical standards.

5. Technical Supervision

The selected Consultant will work on the supervision of:

Responsible Officer (1st Supervisor):

Dr. Jamshed TANOLI

Email:

tanolij@who.int

Overall supervisor

Dr. Edwin Ceniza SALVADOR

Email:

salvadore@who.int

6. Specific requirements

Education:

• Essential: Master’s degree in Infectious Diseases, Public Health, or related fields.
• Desirable: specialization degree or training in IPC Experience
• Essential: from 5 to 10 years of relevant experience in developing, implementing and evaluating infection and prevention control policies, with minimum 5 years of international experience procedures and tools in low resource settings, and or health emergency response. International Experience is a requirement for an international consultancy.
• Previous work experience with WHO, other relevant UN Organizations or international NGOs

Skills/Knowledge

• Proven knowledge and skills in infection prevention and control, with experience performing IPC risk assessments and implementing IPC measures at facility level.
• Strong organizational and communication skills including ability to negotiate with National authorities and international partners.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with colleagues at national and international levels.
• Strong ability to execute and manage national health programme

Languages

• Excellent knowledge of English.
• Basic knowledge of Dari or Pashtu is desirable

7. Place of assignment (onsite)

The consultant will provide in-person consultancy in Afghanistan WHO CO in Kabul. Travels to other provinces may take place based on the target locations for the project.

8. Medical clearance

The consultant who will provide in-person consultancy for six months and will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work in Afghanistan.

9. Travel

It is expected that the consultant to be available to be present in Kabul and other provinces in Afghanistan to complete tasks under this consultancy

Travel dates

Location:

From:

July 01, 2025

To:

December 31, 2025

Kabul, Afghanistan

Purpose:

• To complete consultancy task

Additional Information

• This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• A written test may be used as a form of screening.
• If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
• For information on WHO’s operations please visit: http://www.who.int.
• The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.
• The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply for WHO jobs.
• Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to reasonableaccommodation@who.int
• An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter (https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values) into practice.
• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of short-listed candidates.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority.
• WHO shall have no responsibility for any taxes, duties, social security contributions or other contributions payable by the Consultant. The Consultant shall be solely responsible for withholding and paying any taxes, duties, social security contributions and any other contributions which are applicable to the Consultant in each location/jurisdiction in which the work hereunder is performed, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any reimbursement thereof by WHO.
• Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.
• In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click the link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates .
• For Consultants hired for HQ, Switzerland vacancies
• Consultants working in Switzerland must register with the applicable Swiss cantonal tax authorities and social security authorities, within the prescribed timeframes (Guidelines issued by the Swiss Mission are available at: https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-onu-geneve/en/home/manual-regime-privileges-and-immunities/introduction/Manuel-personnes-sans-privileges-et-immunites-carte-H/Non fonctionnaires et stagiaires.html

Read Full Description