National Project Coordinator, Phasing out of Mercury based medical devices project

1. Purpose of the consultancy

Provide technical support to Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India, and key stakeholders in India to phase out the use of mercury-containing measuring devices in healthcare.

2.Background

MoEF&CC is actively engaged in activities to address the health impacts of mercury in the country and has long-standing guidelines to regulate its use in the country’s healthcare sector and manage the waste generated by mercury containing devices. It has provided guidance on the replacement of mercury-containing thermometers and sphygmomanometers devices in health care and other sectors in the country and is also working in supporting the industries to shift to mercury alternates and manage the legacy mercury waste.

In-line with its role as the leading national environment agency and its existing mandates and activities in support of the Minamata Convention, MoEF&CC will actively work to phase out the use of mercury-containing measuring devices in healthcare. MoEF&CC in collaboration with WHO and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Mercury Partnership is executing a Global Environment Facility (GEF) project to phase-out mercury in healthcare. This global project is being implemented in five countries in three regions, India (South-East Asia); Burkina Faso and Uganda (Africa) and Montenegro and Albania (Europe). The expected objective of the project is to eliminate the uncontrolled releases of mercury from healthcare settings. The project will comprise three components: 1) The development or improvement of national health-system wide strategies for phasing-out the import, export and manufacture of mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers in line with WHO recommendations and related provisions of the Minamata Convention; 2) Implementation of national strategies to phase-out manufacture, import and export and piloting phase out of use and 3) knowledge management and awareness raising.

The proposed Project Co-ordinator will support MOEF&CC, in coordinating the project implementation.

The Consultant will work under the technical supervision of Deputy Head of WHO Country Office for India.

The key objectives of the consultancy assignment will be as follows:

Provide technical support to MOEF&CC and key stakeholders in India in implementing the five-year project to phase out use of mercury-containing measuring devices in healthcare.

3. Description of Duties

1.Act as day-to-day national technical focal point for the project and perform daily requests for technical information and project implementation.

2.Together with MOHFW coordinator, support in organising regular national project steering meetings, including drafting agenda, invitation letters; communication materials; meeting reports.

3.In consultation with MOHFW coordinator and WHO India, facilitate identification of stakeholders, prepare draft annual workplan including different stakeholders and their roles.

4.Support in organising national capacity-building, and waste management meeting in coordination with national stakeholders.

5.Support in conducting national situational analysis of phasing out of mercury from health facilities.

6.Work with the project team in preparing draft national and state phase out plan.

7.Prepare information on technical progress and other information about the project and disseminate it through relevant channels including those of Ministry of Health, MoEFCC, medical device manufacturers and other technical networks.

8.Work with standardization bodies to ensure market availability of standardized equipment.

9.Support in identification and implementation of Pilots for substitution of mercury manufacturing units of health care devices. Organize meetings with manufacturers and identify companies willing to shift. Draw an action plan for shifting manufacturing to mercury alternates and document the process.

10.Liaise with equipment manufacturers and standardization bodies to review and disseminate national standards and prepare a detailed inventory of manufacturers in India.

11.Provide technical support in implementation of pilots on waste management and safe disposal of Mercury as per the Mercury Guidelines. Identify sites for waste management of mercury waste and help set up model facilities. Document the technical, economic, training, procedural and other requirements of setting up and maintaining mercury disposal facilities. Also, co-ordinate with MoH to help individual HCFs (phasing out mercury equipment) in safely disposing their mercury waste.

12.Lead in the development of models for waste management and safe disposal of Mercury as per the Bio Medical Waste Management Rules 2016 and Guidelines for safe disposal of mercury-based wastes.

13.Provide input to quarterly project status reports, including progress on workplan, budget reports and contribute to forecasting of expenditure.

14.Prepare a summary report for mid-project and end-project review.

15.Liaise with WHO India and give inputs for developing communication products related to the project and aid in their distribution nationwide through various channels and networks of professional bodies of healthcare workers.

16.Provide other technical and administrative support to the MOEF&CC, as needed.

4.Deliverable

Monthly report to be submitted on 30^th of each calendar month that will include the activities work undertaken based on the scope of work.

5. Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

Under graduate degree - B.Tech/B.SC

Desirable

Post graduate degree M.Tech in Environmental Engineering or MSc in Environmental Sciences or M.Tech in Chemical Engineering or M. Tech in Bio-technology or Bio-chemical Engineering.

Experience

Essential:

At least one (1) year of experience in wastes and chemical management or environment protection or environment management or prevention and control of pollution

Desirable

• Experience of five (5) years of working in wastes and chemical management or environment protection or environment management or prevention and control of pollution
• Experience in waste and chemical management and impacts on human health due to pollution, chemicals and wastes
• Experience of working with research institutes/ government institutions/reputed organisations/ WHO/UN agencies
• Experience of working with a range of health care settings related to the thematic area

Skills/Knowledge

• Experience in technical or scientific writing and oral presentations on waste and chemical management and impacts on human health due to pollution, chemicals and wastes.
• Knowledge of the Indian political system, economic structures, and socio-cultural landscape, and a network of professional contacts in India
• Strong organizational and scheduling skills.
• Excellent communication, writing and editing skills.
• Excellent data management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders across different sectors.
• Excellent analytical and presentation skills.
• Competence in the use of Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint and Excel).
• Ability to travel domestically and to work based in New Delhi
• Work in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervisions and handle multiple tasks and work well under pressure

Languages and level required (Basic/Intermediate/Advanced):

Proficiency in English and working knowledge of Hindi and/or one additional Indian language is preferred.

6. Place of assignment

On site: Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India, New Delhi, India.

7. Travel

The consultant will also be supported in taking 12 round trips to pilot implementation states, depending on the needs of the project.

8. Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration: NO-A pay band range; monthly remuneration of INR 227,545

Expected start date of contract: 1 May 2025

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) in English 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.
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• Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority. The execution of the work under a consultant contract does not create an employer/employee relationship between WHO and the Consultant.
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• This assignment is subject to local recruitment and will be filled by persons recruited in the local commuting area of the duty station/assignment location.