Consultant for the Initial Implementation of the WHO EPR Flagship Roadmap (NOC)

Grade**:** No gradeContractual Arrangement****: External consultantContract Duration (Years, Months, Days)****: 3 MonthsJob Posting****: Jul 17, 2026, 5:42:05 AMClosing Date****: Jul 30, 2026, 4:59:00 PMPrimary Location****: South AfricaOrganization****: AF_ZAF South AfricaSchedule****: Full-time

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..### Background

South Africa faces a complex and evolving landscape of public health emergencies, including infectious disease outbreaks, environmental hazards, and other health threats that require robust preparedness and coordinated response systems. In alignment with the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005), the country continues to strengthen its core capacities for prevention, detection, and response to public health risks.

To support these efforts, the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the National Department of Health (NDoH) and partners, is advancing the implementation of the Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Flagship Roadmap. This roadmap aims to enhance national and subnational capacities through improved coordination, workforce development, and strengthened operational and logistics systems. Following a scoping mission, a costed national roadmap was developed to guide the phased implementation of the SURGE flagship initiative in South Africa.

A key pillar of the roadmap is the operationalization of the SURGE initiative, including the African Volunteer Health Corps (AVoHC-SURGE) and Emergency Medical Teams (EMT), to ensure the rapid mobilization of trained personnel during emergencies. This requires the establishment of functional training systems, maintenance of updated databases of trained personnel, and the conduct of staffing needs assessments to identify and address capacity gaps.

In addition, strengthening Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), improving logistics and operational support systems, and reinforcing coordination mechanisms among stakeholders remain critical to effective emergency preparedness and response.

To support the initial implementation of these priorities, WHO requires dedicated technical and operational capacity to facilitate coordination, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of key EPR Flagship Roadmap activities. The will play a central role in supporting these efforts, working closely with WHO, NDoH, and relevant stakeholders to enhance readiness and response capacities in South Africa.

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to provide dedicated technical and operational support for the initial implementation of the South Africa EPR Flagship Roadmap. This includes coordinating priority preparedness and response activities such as facilitation of the implementation of AVoHC-SURGE, Emergency Medical Teams (EMT), and staffing needs assessments; and supporting activities related to the International Health Regulations (IHR), operations support, logistics, and Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE).

Obdjectives of the Assignment

The Consultant will support the implementation of priority activities identified in the EPR Flagship Roadmap during the initial implementation phase. The assignment aims to:

• Support implementation of the EPR Flagship Roadmap by providing technical and operational support for the effective rollout of the South Africa EPR Flagship Roadmap.
• Facilitate implementation of SURGE-related initiatives by supporting the operationalization of AVoHC-SURGE, Emergency Medical Teams (EMT), and the conduct of staffing needs assessments to strengthen surge and routine operation capacity.
• Strengthen IHR-related capacities by contributing to the implementation of activities aligned with the International Health Regulations (IHR), enhancing compliance and core capacities.
• Enhance operational support and logistics systems by providing support to improve emergency operations, including logistics planning, coordination, and resource management.
• Support RCCE initiatives by assisting in strengthening Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) to ensure effective public communication and community involvement during emergencies.

Deliverables

The Consultant will be expected to deliver the following outputs during the three-month assignment period:

• AVoHC-Surge Training Manual adapted to South African context
• EMT Training manual adapted to South African context
• Conduct and support simulation exercises/tabletop exercises for AVoHC-SURGE personnel
• Conduct and support simulation exercises/tabletop exercises for EMT personnel
• Database of identified and trained AVoHC-SURGE personnel
• Database of identified and trained EMT personnel
• EPR staffing needs assessment report, including gap analysis and recommendations for surge and routine capacity
• Reports on IHR, operations support, logistics, and RCCE activities
• Stakeholder coordination and capacity-building/training reports
• Logistics planning and resource mapping reports to support emergency preparedness and response
• RCCE strategy documents, communication materials, and reports on community engagement activities

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications

Essential: First university degree in Public Health, Medicine, Epidemiology, Microbiology, or a related field

Desirable: Master’s in public health, added advantage.

Experience

Essential

• At least five years of relevant professional experience in public health, emergency preparedness and response, outbreak response coordination or health programme implementation.
• Experience supporting implementation of emergency preparedness and response activities.
• Experience working with WHO or other UN Agency.
• Experience working on the WHO-AFRO-AFRICA CDC AVoHC-SURGE initiative.

Desirable

• Experience coordinating trainings, workshops or capacity building initiatives.
• Experience working with government institutions, international organisations or development partners.
• Experience in project coordination, stakeholder engagement and technical reporting.
• Experience supporting emergency response workforce coordination or deployment systems will be an added advantage.
• Experience working with the National Department of Health or Provincial Department of Health.

Skills/Knowledge

• Strong coordination and organisational skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong technical writing and reporting skills.
• Ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary and multicultural environments.
• Good understanding of public health emergency preparedness and response systems.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks within tight timelines.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Languages and level required

• Excellent written and spoken English is required.

Technical Supervision

• The consultant will report directly to the Emergency Preparedness and Response Team Lead (EPR-TL) as the first level supervisor with the WHO Country Representative as the second level supervisor.
• The Consultant will work closely with:

o National Department of Health

o Provincial Departments of Health

o WHO technical teams

o Relevant emergency preparedness and response stakeholders and partners#### Location

The Consultant will be based in Pretoria, South Africa, with work undertaken in close collaboration with the WHO Country Office, the National Department of Health and relevant stakeholders. Travel within and outside South Africa may be required based on implementation needs.

Travel

Travel within and outside South Africa may be required based on implementation needs.

**Remuneration and