National Consultant - GEF Project Coordinator

Position details

• Vacancy number: 2604949
• Contractual arrangement: External consultant
• Contract duration: 11 months
• Organization: WP_VUT Vanuatu
• Schedule: Full-time
• Closing date: Nov 26, 2026, 11:59:00 AM

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Purpose of consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide dedicated in-country coordination and implementation support for the GEF-funded climate change and health project in Vanuatu. The Local Project Coordinator will serve as a key coordination point between the Vanuatu Ministry of Health, WHO Country Liaison Office, WHO Division of Pacific Technical Support - Pacific Climate Change and Environment (PCE) unit, and relevant national stakeholders.

The consultant will support the planning and implementation of project activities, facilitate stakeholder coordination and engagement, monitor progress against agreed timelines and deliverables, identify implementation issues requiring follow-up, and contribute to project monitoring, documentation, and reporting. This will include working closely with the project coordinator of the Australian funded Pacific Climate and Health Resilience Package (PCHRP) project, to ensure alignment and synergies with the GEF project are explored and duplication is avoided.

Background

Climate change poses significant and increasing risks to human health, particularly in climate-vulnerable settings such as Pacific Island countries. The health impacts of climate change are diverse and include increased risks of water- and vector-borne diseases, undernutrition, and the physical and mental health consequences of extreme weather and climate events. These events can also disrupt health facilities and the delivery of essential health services. Strengthening the capacity of the health sector to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to climate-related health risks is therefore critical to building a more climate-resilient health system.

To address these challenges, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), through the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), supports the project “Building Resilience of Health Systems in Pacific Island Least Developed Countries to Climate Change.” The project aims to strengthen the capacity of national health systems, institutions, and subnational actors to manage long-term climate-sensitive health risks. It focuses on four complementary outcomes: (1) strengthening health system governance and institutional capacities; (2) strengthening the capacity of health institutions and personnel to manage the health risks of climate change; (3) improving the coverage and quality of health services addressing climate-related diseases; and (4) enhancing South-South cooperation.

Deliverables

The National Project Coordinator will be responsible for the following outputs and associated deliverables:

Output 1: GEF Project Planning, Coordination, Monitoring, and Reporting

• Deliverable 1.1: Review and update the project acceleration plan on a regular basis, reflecting the status of planned activities, implementation timelines, milestones, delays, risks, and mitigation measures, and submit the updated plan to the Project Management Unit (PMU) for review.

• Deliverable 1.2: Prepare and submit quarterly project progress reports to the PMU in Fiji, documenting progress against planned activities and milestones, key achievements, implementation challenges, risks and mitigation measures, and priority actions for the subsequent reporting period. Prepare other project reports as required.

• Deliverable 1.3: Organize and facilitate regular meetings of the Climate Change and Health Technical Working Group (CCH TWG), including coordination of membership and meeting schedules. Prepare and submit meeting documentation, including agendas, minutes, key decisions, action points, responsible persons, and agreed timelines.

• Deliverable 1.4: Support the planning and implementation of visibility and communication plans for the project, including a country-level launch event, press releases, project briefs, and/or other activities.

• Deliverable 1.5: Contribute to the capturing and documentation of lessons learned and case studies from GEF project implementation in Vanuatu in order to facilitate South-South knowledge exchange, with documented lessons learned and case studies feeding into the development of a Vanuatu specific knowledge product generated from project implementation.

• Deliverable 1.6: Coordinate the preparation of a sustainability and exit plan for Vanuatu in close coordination with Vanuatu Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Climate Change and the GEF Project Management Unit.

• Deliverable 1.7: Ensure compliance with the GEF Project Vanuatu Gender Action Plan by integrating relevant gender considerations into project activities and documenting progress against applicable gender-related actions and indicators in project monitoring and reporting.

   

Output 2: Coordination of Climate and Health Capacity Building, Surveillance and Early Warning Related GEF Project Activities

• Deliverable 2.1: Coordinate and monitor implementation of planned climate change and health capacity-building activities at national and provincial levels, including trainings on climate-sensitive diseases, surveillance, early warning systems, and related health adaptation interventions.

• Deliverable 2.2: Coordinate implementation support for activities related to the climate-informed health early warning and reporting system, including stakeholder coordination, orientation activities, dissemination of early warning messages and health advisories, and follow-up on agreed actions.

• Deliverable 2.3: Support the establishment of, and lead the organization and facilitation of regular meetings of, a Technical Working Group specifically for developing and operationalizing a Climate Informed Early Warning Alert and Response System (EWARS) for priority climate sensitive diseases. Coordinate membership and meeting schedules, prepare and submit meeting documentation, including agendas, minutes, key decisions, action points, responsible persons, and agreed timelines.

   

Output 3: Coordination and Monitoring of Climate-Resilient Healthcare Facility and Community Related GEF Project Interventions

• Deliverable 3.1: Coordinate and monitor implementation of healthcare facility resilience activities, including WASH assessments, WASH improvement activities, solarization, retrofitting, provision of healthcare equipment, and other planned climate-resilience interventions.

• Deliverable 3.2: Conduct and document regular coordination and monitoring visits, as appropriate, for supported healthcare facilities and implementation sites, identifying progress, implementation issues, risks (including social and environmental safeguarding risks), and required corrective or follow-up actions.

• Deliverable 3.3: Coordinate with the MoH, WHO technical teams, contractors, suppliers, and relevant stakeholders to facilitate timely implementation of healthcare facility interventions and follow up on implementation bottlenecks and on contractor rectification of any identified social and environmental safeguard risks.

• Deliverable 3.4: Support the planning and coordination of commissioning, handover, or official launch activities for completed healthcare facility interventions, where applicable, and document completion and outstanding follow-up actions.

   

Output 4: Coordination and Implementation Support for the Australian funded Pacific Climate and Health Resilience Package (PCHRP)

• Deliverable 4.1: Support the PCHRP project coordinator in the coordination and implementation of the PCHRP in Vanuatu, where needed, working closely with the Ministry of Health, WHO DPS, and relevant stakeholders to facilitate implementation of agreed activities and priorities under the Vanuatu HNAP, ensuring necessary alignment and synergies with the GEF project are explored and duplication is avoided.

• Deliverable 4.2: Support coordination of activities for the operationalization of the Vanuatu HNAP, including organizing relevant consultations and coordination meetings, following up on agreed actions, and documenting implementation progress.

• Deliverable 4.3: Coordinate and support in-country missions, meetings, consultations, training activities, and workshops, including stakeholder coordination, scheduling, logistical arrangements, and documentation and follow-up of agreed actions.

• Deliverable 4.4: Contribute to the preparation of project progress reports, briefing notes, presentations, meeting records, and other relevant documentation, and maintain organized records of key project activities and outputs.

 

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications

Essential: A university degree (bachelor's) in public health, environmental sciences, business administration, or any other related field.

Desirable:

• An advanced degree (master’s) in public health, environmental sciences, business administration, or any other related field. 

• Training in business administration or programme management, environmental health, environmental sciences, and/or climate change is a plus factor.

 

Experience

Essential: A minimum of two years of relevant experience in public health and/or environmental project/programme management and/or coordination. 

Desirable: 

• Experience in public health and/or environmental project/programme management and/or coordination in the specific field of climate change and health and/or environmental health. 

• Experience working with governmental, non-governmental and international organizations.

Technical skills and knowledge

• Knowledge of project and workplan planning and implementation, including an understanding of timeline monitoring and risk management.
• Knowledge of climate change adaptation planning and implementation.
• Competent in using a computer, including MS Teams and/or Zoom, MS Excel, MS Word, and MS PowerPoint.
• Strong organizational skills and results management. 
• Ability to work harmoniously as a member of a team and maintain a high standard of personal conduct.
   

Languages:

Essential: Fluency in English.

Desirable: Knowledge of the local Vanuatu language.

Competencies

• Communicating in a credible and effective way
• Teamwork
• Producing results
• Technical expertise
• Moving forward in a changing environment

 

Location

The national consultant will be based full-time onsite in WHO Country Liaison Office in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Travel

The national consultant will be based in Port Vila and may be required to travel to the outer islands of Vanuatu, in accordance with programme needs and WHO travel polices.

Remuneration (travel costs are excluded)

• Remuneration: The consultancy fee ranges between VUV 679,987 to VUV 733,458 per month (equivalent to UN NO-B grade, step I - III), subject to qualifications and experience
• Expected duration of contract: 11 months (subject to completion of recruitment and selection formalities).

Additional Information:

• This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
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• A written test may be used as a form of screening.
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