NATIONAL CONSULTANT: UNFPA Rwanda Country Office Health Assessment

Purpose of consultancy: 

Healthy, safe and resilient workplaces are places where all people can perform their jobs without getting sick or injured because of their work, with opportunities to enhance their physical and mental health and social wellbeing, while preserving harmony with nature and being protected when there is a need.

Maintaining a healthy office environment requires attention to the physical environment (temperature, humidity, light, noise, ventilation, and space), chemical hazards, equipment and workstation design, task design, psychological factors (personal interactions, work pace, job control) and sometimes, chemical or other environmental exposures.

A well-designed office allows each employee to work comfortably without needing to over-reach, sit or stand too long, or use uncomfortable postures.  Sometimes, equipment or furniture changes are the best solution to allow employees to work comfortably. On other occasions, the equipment may be satisfactory but the physical environment could be redesigned to meet the healthier workplaces. Evidence shows that environmental conditions and characteristics have been hypothesized to influence health inequalities such as the distribution of chronic disease outcomes, health conditions, mental health, and health behaviour. For example, Cold Stress or Cold Related Illnesses decrease performance at work and impact the well-being of the employee. 

When exposed to cold temperatures, your body begins to lose heat faster than it is produced. Prolonged exposure to cold will eventually use up your body’s stored energy. The result is hypothermia or abnormally low body temperature. A body temperature that is too low affects the brain, making the victim unable to think clearly or move well, resulting in discomfort, absenteeism and poor performance. This makes hypothermia particularly dangerous because a person may not know it is happening and will not be able to do anything about it. Job stress that results when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities or resources of the worker may also result in illness.

Rationale

Following repetitive complaints from staff having their offices in the basement of the building about health issues linked to the humidity, the UNFPA Rwanda country office would like to develop a case study assessment of possible cold stress due to the relative humidity conditions in its basement offices in Kigali as risk factors for workplace health and safety. 

A comprehensive case study assessment Report will facilitate the management to first track the implementation of the findings as corrective measures (workplace health and safety best practices and engineering and management controls to ensure the safety and wellbeing of employees.

It is in that background, that the UNFPA Rwanda country office is seeking an individual consultant who has expertise in environmental safety and health assessment to carry out the comprehensive case study assessment of the workplace.

Objectives of the assignment

The main objective of the assignment will be to develop a comprehensive case study assessment Report to facilitate the management to first track the implementation of the findings and corrective measures (workplace health and safety best practices and engineering and management controls to ensure the safety and well-being of employees.

Expected Results 

A comprehensive workplace health and safety actual conditions, case study assessment, appropriate technical relative humidity and cold measurements in a report with technical integrated recommendations will be produced and submitted. Hence, an effective implementation of the assessment corrective measure will be ensured.

Scope of Work/Duties and Responsibilities

The individual consultant will be responsible for: 

• Conduct a desk review, by consulting appropriate studies and findings about workplace health and safety, regulations and standards (as per ILO, OSHA, etc). The desk review will also identify information gaps to be addressed.   
• Conduct the  assessment of both basement and Level one areas to compare the current situation  and note any significant variations in humidity and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) for the two areas
• Organize and synthesize available data. Gain an understanding of the context, policy and regulatory framework and priorities for actions related to the issues affecting the health and safety of the building. 
• Consultation and interviews with staff members to bring together the actual conditions and familiarity with possible cold stress experienced so far.  These interviews will be managed and undertaken by the consultant and will be based solely on the needs identified and experienced. 
• Technical Measurements. The consultant will measure the building basement and L1  relative humidity to find out the state of indoor Air quality in comparison with the other parts of the building (Using technical equipment including but not limited to a thermometer- and hygrometer) to measure the indoor temperature, and Humidity, air pressure and comfort state).
• Perform a detailed comparison of the technical measurements or laboratory results against applicable local and international building standards and start to compile keynotes and areas of interest for the forthcoming proper workplace health and safety conditions 
• Consultations – as part of the fact-finding process, consultations with staff members affected by the environment are necessary. The contractor must make the necessary judgment call related to the use of consultations that may cause increased levels of anxiety among the staff at the UNFPA Rwanda country office 
• Interim Reporting- The consultant will consolidate all data and compile a draft assessment Report for submission, review and possible inputs from UNFPA Rwanda country office
• Final Reporting- Integrate feedback/review and comments and produce the final assessment Report.

Duration and working schedule:

10 working days spread in the interval 17th November-15 December  2023.

The place where services are to be delivered: Kigali-Rwanda

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered: 

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:

Performance Evaluation 

The Consultant’s performance will be evaluated based on such criteria as timeliness, effectiveness, responsibility, initiative, communication capacity, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered. The issuance of performance certification will be therefore delivered accordingly.

Duration and Administration of the Consultancy  

 The consultancy will be carried out for a period from 17th November-15 December 2023 including consultations, field visits, data analysis, elaboration of the case study assessment report and submission of final report with technical recommendations. The contract will be deliverable–based and payment will be made after the submission of the agreed deliverables as per the contract terms.

Supervisory arrangements:

Individual Consultant will perform his/her duties under the supervision of the MH&M Program Analyst (UNFPA Health focal point)

Expected travel: None

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

Education

• At least a Bachelor's degree in Environmental and Social Sciences (Environmental health and/or Occupational Health and safety), in Health and Safety Engineering, environmental public health and related fields.
• Master’s in Public Health 
• Being certified for various related professional courses is an added advantage.

Experience  

• Proven working experience of at least 5 years in Environmental health and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) related assessments and programs; 
• Having experience in at least one of the above mentioned programs will be an added value. 
• Having at least 5 years of experience in developing risk assessment plans including action plans, especially the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), OSH and Workplace safety. Ergonomics-related risk assessment will be an added advantage. 
• Have a proven experience in the assessment of OSH hazards and risks towards recommendations.

Professional affiliation

• Being registered with a valid practice licence in the local professional body with OSH Assessments under its responsibilities (i.e.: Rwanda Association of Professional Environmental Practitioners (RAPEP).

Language and other skills 

• Fluent in English and good working knowledge in French, and Kinyarwanda 
• Good knowledge of Computers (Mostly Microsoft Office) and a background in health and safety assessment tools to ensure well-organised and systematised presentations, including statistical and graphical descriptions
• Certification for occupational hygiene, Biological, physical and environmental health hazards

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity, 
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system, 
• Embracing cultural diversity, 
• Embracing change

Core Competencies: 

• Achieving results,
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
• Thinking analytically and strategically,
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,
•  

Application Deadline:  16/11/2023 

How to apply: 

For External candidate

For internal candidates

Disclaimer: 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA fraud hotline http://www.unfpa.org/help/hotline.cfm

By the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, persons applying to posts in the international Professional category, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.