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For every child, the right to care.
The health sector in Zanzibar is characterized by rapid growth and modernization of health infrastructure. For instance, in addition to the high number of existing health facilities, the construction of 10 district, 3 regional and 2 specialized hospitals signifies a huge amount of medical equipment needed for service delivery. Zanzibar doesn’t have preventive maintenance strategy or plan for the medical and related equipment, and this contributes to the inefficiencies and high cost of managing health services. The development of a preventive maintenance strategy for healthcare equipment is not only an operational necessity but also a strategic imperative that significantly impacts the quality of healthcare services. Below are key reasons justifying the need for such a strategy:
Ensuring Patient Safety: Medical equipment that is poorly maintained can pose serious risks to patient safety, including equipment failure during critical procedures. A preventive maintenance strategy helps in identifying and rectifying potential issues before they lead to adverse clinical outcomes. Additionally, Regulatory bodies often mandate stringent safety and maintenance standards. A well-defined strategy ensures compliance with these regulations, thereby protecting patient wellbeing.
Enhancing Equipment Reliability: Regular preventive maintenance extends the lifespan of equipment and minimizes unexpected breakdowns, ensuring that equipment is available when needed, performs optimally, leading to more accurate diagnostics and effective treatments.
Cost Efficiency: Preventive maintenance is often more cost-effective than reactive maintenance. By addressing issues before they escalate into major problems, healthcare facilities can save on repair costs and avoid purchasing new equipment prematurely.
Sustainability and Resource Management: Effective maintenance practices contribute to sustainability by maximizing the lifespan of medical equipment and minimizing waste. Preventing equipment failure reduces the need for disposal and replacement, aligning with environmental sustainability goals.
How can you make a difference?
The consultant will in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Zanzibar in developing a comprehensive strategy for preventive maintenance of the medical and related equipment. The consultant will draw on the global, regional and national standards and best practices to define the strategy. They will review the current maintenance practices, coordination, documentation, gaps, drivers and barrier of preventive maintenance.
The consultant shall undertake the following tasks:
a. Desk review and develop work plan
- Review the existing literature, policies, frameworks and guidelines on preventive maintenance of medical equipment.
- Draft a detailed inception report elaborating the purpose/objective of the assignment, scope of work, methodology/approach, data collection tools, timeline and budget
b. Review the previous preventive maintenance assessment report and collect additional information to bridge the information gap.
- Review the previous preventive maintenance assessment report and conduct other literature review to identify and document the current PM practices, the drivers and barriers for conducting regular maintenance,
- Apply various tools to collect additional information to assess the following areas if not covered in the previous assessment:
- current cost of PM and the sources of funding
- current inventory system and its compliance with the national standards
- internal capacity of the MOH biomedical engineering unit to conduct effective PM of the available equipment
- risk of the current PM practices to identify the potential hazards associated with your equipment and assets
c. Draft PM strategy in consultation with stakeholders, that strategy should:
- Guide the sector on the maintenance schedule, tracking, calibration, validation, capacity building, and funding.
- Will elaborate procedures and requirements for engaging a third -party service providers for PM of medical equipment
- Provide guidance on the use of time-based maintenance, condition-based and usage-based maintenance
- Elaborate the monitoring procedures for PM performance
- Estimate annual cost of PM for the sector and strategies for funding
d. Share the draft PM with UNICEF and other stakeholders
- Convene stakeholders to present the draft PM to UNICEF and government for review and input
- Incorporate input from stakeholders for refining and finalization of the strategy
e. Disseminate the PM strategy and orient the stakeholders
- Develop orientation package for stakeholders
- Convene stakeholders to disseminate and orient them on the developed PM strategy
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 
TOR Preventive Maintanance Strategy.docx
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
- Advanced degree (Minimum Master) in Biomedical Engineering, clinical engineering or related field
- Minimum 8 years of experience in managing biomedical equipment is preferred
- In-depth understanding of preventive maintenance standards and practices
- Experience in developing guidelines, frameworks, and strategies is required
- Familiarity with various categories of medical equipment is required
- Experience working with the MOH in Zanzibar or Tanzania mainland is required
- Strong facilitation and presentation skills
- Fluency in written and spoken English is required
- Proficiency in Swahili is an asset
For every Child, you demonstrate...
UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values
The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…
(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others
Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.
UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.
UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.
UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.
UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.
Remarks:
As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.
UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable female are encouraged to apply.
Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.
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All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.
Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.
