Consultant - Violence against Women (VAW) and Violence against Children (VAC)

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1. Purpose of the Consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide timely, high-quality technical support to the WHO Egypt Country Office (WCO) in advancing work related to Violence against Women (VAW) and Violence against Children (VAC) within the scope of health system strengthening.

The consultant will support the adaptation of WHO technical guidance, conduct readiness assessments, contribute to capacity-building efforts, and provide technical coordination with relevant national stakeholders, particularly the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), the Egypt Healthcare Authority, and other relevant actors. The work will aim to strengthen the health sector response to VAW and VAC in line with national systems, WHO standards, and survivor-centred approaches.

2. Background

WHO Egypt Country Office prioritizes the strengthening of resilient, equitable, and responsive health systems that can address violence and safeguarding the rights and well-being of women and children across all levels of care.

In alignment with WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW 14) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality), WHO Egypt recognizes that health emergencies and health system gaps disproportionately affect women, children, and other vulnerable groups.

VAW and VAC are major public health and human rights concerns that contribute to significant physical, mental, social, and long-term health consequences. The health system plays a critical role in the early identification, first-line support, clinical management, documentation, referral, and prevention of violence. Evidence also shows that the risks of violence often increase during public health emergencies, including pandemics, outbreaks, and displacement-related crises. In the absence of integrated preparedness and response mechanisms, survivors may face delayed or inadequate access to essential services.

In Egypt, progress has been made in strengthening national frameworks and multisectoral responses related to women’s and children’s protection. However, important gaps remain in standardizing the health sector response, strengthening provider capacity, improving referral and reporting pathways, and integrating violence prevention and response into emergency preparedness and health service delivery structures.

This consultancy will contribute to WHO’s technical support to national counterparts to strengthen institutional readiness and improve service delivery for women and children affected by violence.

3. Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)

Start date: 01/07/2026

End date: 31/12/2026

4. Work to be performed

Output 1: Support health system strengthening efforts through adaptation of technical guidance, readiness assessment, and capacity-building support for VAW/VAC response.

Deliverable 1.1: Adapt the WHO Clinical Handbook for Child Maltreatment for use in Egypt.

Deliverable 1.2: Conduct health facility readiness assessment and service mapping for VAW/VAC response in six facilities, three primary and three tertiary.

Deliverable 1.3: Support capacity-building for health care providers and facilitate at least to two technical workshops/training sessions.

Deliverable 1.4: Integration of GBV and VAC in the National Adolescents Health Guidelines.

Output 2: Provide technical and coordination support to WHO Egypt on VAW/VAC-related priorities during the consultancy period.

Deliverable 2.1: Provide technical support to WHO Egypt and support stakeholder coordination, meetings, and technical documentation.

Deliverable 2.2: Submit monthly progress updates and a final consultancy report.

5. Technical Supervision

The selected Consultant will work on the supervision of:

Responsible Officer:

Dr Sadhana Bhagwat, Senior Public Health Specialist, Healthier Populations
WHO Egypt Country Office

Manager:

Dr Nima Abid, WHO Representative in Egypt, WHO Egypt Country Office

6. Specific requirements

- Qualifications:

Required:

Minimum first level university degree in public health, medicine, nursing, psychology, social sciences, gender studies, protection, mental health, or another relevant field.

Desirable:

Advanced university degree (Master’s level or above) in a relevant field.

- Experience required:

5 to 10 years of relevant experience in public health, GBV/VAW/VAC, child protection, mental health, or health systems strengthening; experience with ministries of health and technical coordination.

- Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:

Strong technical understanding of VAW/VAC and health sector responses; analytical/reporting skills; stakeholder coordination; facilitation and workshop support.

- Language requirements:

Excellent knowledge of English and Arabic.

7. Place of assignment

Home-based, with possible in-country travel within Egypt subject to WHO approval.

8. Medical clearance

The selected Consultant may be required to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work in accordance with WHO rules and regulations.

9. Travel

All travel arrangements will be made by WHO – WHO will not be responsible for tickets purchased by the Consultant without the express, prior authorization of WHO. While on mission under the terms of this consultancy, the Consultant will receive subsistence allowance.

Visas requirements: it is the consultant’s responsibility to fulfil visa requirements and ask for visa support letter(s) if needed.

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) 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.

An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter (https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values) into practice.

WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.

WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

For information on WHO's operations please visit: http://www.who.int

This is a National Professional Officer SSA. Therefore, only applications from nationals of the country where the duty station is located will be accepted. Applicants who are not nationals of this country will not be considered.