Background
FHI 360 is an international non-governmental organization that, in Vietnam, promotes the health and well-being of the Vietnamese people, particularly vulnerable and marginalized populations. It works with the Vietnam Ministry of Health and other national bodies, as well as provincial and commune-level health services to achieve project aims. FHI 360 is currently implementing programs to address challenges in HIV prevention, testing, and treatment, Tuberculosis (TB) case finding and treatment, anti-microbial resistance, health system strengthening, maternal and child health and nutrition, and global health security.
Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) is a global health project funded by the U.S. States Department of State for the period of 2019–2027. The project receives global health security (GHS) funding to strengthen global, regional, and local public health systems, building on broad experience and existing capabilities that align with GHS priorities, National Action Plans for Health Security (NAPHS), and U.S. Government (USG) goals.
Under the EpiC Global Health Security (GHS) project, EpiC is supporting Viet Nam to strengthen cross-sectoral laboratory coordination and capacity for emerging infectious diseases. As part of this effort, baseline assessments will be conducted across human health, public health, hospital, and animal health laboratories to map current capacities, identify gaps, and inform system strengthening and coordinated laboratory network development in seven supported provinces (An Giang, Can Tho City, Dong Nai, HCMC, Nghe An, Quang Ninh, and Thai Nguyen).
Detailed Description of Tasks to be Performed:
The consultant will support the planning and implementation of the baseline assessment to strengthen coordination and inform laboratory system improvements across human and animal health sectors.
Specifically, the consultant will serve as the focal point to work with EpiC technical team, national and provincial stakeholders to:
- Develop the pre-assessment and assessment tools (Question bank, form, guidelines) for infectious diseases human and animal health laboratories (provincial/community level) that includes the key components of laboratory infrastructure, technical capacity in infectious diseases detection, biosafety & biosecurity, quality management systems, data management and reporting, specimen referral system, training and support needs.
- Provide training/instructions on the assessment tool for the human health/animal health assessment team that conduct onsite laboratory assessment at provinces.
- Participate in the onsite assessment at provinces.
- Develop the assessment final report and presentation that summarize the current situation capacity of the laboratory system, identify key findings/gaps and recommendations to strengthen the capacity, cross-sector coordination, and data sharing mechanisms.
- Develop the improvement plan that includes suggested actions and interventions for the sites and laboratory network, and performance indicators to track progress.
- Develop and optimize referral pathways and mapping laboratory capacities across sectors, including diagnostic capability, equipment, workforce, information systems, and alignment with surveillance priorities and to support outbreak response;
Scope of Work
The specific tasks for this position include but are not limited to the following:
|
# |
Activities |
Expected Deliverables |
Maximum LOE (days) |
Due date |
|
1 |
Assessment tools development and finalization |
|
8 |
15 Apr 2026 |
|
2 |
Assessment implementation and data collection |
|
10 |
10 May 2026 |
|
3 |
Data analysis and mapping |
|
15 |
31 May 2026 |
|
4 |
Assessment report and improvement plans |
|
15 |
5 June 2026 |
|
5 |
Dissemination |
|
10 |
15 June 2026 |
|
|
|
Total |
58 |
|
Location of Work: Online and field work in project provinces
Time: April 5 to June 15, 2026
Travel: The consultant is expected to travel to project sites when needed
Timetable and Address for Submission
Application to this call should be submitted by email to [email protected] no later than 5PM April 1, 2026 with the subject line “GHS-Consultant-Laboratory coordination and capacity assessment”
Qualifications:
The consultancy may consist of a team of professionals with complementary skills. The team should meet the following qualifications:
- Master’s degree or higher in public health, epidemiology, laboratory sciences, infectious diseases, or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience in conducting health system or laboratory capacity assessments, including tool development, data collection, and reporting.
- Experience working with public health and/or laboratory systems at national and/or subnational levels.
- Experience engaging with government and multi-sector stakeholders, including human and animal health sectors.
- Practical knowledge of infectious disease surveillance systems and laboratory system strengthening (e.g., biosecurity/safety, quality management, referral systems); familiarity with cross-sector coordination is an advantage.
- Experience working with health systems and local authorities in Viet Nam, particularly in the targeted provinces, is an asset.
- Experience with donor-funded projects (e.g., USG/GHS) is preferred.
- Strong analytical, data analysis, and report writing skills.
- Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
- Excellent written and spoken English and Vietnamese.
Evaluation Criteria: Applications will be evaluated based on the applicants’ experience and qualifications as detailed above.
Required Documentation: Proposals must include the following components:
- Applicant’s CV and highest-level degree
- Letter of interest that briefs relevant qualification and experience
- Proposed daily rate
- FHI 360 Biodata form
FHI 360 Disclaimers
- FHI 360 may perform a background check on any selected Consultant candidates.
- FHI 360 may cancel the solicitation and not award
- FHI 360 may reject any or all responses received
- Issuance of the solicitation does not constitute an award commitment by FHI 360
- FHI 360 reserves the right to disqualify any offer based on failure of the offeror to follow solicitation instructions
- FHI 360 will not compensate any offeror for responding to solicitation
- FHI 360 reserves the right to issue award based on initial evaluation of offers without further discussion
- FHI 360 may choose to award only part of the activities in the solicitation, or issue multiple awards based on the solicitation activities
- FHI 360 reserves the right to waive minor proposal deficiencies that can be corrected prior to award determination to promote competition
- FHI 360’s supplier terms and conditions can be found here while our consultant terms and conditions can be found here