Senior National STTA - Research Manager

KP TA: Public Health Emergency Simulation Exercises

 Programme Overview

Evidence for Health (E4H) is a Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded programme aimed at strengthening Pakistan's healthcare system, thereby decreasing the burden of illness and saving lives. E4H provides technical assistance (TA) to the Federal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Punjab governments, and is being implemented by Palladium along with Oxford Policy Management (OPM).

Through its flexible, embedded, and demand-driven model, E4H supports the government to achieve a resilient health system that is prepared for health emergencies, responsive to the latest evidence, and delivers equitable, quality, and efficient healthcare services. Specifically, E4H delivers TA across three outputs:

Output 1: Strengthened integrated health security, with a focus on preparing and responding to health emergencies, including pandemics.

Output 2: Strengthened evidence-based decision-making to drive health sector performance and accountability.

Output 3: Improved implementation of Universal Health Coverage, with a focus on ending preventable deaths.

Background

• The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), under its provincial reform roadmap, is advancing the objective of strengthening institutions and expanding access to quality healthcare for every citizen. Within this framework, public health emergency preparedness is a critical priority.
• Recent emergencies—including COVID-19, dengue, measles, and climate-related shocks—have revealed persistent weaknesses in district-level response, coordination, and institutional readiness.
• The Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS 2024–2028), which includes a provincial chapter for KP, recommend simulation exercises and after-action reviews as key tools for building preparedness and strengthening institutional capacity.
• The province is currently revising its health policies, presenting an opportunity to integrate structured simulation exercises into a sustainable provincial training system. This approach will institutionalise learning, improve district-level capacities, and ensure preparedness measures are embedded within the broader health reform and policy agenda.
• Embedding such exercises into routine training systems will not only align KP with IHR (2005) and national frameworks but also provide a replicable model of sustainable health security and resilience.

Goal and Objective(s)

The overall goal of this this technical assistance is to strengthen public health emergency preparedness and response capacity in vulnerable districts of KP by institutionalising simulation exercises and fostering systematic learning for resilient, evidence-based action.

We will achieve this by pursuing three objectives:

Objective 1: To adapt and institutionalise a standardised simulation exercise package for public health emergency preparedness, tailored to the needs of selected vulnerable districts.

Objective 2: To conduct simulation exercises that enhance district health teams’ capacity for coordinated public health emergency response, while embedding these exercises into Sustainable Training System (STS) for sustainability.

Objective 3: To conduct After Action Reviews (AAR) to generate lessons learned and policy recommendations to inform the scale-up of simulation exercises across other districts in KP.

Deliverables

The consultant will work to achieve the following deliverables:

• Literature and desk review report on simulation exercises and international best practices.
• Documentation of training processes and outputs (ToT and cascade).
• Draft and final recommendations report based on pilot results.
• Policy briefs and dissemination materials for the Health Department and partners.

Timeline and Days

The level of effort for the role is 40, working days from September – December 2025.

Requirement

Technical Expertise

• Master’s or higher degree in Public Health, Health Policy, or Social Sciences
• 10+ years’ experience in health systems and policy research, documentation, and knowledge translation

Competencies

• Strong writing and documentation skills
• Ability to synthesise and present evidence
• Effective policy engagement and dissemination expertise