Background of the assignment

United Nations Office on Drug and Crime in the Russian Federation (UNODC PORUS) implements a project “Support to HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse Prevention Programs”. The project aims to increase access of injecting drug users to HIV prevention and care services, including effective drug treatment and rehabilitation. One of the project objectives is to increase awareness of international best practices in the field of treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers including HIV-positive IDUs. The International Scientific Conference “Comprehensive Approaches towards Standardization in Diagnostics and Therapy of Mental Disorders” to be held inSaint-Petersburg on October 27-28, 2011 will be an important contribution to overview of international best practices for HIV interventions among people who inject drugs (PWID).

In view of the above UNODC PORUS is seeking for an International Expert in drug dependence treatment to deliver a presentation and facilitate sessions at the International Scientific Conference “Comprehensive Approaches towards Standardization in Diagnostics and Therapy of Mental Disorders” (including drug dependence treatment) organized under the auspices of the St.Petersburg BekhterevPsychoneurological Research Institute. 

Purpose of the consultancy

1. The purpose of the consultancy is to conduct a presentation at the session on Standards in Drug Dependence Treatment and Psychiatry;

2. Preparation of the presentation and materials/handouts for conference participants; contribution to the development of the program of the session Standards in Drug Dependence Treatment;

3. Preparation of the Final Report.

Expected tangible and measurable outcomes:

1. Preparation of the presentation and materials for the conference participants (2 working days)

2. Participation, delivery of the presentation and facilitation of the session (2 working days)

3. The Final Report on the results of the conference is submitted to UNODC (1 working day) 

Total number of working days estimated:  5

Tasks to be performed by the expert

Under the supervision of UNODC Project Coordinator the International Expert should:

• Develop conference materials (presentation, handouts) in English/Russian for 2-days conference.
• Participate in the process of the conference;
• Facilitate a session during the conference (TBC);
• Prepare a Final Report based on the results of the conference.

Performance indicators for evaluation of the expert

Conference materials (the presentation, handouts);

Place and time of work

Preparation stage: on original location of the expert. The conference is planned to be held in St.Petersburg: 27-28 October 2011. It is planned that the Expert will be involved in preparation for this event during 2 working days maximum; for conducting presentation and facilitation during 2 working days and also 1 working day for summary and preparation of the Final Report.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

• University degree in public health, medicine, psychology and/or related social science fields; specialization in addiction medicine is an asset.

Experience: 

• At least 7 years work experience in the field of drug abuse treatment;
• Experience of developing and/or monitoring of drug dependency treatment/protocols is desirable.
• Excellent presentation skills.

Workload and remuneration

UNODC PORUS will request UNDP to issue an individual contract to a successful candidate for a period not exceeding 5 working days. The daily fee will be established basing on candidate’s competency level as per the applicable UN regulations and remuneration policy for the external experts.

The remuneration will be paid upon certification of satisfactory performance and submission of the following documents:

• The presentation and conference materials (handouts);
• Final Report on the conducted facilitation and presentation;

The UNODC office will cover:

• Round-trip ticket in Economy class from the city of origin of the contractor to St.Petersburg;
• Daily subsistence allowance according to the UN rates.

UNODC reserves the right to cancel the contract at any stage in case of unsatisfactory delivery of services.

Required documents:

• Motivation letter
• Curriculum Vitae with indication of trainings/presentations delivered over the last 5 years.