..

Qualifications

Purpose of consultancy

Working closely with the responsible focal points within the Department of Immunization Vaccines and Biologicals (IVB), the Consultant will align and collate the implementation of Big Catch-up activities, and liaising with the global BCU Task Team and regional and/or Inter-Country Support Team focal points to provide technical guidance.

Background

In April 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) targeted a global effort to facilitate recovery of immunization systems and close immunization gaps among children following declines driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, called the “Big Catch-up” (BCU).

The BCU has three objectives: (1) restoring routine immunization coverage to at least 2019 levels; (2) catching-up missed children; and (3) strengthening health systems to sustainably reach zero-dose children and communities.

Given the urgency to catch-up missed children and control growing outbreaks, the IA2030 Partnership has encouraged Heads of State and ministers of health to prioritize implementation of the BCU from 2023-2025. In December 2023, the Gavi Board approved to exceptionally offer fully financed doses for the BCU; all antigens already in a country’s routine programme in the period 2019-2022 can be supported, and children up to 5 years of age are eligible.

WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), through the Regional Working Group (RWG) mechanism, have been providing support to countries to develop catch-up plans, and 35 countries are now set to receive Gavi-supported BCU vaccine doses in 2024 and 2025. With the implementation phase of the BCU now fully underway and expected to continue into 2025, WHO is playing a key role in supporting its implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Contribute to the BCU project across the three levels of the Organization:
  • Facilitate timely reporting of BCU activities by liaising closely with global, regional and country-level stakeholders.
  • Facilitate the provision of global guidance and provide technical contributions to regional counterparts and countries.
  • Maintain linkages with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the Measles and Rubella Partnership and other disease-specific initiatives to ensure opportunities for integration are leveraged where possible.

Expected by the end of the contract.

• Deliverable 2: Prepare technical materials, including presentations, pre-reads, and talking points, for internal and external use for meetings (Gavi Board, Alliance Partnership and Performance Team (APPT), Immunization Agenda 2023 (IA2030) Partnership Council)

Expected by the end of the contract.

• Deliverable 3: Review and validate the quarterly BCU monitoring reports as they become available and assist with data collation at the global level, identify challenges and opportunities for targeted technical guidance and early course correction.

Expected by the end of the contract.

• Deliverable 4: Contribute to the overall technical aspects of the BCU project including technical/financial/donor reporting quarterly.

Expected by the end of the contract.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications

Essential:

• Advanced university degree in public health, health management, epidemiology or infectious or communicable diseases.

Experience

Essential:

• Between 5 to 10 years of practical national and international experience in managing and coordinating large-scale programmes and initiatives, preferably related to immunization.
• Strong background in project management, particularly in the field of global public health and with experience managing projects across multiple locations.
• Experience working in multi-cultural settings, working with a large number of diverse stakeholders.
• Experience in preparing technical presentations and materials.
• Familiarity with monitoring and learning in global health settings.

Desirable:

• Experience working with Gavi operations and processes.

Skills/Knowledge

Essential:

• Strong analytical skills.
• Strong project management skills.
• Excellent written communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to work independently and demonstrate initiative and flexibility.
• Familiar with commonly used computer programmes, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization information systems would be an asset.
• Knowledge of specialized computer programmes, for example, statistical software such as XLStat may be an advantage.

Languages and level required

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of English

Desirable:

• Intermediate knowledge of French

Location

Offsite: Home-based

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded)

Remuneration

Band level B: USD 7,000 – USD 9,980 per month

Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited)

N/A

Expected duration of contract

6 months. Additional contracts up to  a cumulative total of 11 months may be offered, subject to satisfactory performance, continued need and funding availability.

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.
• For information on WHO’s operations please visit: http://www.who.int.
• The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.
  The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply for WHO jobs.
  Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to reasonableaccommodation@who.int
• 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 short-listed candidates.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority.
• WHO shall have no responsibility for any taxes, duties, social security contributions or other contributions payable by the Consultant. The Consultant shall be solely responsible for withholding and paying any taxes, duties, social security contributions and any other contributions which are applicable to the Consultant in each location/jurisdiction in which the work hereunder is performed, and the Consultant shall not be entitled to any reimbursement thereof by WHO.
• Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.
• In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click the link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates    .
• Consultants working in Switzerland must register with the applicable Swiss cantonal tax authorities and social security authorities, within the prescribed timeframes (Guidelines issued by the Swiss Mission are available at: https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-onu-geneve/en/home/manual-regime-privileges-and-immunities/introduction/Manuel-personnes-sans-privileges-et-immunites-carte-H/Non fonctionnaires et stagiaires.html