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Qualifications

Purpose of consultancy

To establish a global roster of consultants who will be able to guide countries to assess the costs and epidemiological impact of alternative tuberculosis (TB) intervention packages using the World Health Organization (WHO) TB module of the Integrated Health Tool for planning and costing (TB module of IHT), in response to country requests to WHO.

The exact nature and scope of the work will vary depending on country needs and capacity, but it is expected to be primarily related to the development of national strategic plans for TB and associated applications for international donor funding, in low and middle-income countries.

Background

WHO’s Global Tuberculosis Programme (GTB) leads and guides the global effort to end the TB epidemic through universal access to people-centred prevention and care, multisectoral action and innovation. GTB specifically: 1) provides global leadership to end TB through strategy development, political and multisectoral engagement, strengthening review and accountability, advocacy, and partnerships, including with civil society; 2) shapes the TB research and innovation agenda and stimulates the generation, translation and dissemination of knowledge; 3) develops policy options, norms and standards for TB prevention and care and facilitates their implementation; 4) provides specialized technical support for Member States and partners, working with WHO regional and country offices to catalyse change and build sustainable capacity; and 5) monitors, evaluates and reports on the status of the TB epidemic and progress in financing and implementation of the End TB Strategy at global, regional and country levels.

The Integrated Health Tool for planning and costing (IHT) is a web-based tool designed primarily to support national strategic health planning over the medium term. The IHT is a next-generation, web-based version of the OneHealth Tool (OHT, which was a desk-top based tool). It includes various upgrades compared with OHT. It   provides planners with a single framework within which the costs and health impact of alternative interventions can be assessed, for one or multiple diseases or areas of service delivery, or for the health sector as a whole.

The TB module of IHT was published in July 2023 and is currently available in in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Ukrainian. It comprises three TB-specific components, as well as the demographics and HIV components that are part of IHT. The three TB-specific components are:

• 1. TB costing (including service delivery, programme and health systems costs);
• 2. TB target population estimates (customizable to intervention scenarios of interest);
• 3. TB impact assessment (there is a choice of two models: a statistical model and a dynamic (transmission) model).

The TB module has been customized for the needs of national TB planners, and includes default values (from various sources) that can be adapted by users. These include estimates of the size of populations in need of TB services, costs for TB service delivery and associated programme and health system inputs, and optional estimates of epidemiological impact using either a statistical or dynamic model. The TB module of IHT is based on the latest WHO recommendations related to TB diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Results are automatically generated and customizable using a variety of options and categorizations, which are available in both tabular and graphical formats.

Training materials and exercises are currently available from WHO in English; translated versions in French and Spanish are in development.

There is strong and growing demand from low and middle-income countries for the provision of technical assistance to support the use of the TB module of IHT. A global roster of consultants (preferably from a wide range of countries and WHO regions)  who can provide such assistance (including in-country assignments of typically 1–2 weeks), in response to requests that are sent to WHO, is required.

Candidates who are shortlisted for the global roster will be invited to an in-person training on the TB module of IHT scheduled for 18-22 November 2024. Following the training, a final selection of consultants to be included on the roster will be made.

Deliverables

The consultants are expected to perform one or more of the following tasks, according to country capacity and needs:

1. Collect, clean, validate and complete the analysis files of the TB module of IHT, for the alternative intervention and scale up scenarios being considered.
2. Develop technical reports describing the key methods and findings.
3. Facilitate in-country training in the use of the TB module of IHT for national tuberculosis programme (NTP) staff and local technical partners.
4. Provide backstopping guidance to NTP staff and/or local partners to use the tool, including validation of data and results, and review of and provision of contributions to relevant sections of written reports.
5. Contribute to advocacy tools and stakeholders meeting materials.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• Advanced university degree in economics, health economics, health financing, public health, epidemiology, or closely related subject.

Desirable:

• PhD in economics, health economics, health financing, public health, epidemiology, or closely related subject.

Experience

Essential:

• At least 5 years of professional experience working in national or international organizations, academia or the private sector, in the field of health, in at least one of the two following areas:
  • Health intervention costing, budgeting, expenditure tracking, estimation of resource needs, economic evaluation.
  • Disease epidemiology and health impact assessment.
• Experience working in low- and middle-income countries.
• Experience working on infectious diseases.
• Experience in data collection, cleaning, validation and management.

Desirable:

• Experience working on costing or impact assessment related to TB interventions.
• Experience in the development of national strategic plans.
• Experience of working with national governments, preferably ministries of health.
• Publication record in peer-reviewed journals.
• Work experience using the OneHealth tool or the TB module of the Integrated Health Tool for planning and costing, or other similar costing tools.

Skills:

Essential:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Good understanding of methods related to costing or impact assessment within the health sector.
• Demonstrated ability to produce and deliver quality results, according to deadlines.
• Ability to work with individuals from a variety of technical backgrounds.
• Demonstrated writing skills.
• Demonstrated skills in designing and implementing new projects, as a principal or key contributor.

Desirable

• Good understanding of WHO guidance and policies related to TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
• Good understanding of health care systems and service provision modalities in low- and middle-income countries

Languages required:

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of English, or intermediate knowledge of English combined with expert knowledge of French, Spanish or Russian.

Location

Off site: Home-based.

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration:

Band level B – USD 350 – 499 per day or USD 7,000 – 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:

2 to 6 months. The expected number of working days may vary between 5-40 days per country depending on the Terms of Reference of each consultancy.

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.
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For roster VNs:

The purpose of this vacancy is to develop a list of qualified candidates for inclusion in this advertised roster. All applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application (whether successful or unsuccessful) upon conclusion of the selection process. Successful candidates will be placed on the roster and subsequently may be selected for consultancy assignments falling in this area of work or for similar requirements/tasks/deliverables. Inclusion in the Roster does not guarantee selection to a consultant contract. There is no commitment on either side.