Consultant - Surveillance Data Standards development

Purpose of consultancy

To contribute to the development of global surveillance standards for data collection and sharing with a focus on digitalization.

Background

Surveillance systems in public health serve a wide array of objectives, encompassing disease monitoring, early detection, contact tracing, and epidemiological assessment. This versatility together with other factors has contributed to lack of data integration and harmonization at country, regional, and global levels and poses challenges such as duplicated data collection efforts, parallel reporting, inconsistencies and lack of data quality and detail. Underlying these issues is the absence of standardized terminologies and standards that could integrate or harmonize surveillance systems.

Within the strategy of Collaborative Surveillance, the WHO Surveillance Systems Department (WSE/SRV) aims to develop a comprehensive suite of norms and standards for public health surveillance. Our objective is to enhance quality, timeliness, granularity of surveillance systems on one hand and collaboration, interoperability, and synergy between them on the other hand, to generate better insights for better public health decision-making.

Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: A comprehensive report outlining the commonalities, differences, and gaps within and across 5 selected disease surveillance guidelines.
  Expected by: July 2024
• Deliverables 2: Report detailing the adoption and representation of WHO surveillance data standards across commonly used systems and tools for the 5 selected diseases.
  Expected by: August 2024
• Deliverables 3: Documentation of key surveillance components to be standardized and/or adapted for digitalization based on the SMART guidelines approach.
  Expected by: September 2024
• Deliverables 4: Development of technical reports, digital adaptation kits and scientific manuscripts.
  Expected by: December 2024

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• First level university degree in public health, epidemiology, or a related field.

Desirable:

• Advanced degree in data management, data science or related field.

Experience:

Essential:

• 5 to 10 years of relevant professional experience in epidemiology, public health surveillance, or any related field.
• Experience in conducting indicator-based surveillance.
• Proven experience in conducting systematic reviews.

Desirable:

• Experience in setting up surveillance systems.
• Experience with UN or other international or multinational organizations.

Skills:

• Knowledge of disease surveillance guidelines, protocols, and standards.
• Knowledge of public health surveillance systems and tools.
• Solid analytical skills with demonstrated ability to rapidly gather and consolidate information from multiple sources.
• Excellent writing skills and ability to produce documentation to a high standard.
• Ability to effectively collaborate with teams in an international, multicultural, multi-disciplinary environment working under different time-zones.
• Highly organized approach to activities; executes thoroughly under time pressure.
• Proactive, flexible, resourceful, and able to work independently.
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.).
• Proficiency in MS SharePoint, MS Visio, MS Project.

Languages required:

Essential:

Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable:

Intermediate knowledge of French and/or Spanish.

Location

Off site: Home-based.

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration:

Band level B - 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:

7 months.

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.
• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.
• 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 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 final candidates.
• Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority. The execution of the work under a consultant contract does not create an employer/employee relationship between WHO and the Consultant.
• WHO shall have no responsibility whatsoever 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.
• 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