Consultant - WHO COVID-19 Publications Review

Purpose of consultancy

To provide guidance and support to the Quality Norms and Standards Department (SCI/QNS) and the WHO Health Emergencies cluster to ensure WHO’s publications on COVID-19 meet the highest standards of quality and the smooth and timely functioning of WHOs quality appraisal mechanism for COVID-19 related publications.

Background

The WHO COVID-19 Publications Review Committee was established to coordinate, streamline and ensure a standardized quality for all WHO publications related to COVID-19 and the public health response. Building on lessons learned from previous outbreaks, the Committee reports directly to the Executive Director of WHE and comprises staff from HQ and regional offices whose role is to assess each publication for:

• consistency with other WHO publications and guidance,
• consolidate to the extent possible and rationalize the number of publications that do not bring any new information or guidance to the response,
• ensure appropriate methods are used, and
• are relevant to the nature and stage of the emergency response.

The tasks to be performed by the selected candidate will include registering document submissions, ensuring the completeness of all submissions, assigning reviewers, generation of progress summaries and drafting of the meeting minutes.

Deliverables

Output 1: Collaborate with the task lead to manage document submissions and management of the document repository using WHO SharePoint tool, notably:

1.1 Ensure timely distribution of documents to reviewers ahead of each weekly PRC meeting;
1.2 Develop and distribute an agenda of submissions for each meeting and ensure correctness and completion;
1.4:Conduct a quality check of the PRC repository to ensure that all related materials are clear and up to date, and available on the Intranet site. (eg FAQ on PRC process, workflow of PRC submission process, document templates (interim guidance, meeting reports etc), meeting minutes).

Expected delivery date: Weekly

Output 2:

2.1: Draft and revise a weekly summary of all PRC decisions within 24 hours of the meeting;
2.2: Circulate the above weekly summaries among the relevant units in QNS upon their request;
2.3: Attend the weekly team meetings of QNS/MST to be updated on the WHO-wide quality assurance mechanism.

Expected delivery date: Every PRC meeting (1xweekly)

Output 3:

3.1 Prepare a monthly/bi-monthly summary of the proposal submissions’ figures; (eg number of submissions, distribution by department, type of decision (approve/not approve etc)
3.2: Prepare a monthly/bi-monthly summary of all publications reviewed by the PRC;
3.3: Circulate the above monthly/bi-monthly summaries among the relevant units in QNS upon their request.

Expected delivery date: Monthly

Output 4:

4.1 Update the PRC Sharepoint to:

4.1.1 Revise submission form to ensure alignment to current clearance requirements and ensure that all relevant information is captured in the main document
4.1.2 Finalize agreed topic tagging system and manually ‘tag’ all submissions with 1st and 2nd level topic tags
4.1.3. Update existing submissions regularly to ensure all relevant information including PRC numbers are correct and consistent.
4.1.5 Maintain updated lists of contact persons
4.1.6 Collaborate with IT to find solutions to:

• Ensure all members have access
• Automate submission notification
• Enable re-population of submission forms for re-submissions

4.1.7 Provide a monthly report on reviewer attendance

Expected delivery date: During assignment timeframe

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

First university degree in public health, science, management, or related field

Desirable:

• M.P.H or Master’s degree in epidemiology, health policy, informatics, management, or related field.
• Project Management certification.

Experience

Essential:

• At least 3 years’ experience working in public health related field.
• At least 1 year experience managing projects at the national or international level.
• Experience coordinating and reporting on projects involving scientific materials with a variety of contributors from diverse locations and settings.
• Experience managing data and databases, such as for publications and citations.

Desirable:

• Experience managing complex projects in public health, including prioritization, coordination, and documentation of tasks involving multiple contributors.
• Experience working with WHO or another UN agency.

Skills/Knowledge:

Essential:

• Excellent presentation skills of data and information on health topics with ability to tailor the presentation to specific audiences.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, demanding, and continuously evolving work environment.
• Ability to work independently.

Languages required:

Essential:

Expert knowledge of English

Desirable

Intermediate knowledge of French

Location

Home based – Off-site

Travel

Consultant is not expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration:

Band level A

USD 3,955 - 6,890 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

Starting date: as soon as possible

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 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