Consultant – Post COVID-19 condition

Purpose of consultancy

To provide technical expertise, to deliver improvements to clinical care for the Post COVID-19 condition and to contribute to the clinical management and operations unit activities.

Background

The mission of the WHO’s Health Emergencies (WHE) Programme is to build the capacity of Member States to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to affected populations. The objectives of the Country Readiness Strengthening (CRS) Department include the development and strengthening of core national capacities necessary to mitigate and respond to emergency risks and vulnerabilities.

Within the CRS Department, the Clinical Management and Operations Unit works to facilitate and in setting and implementation of clinical standards throughout the full cycle of health emergencies through the coordination of groups of subject-matter experts and the fast-tracking of evidence and guidance and country support.

As a result of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee meeting on 13 October 2022, the WHO Director-General confirmed that Covid-19 remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The committee noted that: “the burden of COVID-19 related complications and Post COVID-19 Condition is also high and its full impact not completely understood”.

As a member of the clinical management unit and operations, the technical consultant will work collaboratively to improve the clinical care of patients with Covid-19 in member states.

The work will be informed by the 2021 WHO publication A clinical case definition of post COVID-19 condition by a Delphi consensus, and by a modified definition for children. Ongoing work by the WHO includes coordinating targeted systematic reviews which inform evidence-based international guidance on post COVID condition. Data collected through the WHO Global Clinical Platform provides multi-centre information which can support understanding of clinical phenotype, together with changes by geography or over time. The consultant will synthesize and co-ordinate these resources, across a complex network of partners in order to provide relevant advice and information to patients, their careers, and healthcare professionals looking after them.

Deliverables:

Deliverable 1: Normative deliverables.

• Develop a living guideline for the clinical management of post-Covid-19 condition.

Deliverable 2: Country and data support.

• Provide technical expertise and contribute to the production of a report on post-Covid-19 condition with country partners who will collect clinical data as part of the Global Clinical Platform.

Deliverable 3: Training.

• Develop training materials derived from clinical guidelines and updates from contemporaneous literature. Outputs will include quick reference materials describing best clinical practice for healthcare professionals; infographics to enhance awareness of the phenotypes and treatment options, and communicate this quickly to healthcare professionals and lay-readers; webinars to promote a freely accessible resource for updating clinical non-experts on the state of the art.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages.

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• A first university degree in medicine, nursing or allied health sciences.

Desirable:

• An advanced degree or post graduate degree in public health, research, or related field.

Experience

Essential:

• Minimum five years of experience as healthcare worker (delivering clinical care).
• Experience in research (clinical research and or clinical trials).
• Experience in creating training materials for health workers.
• Close leadership involvement with the production of systematic reviews.

Desirable:

• International work experience.

Skills

• Demonstrated excellent English writing.
• Ability to write scientific articles independently.
• Ability to work in a multi-disciplinary and cross-cutting environment.
• Excellent organizational skills combined with the ability to multi-task and produce accurate results under pressure.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, diplomacy, tact and discretion, sound judgment, and initiative.
• Ability to work under pressure and to clearly articulate and present concepts and procedures to a broad range of audiences.
• Demonstrated applied knowledge of research methods and GRADE methodology for systematic review.

Languages required:

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable:

• Intermediate knowledge of another official WHO language.

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:

6 months.
In case of part-time contract, remuneration will be prorated accordingly.

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