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Qualifications
Purpose of consultancy
To provide technical guidance and expertise to help develop and contribute to a programme of work focusing on promoting equitable global health research and rethinking ethics oversight.
Background
COVID-19 highlighted the key role played by science and research in the public health response. It also highlighted major challenges within the research ecosystem, including the issue of equity, both in terms of research participation and access to the benefits of that research. The key role played by ethical review systems during emergencies also came under the spotlight. As a global leader in the area of support for research ethics oversight, the Health Ethics & Governance Unit at WHO HQ convened a meeting of representatives from over twenty countries at a pre-workshop to the Global Summit of National Ethics Committees in Lisbon, Portugal in September 2022, to better understand the challenges and opportunities faced by ethics review committees during COVID-19. This work package picks up on those findings, and other work conducted by the Unit both during and before COVID-19 to build a programme of work to facilitate appropriately resourced and supported ethics oversight and to promote equitable research.
The main objectives for the project are to:
- Build the evidence base to ensure that the needed reform of ethics review oversight is grounded in real-life experience and that the evidence captures globally diverse perspectives.
- Address key gaps in ethics review oversight, with particular reference to trial design.
- Facilitate and promote equitable access to participation in research and the benefits of that research.
Deliverables
Specific deliverables will be pre-defined for each consultancy. Consultants are expected to perform a variety of tasks, including:
- Provide technical advice into mapping and developing the progamme of work.
- Deliver a literature/scoping review synthesizing what pre-existing proposals in terms of best practices/models for ethics advice.
- Contribute to the preparations/development of agendas, background papers and reports for relevant expert and advisory group meetings.
- Contribute to the preparations/development of agendas, background papers and reports for stakeholder engagement consultations.
- Development of case studies and other relevant review and analysis of documents.
- Produce a draft of the ethics outputs (i.e., tools, guidance, recommendations, reports, frameworks and/or toolkits).
- Contribute to the preparation of final documentation and outputs for publication and the development of an implementation strategy.
Qualifications, experience, skills and languages
Educational Qualifications
Essential:
- Advanced university degree in Ethics, Law, Philosophy, Sociology, Political Science, Medicine or related field.
Experience
Essential:
- Band level B: 5 to 10 years of relevant experience in the fields of public health, bioethics, philosophy, political science, or other related fields, as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications.
- Band level C: Over 10 years of relevant experience in the fields of public health, bioethics, philosophy, political science, or other related fields, as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications.
Desirable:
- Experience in providing ethics advice to governments or non-governmental organizations.
Skills/Knowledge
Essential:
- Advanced knowledge of ethical issues in public health
- Excellent communication, research, presentation, and report-writing skills
- Ability to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural settings
Languages and level required
Essential:
- Expert knowledge of English
Locationย
Offsite: Home-basedย
Travelย
The consultant is expected to travel. ย
Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded)
Remuneration
Band level B: USD 350 - 499 per day
Band level C: USD 500 - 625 per dayLiving expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited)
N/A
Expected duration of contract
6 to 11 months depending on programme needs.
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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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.
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- Expert knowledge of English
- Experience in providing ethics advice to governments or non-governmental organizations.
- Advanced university degree in Ethics, Law, Philosophy, Sociology, Political Science, Medicine or related field.