Roster of consultants – Cervical cancer elimination strategies with focus on national cervical cancer planning and policy development

Purpose of consultancy

To respond to Member States requests and provide technical expertise in the areas of implementation and scale up of national cervical cancer elimination strategies, with particular emphasis on implementation driven national plan development and policy adoption at country level.

Background

Cervical cancer is preventable and curable, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively. Yet 2108 data show it is the 4th most common form of cancer among women worldwide with 680,000 new cases and the disease claims the lives of more than 300 000 women.

Few diseases reflect global inequities as much as cancer of the cervix. Nearly 90% of the deaths in 2018 occurred in low- and middle-income countries. This is where the burden of cervical cancer is greatest because screening and treatment for the disease have not been widely implemented and/or services are inaccessible. In May 2018, the WHO Director-General announced a global call for action to eliminate cervical cancer, underscoring the political will to make elimination a reality and calling for all stakeholders to unite behind this common goal. In August 2020 the World Health Assembly adopted the Global Strategy for cervical cancer elimination and an ambitious, concerted and inclusive strategy followed to guide the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem, setting the threshold of 4 per 100 000 women-years for achieving elimination.

The targets to be met by 2030 shape the approach to put countries on the path towards cervical cancer elimination:

• 90% of girls fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by age 15 years.
• 70% of women are screened with a high-performance test by 35 years of age and again by 45 years of age.
• 90% of women identified with cervical disease receive treatment (90% of women with precancer treated, and 90% of women with invasive cancer).

Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Contribute to the formulation, updating and implementation of CCEI national strategies and related action plans.
  • Deliverable 1.1: Draft national CCEI strategies, related action plans and supporting guidelines or policies.
  • Deliverable 1.2: Provide technical expertise to country teams in the areas of co-creation of monitoring and evaluation framework for national CCEI strategies and related documents in partnership with national stakeholders.
  • Deliverable 1.3: Draft documents that illustrate best practices and facilitate sharing with partners and knowledge sharing platforms.
• Deliverable 2: Produce guidance material and best practices in the formulation, costing, financing and/or monitoring of CCEI national strategies and related action plans.
  • Deliverable 2.1: Draft guidance material on best practices national CCEI strategies.
  • Deliverable 2.2: Participate in and/or mentor national stakeholders in the costing of CCEI national strategies and related action plans.
  • Deliverable 2.3: Draft documents for development agencies and/or funders to support the financing of CCEI national strategies and related action plans.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• Advanced university degree in public health, medicine, nursing, midwifery.

Desirable:

• Degree or credentials in public health or public policy.

Experience

Essential:

Band level B:

• 5 to 10 years’ experience working on developing of national plans on reproductive health, cancer or non-communicable diseases prevention and control programs in low- and low-middle-income countries.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation of national plans.

Band level C:

• Over 10 years’ experience working in program management or development of national policy.
• Demonstrated experience in national policy development and monitoring in developing countries.

Skills/Knowledge:

• Exceptional leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge of ethics and human rights principles under sexual and reproductive health and cancer.
• Ability to manage time and prioritize work appropriately.
• Ability to work collaboratively, across cultures.
• Expertise in adult learning and coaching methods.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and data interpretation skills.

Languages required:

Essential:

• Expert knowledge in English.

Desirable:

• Expert knowledge of other WHO languages.

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.
Band level C - USD 10,000 - 12,500 per month.

Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited):

N/A

Expected duration of contract:

Up to a maximum of 6 months. Additional contracts may be offered based on satisfactory performance.

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.
• The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.
  The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply for WHO jobs.
  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.
• 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 short-listed candidates.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority.
• WHO shall have no responsibility 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.
• Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.
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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.