CONSULTANT - TECHNICAL AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS (AVAREF PROGRAM)

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Qualifications

1.    Background and Justification

Access to innovative, affordable, safe, and effective medicines, vaccines, and health technologies of assured quality is key to enhancing Africa’s disease-fighting capacities, pandemic readiness, prevention, control, elimination, and eradication of the high communicable and non-communicable disease burden. 
Research and development (R&D) and manufacturing capacity for these health products in Africa continues to be very low, leaving the tremendous economic and health benefits unlocked. Among the reasons for the low participation in R&D of medicines and vaccines are weak regulatory systems for oversight of clinical development and registration, inadequately resourced clinical trial sites, unwillingness of product developers and sponsors to bring clinical trials to Africa due to fewer experts, poor governance and lack of transparency, and prolonged timelines for evaluation of clinical trial applications by both National Ethics Committees (NECs) and National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs), and the fragmented regulatory systems in the 55 member states including approvals.

AVAREF, AdVancing ClinicAl TRials Excellence in AFrica, is a network of NRAs and NECs established 20 years ago by the WHO with its primary mission for capacity building of the NRAs and NECs. AVAREF is leveraging its strong network of NRAs and NECs and associated platform to enhance vaccine research and development. The AVAREF Secretariat situated within Vaccine Research and Innovation Unit (VRUI) within the Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD) Program is responsible for delivering on the workplan for a wide range of activities including capacity building initiatives, technical assistance to member states, and coordination of programs with partners and stakeholders.

In the last 2 decades, since 2006, AVAREF has achieved a great deal and been involved in the attainment of major milestones for the clinical trial ecosystem. AVAREF has over the years been instrumental in facilitating the increase in maturity levels for NRAs (currently 8 out of the 48 member states in the region); use of platform to support the registration of emergency use vaccines for Ebola, COVID-19, and Mpox; supporting the clinical development, trials, and approvals of key public health vaccines, including RTS,S (malaria), meningitis (Neisseria meningitidis and Streptococcus pneumoniae), Ebola, rotavirus, pneumonia, Covid-19, cholera, and cervical cancer; contributing to capacity building and strengthening for a wide range of reviewers within NRAs – training 120 individuals in 2024; and 67 specialists in 2025; all making AVAREF a globally recognized model of regulatory harmonization and excellence on the continent.

The 2024-26 Strategic Operational and Action Plan involves providing excellent capacity building as the central pillar which rests on the 3 foundational pillars namely partnerships for results, trusted expertise, and a life cycle approach. Simply, the AVAREF Secretariat is working with willing partners in the ecosystem, providing much needed technical support drawing from WHO and other partners, and supporting actors along the innovation life cycle ranging from clinical research, clinical trials, ethics and regulatory oversight, product safety and monitoring, product effectiveness, and risk management/risk communication.

With the operationalization of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), quest for local production of vaccines as part of the health sovereignty agenda, significant changes in the financial environment with an increasing tendency of traditional donors consolidating their funding envelops, direct competition amongst African Union organizations and WHO due to overlapping mandates, and the need for clear value addition, AVAREF is transforming into a WHO-AFRO Program (as opposed to a Secretariat for AVAREF) which will be focused on an ecosystem and life cycle approach from R&D to safe use of vaccines and vaccines. It is important that AVAREF can effectively communicate its role, strong record of accomplishments over the years, support for member states, and other partners and stakeholders within the clinical trial ecosystem. Public facing documents such as Investment cases, Strategic and Operational plans requires input from a specialist communicator.

2.    Deliverables

The Consultant – TECHNICAL AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS will work closely with the Coordinator, AVAREF Secretariat, and the staff within the Secretariat, in the development of a wide range of communication and marketing products intended for the repositioning, advocacy, and fund raising of AVAREF in its mission of advancing clinical trials excellence for a thriving research and development ecosystem in Africa.  These documents will be necessary as AVAREF celebrates its 2 decades of accomplishments.

Biennial Reports (2024 & 2025)

A biennial report covering 2024 & 2025 to be leveraged for 2026.

The AVAREF Program – A framework for Research and Development through Excellence in Clinical Trials in Africa.

AVAREF will be transformed from a Secretariat into a WHO-AFRO program for excellence in clinical trials leveraging the AVAREF networks of NRAs and NECs to produce a network of networks along the innovation life cycle. A key document describing the strategic vision, objectives, outputs, outcomes, plan, monitoring, and evaluation and importantly the framework on how the program will add value along the chain from R&D to access to safe products through excellence in clinical trials should be clearly communicated. This is particularly important in the era of an operationalized African Medicines Agency and an Africa CDC that also has an R&D and innovation unit.

Other Communication Products

Other communication products will be developed for targeted audiences external including fact sheets, impact stories, etc will be developed to support implementation of the communication strategy.

Specifically, the Consultant will perform the following tasks:
1.    Biennial Report 
2.    AVAREF Program document supporting ENDISA through access to vaccines and medicines that are innovative, safe, effective, affordable, and of assured quality.
3.    A business Case for the AVAREF Program 
4.    Produce a short communication documents that are external facing..
5.    Perform any other tasks assigned by the first level supervisors.

Expected Outputs
1.    Biannual report – 2024-25
2.    Strategic Framework for R&D through excellence in clinical trials
3.    AVAREF Program Business Case
4.    A set of other communication products and templates.
5.    Donor reports, grant documentation, journal articles pertaining to AVAREF.
3.    Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

3.    Educational Qualifications

Essential :

Master's degree in public health, medicine, international relations, the social sciences, or the humanities required
A degree in communication, media arts, literature, anthropology, and related disciplines

Desirable:  

Degree in sciences, health, public health, or related biomedical science. 
Extensive experience in writing public facing documents for advocacy, fundraising, and executive communication.

Experience:

Essential 

Minimum of 7 years of writing in a variety of styles; ability to develop messaging and positioning for an international organization.

Desirable

Demonstrated networking skills, excellent interpersonal skills, ability to multitask, ability to prioritize competing priorities.
Thorough understanding of public health and international development issues, and can quickly understand, process and communicate about new public health information.
A track record of academic publications in peer-reviewed journals; proven ability to plan, execute, collaborate and work independently.
Proven skills in communication and delivery of results.
Ability to work as a team under tight deadlines and work. Experience working in Africa (or low- and middle-income countries) as well as in advanced economies.

Skills/Knowledge

• Producing results
• Communicating in a credible and effective way
• Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond.

Other Skills:

•     Excellent knowledge of data collection tools, Statistical packages, Communication packages and Microsoft application (e.g. Excel, Word, Power Point, etc), xml

Languages and level required

Excellent knowledge of English or French and working knowledge of the other language will be an asset.

4.    Technical Supervision 

The Incumbent will be supervised by the Technical Officer, Implementation Research Portfolio Coordinator, AVAREF Secretariat (WHO-AFRO)

5.    Location

Off-site (Home-based)

6.     Remuneration and budget (travel costs excluded)

Band level B - USD 7,000 - 9,980 per month
 

7.   Expected contract duration

An initial duration of 3 months with the possibility of extension. 
 

8.    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