Purpose of the Consultancy
This is a 12 month technical support role that will focus on advancing Tuberculosis vaccine development through the following priority workstreams: i) development of generic Preferred Policy Profiles for vaccines, ii) expert consultation on late stage clinical trials and policy considerations for TB vaccines targeted to adolescents and adults, and iii) preparation for a global consultation on developing a roadmap for late stage TB vaccines, including what is needed for commercial scale up, commercialization, policy recommendation and implementation.
The role will sit within the Vaccine Product Delivery Research (PDR) team, in the department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals (IVB), but will work closely with WHO’s Global TB (GTB) Programme.
Background
WHO’s Immunization, Vaccines & Biologicals department includes the PDR team, which provides global guidance on research priorities to develop new vaccines or improve existing vaccines against diseases of public health importance, and to facilitate their introduction and use. The Vaccine Prioritisation and Platforms team within PDR focuses on designing prioritisation frameworks while ensuring partnership with country and regional level stakeholder partnership, assessing innovative vaccine development strategies/approaches, manufacturing and delivery platforms and developing normative guidance such preferred product characteristics, and R&D roadmaps for novel vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. PDR is also embarking on assessing the feasibility of generating preferred policy profiles (PPoP) to offer guidance on data and evidence that could be considered for a WHO policy recommendation.
Tuberculosis (TB) ranks as the leading cause of death among infectious diseases in human history. 10 million people fell ill with TB and 1.4 million died from the disease in 2019 alone. The only licensed TB vaccine, Bacille Calmette– Guérin (BCG), provides partial protection against severe forms of TB in infants and young children (averting thousands of pediatric deaths annually), but fails to stop transmission of pulmonary tuberculosis in adolescents and adults. WHO and collaborators have articulated global strategic public health goals for TB vaccines, and have developed Preferred Product Characteristics guidance for vaccines intended to prevent pulmonary disease in adolescents and adults. One candidate has demonstrated efficacy in this target population to date, in a Phase 2b study. In addition, BCG revaccination of adolescents suggests this approach may prevent sustained infection in high transmission settings. Consideration and articulation of the proposed licensure strategy and the data/evidence required for WHO policy recommendation, now, is imperative to avoid a delay in enabling TB vaccine availability, access and impact.
A consultant with expertise in TB vaccine development and experience of managing multiple global stakeholders, developing new processes/frameworks and generating consensus is being sought. Working closely with staff in IVB’s PDR Unit, and with WHO’s Global TB Programme, with input from technical partners, the consultant will provide technical support and project management.
Description of the vacancy
A consultant with expertise in TB vaccine development, policy development and experience of managing multiple global stakeholders to develop new processes/frameworks/guidance is being sought. Working closely with staff in IVB’s PDR Unit, and with WHO’s Global TB Programme, with input from technical partners, the consultant will provide technical support and project management.
Scope of work will focus on the following priority workstreams: i) development of generic Preferred Policy Profiles for vaccines, ii) expert consultation on late stage clinical trials and policy considerations for TB vaccines targeted to adolescents and adults, and iii) preparation for a global consultation on developing a roadmap for late stage TB vaccines, including what is needed for commercial scale up, commercialization, policy recommendation and implementation.
Specific requirements
Qualifications required:
- Medical degree
- Advanced degree in microbiology, epidemiology, public health, sciences, or related field an advantage
Experience required:
- At least 10 years of experience in a public health organisation, product development partnership, academia, or private industry;
- Expertise in TB vaccine development, specifically clinical trial design and regulatory strategy;
- Experience of working with multiple global partners in the field of vaccinology, policy or implementation
- Experience of policy development an advantage;
- Experience of working with in country and regional stakeholders an advantage;
Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:
- Capability to interact with technical experts in public health organisations, governments, academia, and industry, with respect to vaccination;
- High quality scientific writing, reporting skills and strong experience in developing and editing proposals, documents, technical reports and communication materials;
- Results-oriented management style, self-starter and excellent consultative and organization skills;
- Demonstrated collaborative mindset, adaptable to team environment, willingness to work independently
Language requirements:
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
Dates and Duty Station
The consultant is intended to start in February 2021, until February 2022. The supplier will work remotely; flexibility to adapt working times to out of conventional office hours is expected.
How to apply
Please submit applications by e-mail to giersingb@who.int indicating “Consultant: PDR TB vaccine” in the subject line. Please include: (i) a cover letter and (ii) your current curriculum vitae. All applications will be acknowledged. The closing date for applications is 6th January 2021.