This call was first published on 18 January 2021. Due to technical reasons, it is republished on 1 February 2021 with extended deadline of 8 February 2021. Candidates who have already submitted their expression of interest are kindly requested to resubmit their application before the new deadline of 8 February.
WHO is seeking experts to serve as members of The Global Validation Advisory Committee (GVAC) for validation of elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. This “Call for experts” provides information about the advisory group in question, the expert profiles being sought, the process to express interest, and the process of selection.
Background
The mission of the Global Validation Advisory Committee (GVAC) for EMTCT is to provide independent advice to WHO global secretariat to support country efforts toward elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV and/or syphilis and to achieve and maintain global validation standards.
Functions of the GVAC
The functions of the GVAC are to:
- Critically review and evaluate regional validation team (RVT) and/or regional validation committee (RVC) reports to ensure compliance with the global criteria for EMTCT validation.
- Provide clear recommendations to countries on their performance in the validation process of EMTCT.
- Provide clear guidance if validation is not achieved.
- Provide guidance to WHO for ongoing monitoring and maintenance of validation.
- Review tools for EMTCT validation and recommend updates, including the global guidance document (Orange Book), EMTCT governance document and validation assessment tools.
- The GVAC recommendations will be used by the WHO secretariat to prepare a letter of evaluation to be sent to the MOH. The WHO reserves the right to amend language as suggested by required signatories including governing bodies.
- Support a candidate Ministry of Health (MOH) with clear explanations and/or suggestions for improvement in national programmes.
At a minimum, GVAC members should be able and willing to:
- Serve on the committee for at least one year (option to serve for nine years total).
- Participate in an annual GVAC face to face meeting (as needed).
- Participate in GVAC calls every two-months and additional ad-hoc calls.
- Review RVC/RVT country reports (individually and through virtual meetings) to assess for compliance with minimum global standards.
- Update existing and/or review new tools for validation.
- Biannually, review data on maintenance of validation for countries who were successfully validated.
- As needed, participate in country validation missions or regional validation meetings on behalf of the larger GVAC.
- Support capacity building of countries or regional committees where needed.
Members will serve for an initial term of up to 3 years, renewable twice for a period of up to an additional six years or depending on the GVAC secretariat need.
GVAC members will not be remunerated for their participation in the GVAC. However, reasonable expenses such as travel expenses incurred by attendance at GVAC meetings and participation in regional and country EMTCT activities will be compensated by WHO in accordance with the applicable rules and policies of WHO. GVAC members should not receive any financial or other incentives from any other source in relation to their GVAC functions.
Operations of the GVAC
The GVAC will have a face-to-face meeting once a year. The WHO Secretariat shall provide any necessary technical and other support for the GVAC. WHO will convene additional scheduled meetings on a quarterly basis, including through teleconferences and videoconferences, including on an ad hoc basis. Membership in the GVAC may be terminated by the global secretariat for various reasons, including but not limited to:
- failure to attend three consecutive GVAC calls or meetings.
- change in affiliation resulting in a conflict of interest.
- a lack of professionalism involving, for example, a breach of confidentiality.
A formal report of all GVAC teleconferences, validation meeting recommendations to countries will be written by the global secretariat and submitted back to the GVAC for comments. The GVAC will have two weeks to edit the reports. All recommendations from the GVAC are advisory to WHO, which retains full control over any subsequent decision or actions regarding any proposals, policy issues or other matters considered by the GVAC. Information and documentation to which members may gain access in performing GVAC related activities will be considered as confidential and proprietary to WHO and /or parties collaborating with WHO. GVAC members shall not purport to speak on behalf of, or represent, the GVAC or WHO to any third party. In this regard, GVAC members may be approached by non-WHO sources for their views, comments and statements on matters of public health concern and asked to state the views of the GVAC or of details related to GVAC discussions. GVAC members should refer all such enquiries to WHO.
Who can express interest?
The GVAC is multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. A minimum of 2 new members will be selected.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from scientists, healthcare professionals, and healthcare regulators with expertise in any of the following areas:
- HIV and syphilis laboratory.
- HIV and syphilis data management and programme review, monitoring and evaluation.
GVAC members shall not be representatives of governments, organizations, institutions or entities, but rather shall serve in an independent, personal and individual capacity and shall possess expertise in EMTCT of HIV and syphilis.
In selecting members, attention shall be paid to gender balance and to the importance of as wide a geographic basis as possible, particularly from low and middle-income countries. The GVAC must include at least one representative from each WHO region..
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the GVAC, please submit the following documents by 8 February 2021 at 24:00h (midnight) Geneva time to newmanm@who.int using the subject line “Expression of interest for the GVAC”:
- A cover letter, indicating your motivation to apply and how you satisfy the selection criteria.
- Your curriculum vitae; and
- A signed and completed Declaration of Interests (DOI) form for WHO Experts, available at https://www.who.https://www.who.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest.
After submission, your expression of interest will be reviewed by WHO. Due to an expected high volume of interest, only selected individuals will be informed.
Important information about the selection processes and conditions of appointment
Members of WHO advisory groups (AGs) must be free of any real, potential or apparent conflicts of interest. To this end, applicants are required to complete the WHO Declaration of Interests for WHO Experts, and the selection as a member of a AG is, amongst other things, dependent on WHO determining that there is no conflict of interest or that any identified conflicts could be appropriately managed (in addition to WHO’s evaluation of an applicant’s experience, expertise and motivation and other criteria).
All AG members will serve in their individual expert capacity and shall not represent any governments, any commercial industries or entities, any research, academic or civil society organizations, or any other bodies, entities, institutions or organizations. They are expected to fully comply with the Code of Conduct for WHO Experts (https://www.who.https://www.who.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest). AG members will be expected to sign and return a completed confidentiality undertaking prior to the beginning of the first meeting.
At any point during the selection process, telephone interviews may be scheduled between an applicant and the WHO Secretariat to enable WHO to ask questions relating to the applicant’s experience and expertise and/or to assess whether the applicant meets the criteria for membership in the relevant AG.
The selection of members of the AGs will be made by WHO in its sole discretion, taking into account the following (non-exclusive) criteria: relevant technical expertise; experience in international and country policy work; communication skills; and ability to work constructively with people from different cultural backgrounds and orientations .The selection of AG members will also take account of the need for diverse perspectives from different regions, especially from low and middle-income countries, and for gender balance.
If selected by WHO, proposed members will be sent an invitation letter and a Memorandum of Agreement. Appointment as a member of an AG will be subject to the proposed member returning to WHO the countersigned copy of these two documents.
WHO reserves the right to accept or reject any expression of interest, to annul the open call process and reject all expressions of interest at any time without incurring any liability to the affected applicant or applicants and without any obligation to inform the affected applicant or applicants of the grounds for WHO's action. WHO may also decide, at any time, not to proceed with the establishment of the AG, disband an existing TAG or modify the work of the AG.
WHO shall not in any way be obliged to reveal, or discuss with any applicant, how an expression of interest was assessed, or to provide any other information relating to the evaluation/selection process or to state the reasons for not choosing a member.
WHO may publish the names and a short biography of the selected individuals on the WHO internet.
AG members will not be remunerated for their services in relation to the AG or otherwise. Travel and accommodation expenses of AG members to participate in AG meetings will be covered by WHO in accordance with its applicable policies, rules and procedures.
The appointment will be limited in time as indicated in the letter of appointment.
If you have any questions about this “Call for experts”, please write to newmanm@who.int well before the applicable deadline.