The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking for experienced and highly qualified experts to serve as members of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), for a three-year appointment, starting January 2025 or January 2026.
This call for experts solicits candidatures from January 2025 onwards, but also aims to establish a roster of candidates for future openings as the need arises.
BACKGROUND
SAGE is the principal advisory group to WHO for vaccines and immunization. It is composed of 15 or more experts.
SAGE reports to the Director-General of WHO and advises on global policies and strategies, ranging from vaccines and technology, research and development, to delivery of immunization and its linkages with other health interventions.
FUNCTIONS
The role of SAGE members is to provide WHO with evidence-based, independent, and transparent guidance of highest standards on matters of relevance to immunization policy and strategies (see also SAGE homepage and SAGE Terms of Reference).
Members play a critical role in ensuring SAGE’s reputation as an internationally leading advisory group on immunization, and in guiding WHO’s policies and strategies on immunization.
SAGE OPERATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS FROM MEMBERS
SAGE membership appointment is for a period of three years, renewable once. There is a staged rotation of members with several expected vacancies opening in January 2025, and several more in 2026.
SAGE normally meets twice each year in person at WHO headquarters in Geneva, usually for 3-4 days. However, WHO may convene additional meetings, in person in Geneva or another location, as determined by WHO or virtually, via video or teleconference.
In addition to attendance of plenary meetings, active participation is expected from all SAGE members throughout the year, including participation in SAGE working groups, video and telephone conferences and interaction via e-mail. Review of documents may also be solicited. SAGE members may be requested to participate in other WHO meetings.
Overall, it is expected that SAGE members are in a position to devote a significant amount of time for the preparation and the attendance of meetings, up to 20 working days.
The working language is English.
SUBMITTING YOUR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Expression of interest should be sent by email to sageexecsec@who.int with the following attachments:
1. A cover letter, indicating your motivation to apply, your current organization affiliation (if any), your top 3 areas of expertise. Please note that, if selected, membership will be in your personal capacity.
2. Your curriculum vitae including your nationality, gender, academic degrees, awards/recognitions and relevant publications.
3. A signed and completed Declaration of Interests (DOI) form for WHO Experts, available here.
The deadline for application is 8 May 2024. Extension of the deadline may be decided by the secretariat and communicated on the website.
After submission, your expression of interest will be reviewed by a dedicated selection panel. This panel will first select individuals for the roster, and at the required time, further decide on a nominee to fill an available SAGE seat to propose to the WHO Director-General for appointment. Due to an expected high volume of interest, only applicants selected for the roster (and in turn, eligible for actual SAGE membership) will be informed.
SAGE is a multidisciplinary group of experts. Members have highest international standing in their field, and represent a range of technical areas, skills and experience relevant to vaccines and immunization. In recognition of the regular, phased rotation of SAGE members, WHO is seeking to constitute a list of highly qualified experts to fill seats in the Advisory Group as they become available.
It should be noted that there will be no call for SAGE nomination in 2025 or 2026. Qualified candidates interested in starting to serve on SAGE within the next 24-30 months are encouraged to apply now.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from scientists, researchers, healthcare professionals, and public health professionals of highest credentials with expertise in the following areas listed below. Expertise in several disciplines, as well as international work experience, are preferred.
Infectious disease epidemiology, public health, immunology, vaccinology, clinical practice (in particular infectious diseases, pediatrics, internal medicine, geriatrics, obstetrics and maternal health), vaccine regulation, immunization programme management, vaccine delivery, immunization and health systems, vaccine research and development, clinical trials, mathematical modeling, ethics, health communication, health economics, and vaccine safety.
WHO is attentive to constituting an advisory group with a balanced global geographical representation as well as a gender balance, and candidates from low- and middle-income countries as well as females are particularly encouraged to apply.
The staff of WHO, other agencies of the United Nations, private sectors and donors to WHO in the field of immunization, are not eligible to serve on SAGE. Significant conflicts of interest may also exclude candidates from serving on SAGE.
For more information please click here.
Note: Important information about the selection processes and conditions of appointment
Members on SAGE, as on all other WHO advisory groups (AGs) must be free of any significant real, potential or apparent conflicts of interest. To this end, applicants are required to complete the WHO Declaration of Interests (DOI) for WHO Experts, and the selection as a member of an 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). Members on SAGE have an ongoing obligation to inform the WHO of any interests real or perceived that may give raise to a significant, real, potential or apparent conflict of interest.
All SAGE 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 (Code of Conduct at WHO events). SAGE 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 AG.
The selection of members of the SAGE 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; professional achievements; and ability to work constructively with people from different cultural backgrounds and orientations. The selection of SAGE 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, the proposed members will be sent an invitation letter and a Memorandum of Agreement. Appointment as a member of SAGE 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 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.
SAGE members do not receive any remuneration from the Organization for any work related to the SAGE. However, when attending in-person meetings at the invitation of WHO, their travel cost and per diem shall be covered by WHO in accordance with the applicable WHO rules, procedures and policies.
The appointment will be limited in time as indicated in the letter of appointment, usually 3 years, renewable once.