Job Description

Contractual Arrangement

External consultant

Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days)

6 months

Job Posting

Aug 28, 2025, 2:21:30 AM

Closing Date

Sep 7, 2025, 4:59:00 PM

Primary Location

India

Organization

SE/WHE WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE)

Schedule

Full-time

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

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Area of expertise:

Senior International Consultant -Public Health Intelligence (PHI)

Purpose of consultancy

The senior consultant - public health intelligence (PHI) will provide expert service to carry out regional PHI activities covering WHO South-East Asia Region, including detection, verification, risk assessment and communication of acute public health events, as well as signal, event and alert management, as part of the Health Emergency Information and Risk Assessment (HIM) unit of WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) at WHO SEARO. The Senior Consultant will also facilitate the establishment and operationalization of the regional PHI community of practice and support the implementation of PHI capacity-building activities across Member States, promoting cross-country collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Background

WHO South-East Asia Region continues to face various health emergencies such as infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters, humanitarian crises, and food safety issues. Moreover, the context and consequences of health emergencies are becoming increasingly complex. It is crucial to continue our collective efforts to strengthen health security systems, including holistic systems to generate PHI to guide decision making.


Globally, the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) mandates WHO to carry out public health intelligence (PHI) activities. For example, Articles 5 and 9 require surveillance to detect public health events that may cause international disease spread. Article 11 requires WHO to share the information through the event Information site (EIS) and disease outbreak news (DON) as appropriate.


In WHO South-East Asia Region, informed by lessons learnt from recent severe emergencies in the Region, including the COVID-19 pandemic, SEARO worked with Member States to develop Strategic Framework for Action for Strengthening Surveillance, Risk Assessment and Field Epidemiology for Health Security Threats in the WHO South-East Asia Region. One of the key priorities highlighted in the Framework is to further strengthen Regional Public Health Intelligence (PHI) function to ensure timely regional alert for health security threats, including the establishment of a Regional PHI community. The framework also calls for strengthening regional networks and community on PHI for continuous learning and to build PHI capacities across the Region.


To fulfill the roles mandated by IHR(2005) and priorities defined in the Regional strategic framework, it is critical for WHE/SEARO to ensure uninterrupted regional PHI functions on 24/7 basis. This requires maintaining a workforce of qualified individuals, engaging consultants to bolster the team capacity.

Deliverables

Under the overall guidance of the Programme Area Manager - Health Emergency Information and Risk Asssessment, the consultant will undertake following duties.

Coordinate regional event-based surveillance (EBS) activities utilizing diverse systems and methodologies, including Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS), to ensure timely detection and documentation of signals relevant to Member States. Apply technical expertise in triage, verification, and signal management, maintaining accurate records within the Event Management System (EMS) and the SEARO PHI database. Contribute expert input to initial and rapid risk assessments (RRAs), with emphasis on hazard characterization, exposure analysis, contextual evaluation, and articulation of operational implications. Strengthen PHI systems through continuous refinement of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), enhancement of monitoring tools, and optimization of signal management workflows to improve consistency and analytical responsiveness. Provide technical orientation and methodological guidance on PHI to the SEARO HIM team, aligned with day-to-day operational responsibilities and established methodologies. Draft articles for communication of public health events based on IHR provisions, including articles for the Event Information Site (EIS) and Disease Outbreak News (DON). Develop strategic information products, such as daily PHI summary, external bi-weekly epidemiological bulletins, and internal presentation slides and weekly reports ensuring accuracy, clarity, relevance, and timeliness. Facilitate organization and strengthening of the PHI/EIOS community of practice in the WHO South-East Asia Region including external stakeholders from diverse sectors, promoting a One Health approach. Plan and implement PHI capacity-strengthening activities in countries of the Region, including mentoring programmes, thematic capacity building sessions, and deployment of customized resources adapted to national contexts. Act as the focal point for rollout, training and enhanced use of the Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) initiative. Respond to requests from PAM-HIM when appropriate. Submit activity reports on monthly basis and a final report at the end of the assignment.

Deliverable 1

.: Strategic input into PHI reporting and regional EBS activities, expected on a daily basis.

Deliverable 2

: Technical contributions to weekly and bi-weekly intelligence products, expected on routine basis.

Deliverable 3

: Expert input to RRAs, EIS, and DON articles for acute events, expected when required.

Deliverable 4

: Updated SOPs and tools to streamline PHI workflows at HIM/WHE/SEARO expected by November 2025.

Deliverable 5

: Organization of the webinars and their summary reports, expected at least once every two months

Deliverable 6

: Outline of PHI capacity-building curriculum for trainings in the Region, and implementation plan, by January 2025.

Deliverable 7

: Monthly activity summary reports, and end-of-assignment consultancy report.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential: Advanced university degree (Master level or above) in public health, epidemiology, medicine, veterinary medicine, or related health discipline.

Experience

Essential:

At least seven years of professional experience in public health surveillance, infectious disease prevention and control or public health information management and analytics. At least three years of experiences conducting PHI activities, including the interpretation of epidemiological data, development of situational reports, and provision of evidence-based recommendations to support health response strategies. International experiences involved in designing and implementing PHI capacity-building activities, including training workshops, multisectoral stakeholder engagement, and development of strategic tools to strengthen surveillance and analytical capabilities. Experiences involved in responses for disease outbreaks or health emergencies.



Desirable:

Experience working with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. Experience conducting rapid risk assessment of acute public health events. Experience developing and publishing information products for public health matters in English. Experience engaging with One Health stakeholders across sectors to advance public health intelligence functions. Experience working in resource-limited countries for public health programme.

Skills/Knowledge:

Essential:

Demonstrated strong interpersonal and communication skills, with appropriate diplomacy in communicating with relevant government and WHO stakeholders. Demonstrated capacities to work as part of a team of people with various backgrounds and cultures. Proven ability to write technical documents and information products on public health matters in a clear and concise manner. Proven capacity to synthesize complex information from varied sources and convey key insights in formats tailored to different audiences. Ability to quickly summarize complex information from various sources and communicate the key points under time pressure, in formats tailored to different audiences. Demonstrated technical knowledge and skills in surveillance, investigation, risk assessment and control of infectious diseases with epidemic and pandemic control. Good understanding of the international health regulations (IHR 2005) and all-hazards approach.



Desirable

Knowledge and skill in epidemiological analysis Sound knowledge and skills in database management

Languages and level required (Basic/Intermediate/Expert):

Essential: Expert knowledge of English

Location

The consultant will work remotely (off site), except the proposed travel dates.

Travel

The consultant is expected to travel in support of public health intelligence (PHI) capacity-building activities including but not limited to EIOS trainings, and other critical meetings

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Band level B (Monthly: USD $7,000 - $9,980)

Living expenses:

n/a

Expected duration of contract (Maximum contract duration is 11 months per calendar year):

6 months

Additional Informaiton:

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. * In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click the link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates.