Consultants at World Health Organization

Purpose of consultancy

To contribute to data mining, cleaning and analysis to inform the development of WHO’s 2023 pre-clinical pipeline review of antibacterial treatments

Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Contribute to the development of WHO pre-clinical pipeline reviews of antibiotics and antibacterials targeting the WHO bacterial priority pathogens list (WHO BPPL): 
  • Compile product information collected through a WHO data call, desk review and any additional sources into an Excel file. This should include product name, developer, stage (i.e., lead optimization, pre-clinical candidate, Investigational New Drug/Clinical Trial Application-enabling studies), mechanism of action, expected activity against the WHO bacterial priority pathogens list as well as the funder/s for each product. 
  • Perform a desk review study to supplement the data submitted by developers. 
  • Clean, proofread, and verify all data for submission and final validation by the WHO R&D Advisory Group.  
  • Communicate with project partners to verify data quality and complement data gaps in close collaboration with the WHO IRC team. 
  • Submit all data, including verified data set in Excel as well as supporting documents/articles and references, to WHO to be stored for future reference and pipeline report iterations.
• Expected by: May 2023
• Deliverable 2: Contribute to presenting the pre-clinical data collected and the analyses performed and discussing potential outstanding issues. Develop a power-point presentation with the results of the pre-clinical pipeline review. Identify potential areas for discussion. Participate in preparatory pre-meeting calls with the AG Chair.
  Expected by: June 2023
• Deliverable 3: Contribute to drafting sections of the antibacterial pipeline report focused on antibacterial agents in pre-clinical development. Draft sections on methodology, pre-clinical traditional and non-traditional agents, discussion and conclusion, with input from WHO IRC staff and consultants.  
• Expected by: August 2023
• Deliverable 4: Draft a scientific article on antibacterial agents in pre-clinical development based on the above analyses, for submission to relevant peer-reviewed journals/periodicals.

Expected by: September 2023

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• Advanced degree (Ph.D) in pharmacology, immune pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, biomedical sciences, microbiology or another relevant area specific to antimicrobial resistance and infectious disease.

Experience

Essential:

• Over 10 years of relevant experience in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry developing infectious disease treatments.
• Experience in the drug development process for infectious disease treatments, particularly pre-clinical research.
• Experience in planning and executing pre-clinical and clinical development project plans.

Desirable:

• Experience working for the UN in an international context. 
• Drug development experience that spans across early target identification and validation through to regulatory submissions.

Skills/Knowledge:

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of AMR, infectious diseases research, and drug development.
• Knowledge of key stakeholders working in drug development for infectious disease treatments.
• Proven skills in scientific writing.
• Ability to work independently and in a team.
• Ability to work under pressure with conflicting priorities.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Computer literacy (Microsoft office including Excel, zoom, etc.).

Closing Date: Apr 6, 2023

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Purpose of consultancy

To contribute to the Treatment, Care and Service Delivery unit (TAC) work to provide expert advice on the HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) surveillance programme, including development of an internal framework outlining how HIVDR test results obtained for routine programme purposes can be aggregated to make population-level statements of HIVDR, and an updated PrEP survey concept note acknowledging long-acting drugs used for HIV prevention.  

Deliverables

Task 1: In collaboration with a consultant statistician and WHO regions, contribute to drafting an internal framework to be used for a future concept note outlining how HIVDR genotypic information obtained during routine clinical care can be aggregated to make responsible population-level statements for programmatic HIVDR data. The internal framework will be used to support analysis of routinely available HIVDR genotypic information in WHO 2023 HIVDR report.

• Deliverable 1.1: Draft of an internal framework for analysis of HIVDR information obtained during routine clinical care to be used to make population-level drug resistance statements specific to relevant described populations of interest in WHO’s 2023 HIVDR report and as a steppingstone to publication of a future concept note. 
  Timeline for deliverable 1.1: June 2023 (Days: 30)

Task 2: Contribute to updating the 2021 HIVDR survey guidance on HIVDR among PrEP users diagnosed with HIV to include new PrEP alternatives, including long-acting drugs (e.g., CAB-LA) and the dapivirine-containing vaginal ring. 

• Deliverable 2.1: Updated draft concept note for surveillance of HIVDR among PrEP users ready for copy editing and lay out.
  Timeline deliverable 2.1: August 2023 (Days: 20)

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• Advanced university degree in medicine, science, public health, epidemiology, infectious disease control, or equivalent discipline.

Experience

Essential:

• Over 5 years' experience in an international context, in strategic information related to international public health and normative guidance development.

Desirable:

• International experience in HIV, HIVDR surveillance and in the development of WHO normative guidance.

Skills/Knowledge:

Essential:

• Outstanding communication and presentation skills.

Closing Date: Apr 5, 2023