Consultant - Coordinating New Vaccine Introduction and Expansion Activities, Philippines

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Purpose of Consultancy To provide strategic guidance, and quality assurance to the Department of Health and the WHO in the planning, coordination, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of new vaccine introduction and expansion activities in the Philippines.

Background

The Philippines continues to strengthen its national immunization program by introducing and expanding priority vaccines in line with global recommendations, the national disease burden, and evolving public health priorities. Following the introduction of HPV vaccination and ongoing expansion, and national discussions on the introduction of additional vaccines such as rotavirus and Japanese encephalitis vaccines, there is a growing need for sustained technical support to assist the Department of Health (DOH) in planning, coordinating, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating new vaccine introduction (NVI) activities.

The introduction and expansion of vaccines require comprehensive technical and operational preparations, including development of implementation plans, training packages, vaccine management and logistics planning, monitoring frameworks, communication strategies, post-introduction evaluation (PIE), and coordination with national and subnational stakeholders. These activities also require close engagement with DOH program units, regional offices, partners, advisory bodies, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure high-quality implementation and integration within the broader immunization system strengthening agenda.

WHO will therefore recruit a Short-Term Consultant to provide senior technical oversight, quality assurance, strategic coordination, and guidance to support the national immunization program for new vaccine introduction and expansion activities, including HPV vaccination expansion and future vaccine introduction priorities.

Deliverables

Under the overall supervision of the WHO Medical Officer for Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Immunization (VDI), and in close coordination with the Department of Health and relevant partners, the consultant will:

• Provide strategic technical guidance for new vaccine introduction and expansion activities, including HPV vaccination expansion and preparatory work for future vaccine introductions, such as the Rotavirus vaccine, etc.
• Guide the development, updating, and implementation of national plans and operational guidelines related to new vaccine introduction and vaccine expansion activities, ensuring technical coherence and alignment with national priorities and WHO guidance.
• Lead the technical review and quality assurance of training materials, operational guidance documents, monitoring tools, communication materials, and implementation packages related to new vaccines.
• Provide strategic guidance across key new vaccine introduction workstreams, including AEFI preparedness and training, and the review, synthesis, and documentation of relevant evidence, such as rotavirus disease burden and economic impact, in support of technical discussions and vaccine introduction activities.
• Provide technical advice on readiness assessments, implementation monitoring, supportive supervision, and field monitoring activities related to vaccine introduction and expansion, including review of findings and strategic recommendations.
• Guide the planning and implementation of post-introduction evaluations (PIE), related assessment activities, and documentation of lessons learned and best practices.
• Identify strategic, operational, and coordination bottlenecks affecting new vaccine introduction activities and recommend corrective actions to improve implementation quality and program performance.
• Support high-level coordination with DOH program units, Centers for Health Development (CHDs), partners, advisory groups, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure alignment, timely follow-up, and quality implementation of NVI-related activities.
• Review and provide technical inputs to reports, meeting summaries, presentations, briefing materials, donor/partner updates, and other program documentation related to NVI activities.
• Provide technical guidance for implementation, support staff, consultants, or working groups involved in NVI-related activities, as needed.

Output/s

Output 1: Strategic and technical oversight provided for new vaccine introduction and expansion activities, including HPV vaccination expansion and preparatory work for future vaccine introductions.
Output 2: National plans, operational guidelines, training materials, monitoring tools, communication materials, technical reports, and other NVI-related outputs reviewed and quality-assured.
Output 3: Technical guidance provided across key NVI workstreams, including AEFI preparedness and training, rotavirus disease burden, and economic impact.
Output 4: Readiness assessment, implementation monitoring, supportive supervision, and field monitoring activities technically guided, with findings reviewed and strategic recommendations provided.
Output 5: Post-introduction evaluation (PIE) and related assessment activities technically guided, including review of reports, presentations, recommendations, and follow-up actions.
Output 6: Strategic, operational, and coordination bottlenecks, risks, and corrective actions identified and communicated to WHO, DOH, and relevant partners.
Output 7: High-level coordination and follow-up with DOH, CHDs, partners, advisory groups, and relevant stakeholders maintained to support alignment, implementation quality, and timely follow-up of NVI activities.
Output 8: Technical reports, briefing notes, presentations, donor/partner updates, and other program documentation reviewed, refined, or finalized in a timely manner.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential: Advanced university degree in medicine, public health, epidemiology, health systems, immunization, or related field.

Experience:

Essential: Minimum 7 years of relevant experience in immunization programs, vaccine-preventable diseases, public health, or health systems strengthening at national and international level.
Demonstrated experience providing technical oversight, strategic coordination, or quality assurance for immunization programs, new vaccine introduction, vaccine expansion, or large-scale immunization activities.
Experience working with government counterparts, development partners, advisory bodies, and international organizations at national and/or subnational levels.
Experience leading or reviewing the development of technical guidance, training materials, implementation plans, program monitoring tools, and technical reports.

Desirable: Experience guiding field implementation, monitoring, evaluation, PIE, or similar assessment activities.
Experience providing technical guidance to consultants, implementation teams, or multi-stakeholder working groups.

Skills/Knowledge:

• Strong technical knowledge of immunization systems and vaccine-preventable disease programs.
• Strong strategic coordination, stakeholder engagement, and consensus-building skills.
• Ability to provide technical oversight and quality assurance across multiple workstreams and outputs.
• Excellent analytical, drafting, review, and reporting skills.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound technical judgment, and manage competing priorities in a multi-stakeholder environment.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills.

Languages and level required:

Expert knowledge of English (Read/Write/Speak)

Location

On site: World Health Organization, Country Office Philippines

Travel

The contract includes travel to various regions of the Philippines. Domestic travel to the regions, LGUs, CHDs, and partner-operated sites is anticipated and will be facilitated through the Philippine WCO budget.

Remuneration and budget:

Remuneration: Band Level B, USD 8,001 to USD 9,000 (monthly)
Expected duration of contract: 6 months, July to December 2026

Additional Information:

• 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.
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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.
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• 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.
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