National Consultant – Development of the National Procedure for Medical Practice Competency Assessment Toolkits, Viet Nam

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that the deadline for receipt of applications indicated above reflects your personal device's system settings.

Purpose of consultancy The purpose of this consultancy is to provide high-level technical support to accelerate the establishment of a robust, standardized, and nationally credible system for medical practice competency assessment in Viet Nam. Through delivery of the defined outputs and deliverables, the consultancy will support strengthening the institutional, procedural, and operational foundations required to guide development of the four priority assessment toolkits, ensure alignment with national regulatory requirements and international good practices, and enhance quality assurance across the assessment development process.

Background

The National Medical Council (NMC) was established under Decision No. 827/QD-TTg (August 13, 2024) to independently assess the professional competence of medical practitioners in accordance with the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023. This reform separates training from licensing and introduces national competency-based examinations starting from 2027.

Since its establishment in 2025, the NMC Office has made notable progress in building the necessary institutional framework. The NMC Office is currently responsible for developing four competency-based assessment toolkits (General Medicine, Dentistry, Traditional Medicine, and Preventive Medicine), establishing a standardized national procedure to guide toolkit development and exam question construction, and coordinating multiple technical subcommittees and stakeholders. While progress has been made, key gaps remain: the absence of a standardized procedure aligned with national regulations and international good practices, the need for structured coordination, monitoring, and technical review of toolkit development, and the requirement to align with WHO standards on competency-based assessment and regulation.
Since 2020, WHO has been providing strategic and technical support to the Ministry of Health and the National Medical Council to advance reforms that strengthen the quality, standardization, and international alignment of medical education in Viet Nam, including development of competency-based assessment and licensing approaches for medical practitioners. This collaboration contributes to the establishment of a high-quality medical education system that better prepares graduates for safe and effective practice, and this work forms part of WHO’s 2026–2027 workplan agreed with the Ministry of Health. In this context, accelerated technical support is therefore needed to ensure timely and quality implementation of the 2026 workplan and readiness for national examinations in 2027.

Deliverables

The consultant will employ the following methods:

• Document analysis of Vietnamese legal texts (Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023, Decree 96/2023/ND-CP, university exam procedures, Ministry of Health circulars, and related guidelines)
• Structured desk review to identify gaps and inconsistencies in existing regulations
• International benchmark review of relevant good practices and WHO documents
• Iterative drafting, revision, and documentation
• Structured stakeholder consultation with NMC Office, experts and others
• Monitoring and coordination of implementation progress
• Iterative drafting, validation, and reporting

Outputs and Deliverables

Output 1: Planning and regulatory analysis
Deliverable 1.1: Consolidated master plan for assessment toolkit development;
- Milestones, roles, responsibilities
- Coordination mechanisms across subcommittees
- Alignment with overall roadmap to 2030
Deliverable 1.2 Structured inventory and analysis of relevant Vietnamese regulations and guidelines related to assessment toolkit development and exam question construction, including university-level exam question construction and management procedures. The consultant will collect, catalog, and analyze all applicable legal documents, then produce a structured summary report.
Timeline: End of Jul 2026

Output 2: Procedure development and training support
Deliverable 2.1: Complete draft of the Procedure for developing a toolkit for assessing the professional competence of medical practitioners. The draft will include:
- A step-by-step process for developing competency assessment toolkits
- Defined roles and responsibilities of the NMC, subcommittees, and other stakeholders
- Quality assurance mechanisms for exam questions (e.g. item review, validation)
- Supporting templates, forms, or workflows, where applicable
Deliverable 2.2: Summary of expert and stakeholder comments, including:
- Compile comments from NMC members and experts into a structured feedback matrix
- Categorize feedback (e.g. technical, regulatory, operational)
Document:
- Revisions made in response to comments
- Justification for comments not incorporated
Deliverable 2.3: Report on training sessions and workshop for test writing, including training plans and materials
Deliverable 2.4: Develop list of trained/qualified instructors for test writing and contribute to assessment toolkit development (based on workshop and training outcomes)
Timeline: end of September 2026

Output 3: Technical review, finalization, and reporting
Deliverable 3.1: Consolidated progress review report on four toolkits
- Status against plans
- Key issues and gaps
- Practical recommendations
Deliverable 3.2: Risk analysis note
- Key implementation risks
- Mitigation measures
Deliverable 3.3: Finalized Procedure document and submission package, including:
- Final procedure
- Summary of revisions
- Brief explanatory note (if required) to support decision-making
Deliverable 3.4: Final analytical report on implementation
- Progress achieved
- Lessons learned
- Recommendations for next phase
Timeline: end of November 2026

Deliverable Acceptance Criteria

All deliverables will be reviewed by the Responsible Officer (WHO) in consultation with the NMC Office. Deliverables must meet the following criteria:

General criteria (applies to all deliverables)
• Completeness: All required components as per ToR are included
• Technical quality: Content is accurate, evidence-based, and aligned with national regulations and international good practices
• Clarity and usability: Documents are well-structured, and clearly written
• Timeliness: Submitted according to agreed timeline
• Responsiveness: Incorporates feedback from WHO and NMC Office appropriately.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications

Essential: At least advanced university degree health-related field (Medicine, Public Health, Dentistry, Traditional Medicine, Nursing, or Health Administration) from a recognized university.
Desirable: Additional training in medical education, competency-based assessment, or project management

Experience

Essential: At least 10 years of experience in healthcare or health administration; experience in drafting administrative documents, guidelines, or regulations in the healthcare sector
Desirable: Experience developing or managing competency-based examination systems; experience working with the Vietnamese Ministry of Health or National Medical Council

Skills/Knowledge

Essential: Good understanding of the Vietnamese healthcare system, medical training institutions, and regulatory documents; understanding of the mandate of the National Medical Council; ability to draft administrative documents and guidelines; proficiency in using office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and conducting document searches; basic project planning skills
Strong coordination and stakeholder engagement skills
Desirable: Knowledge of competency-based assessment methodologies (blueprinting, item writing); familiarity with university-level exam question construction procedures in Vietnam; ability to monitor progress and manage risks

Languages

Essential: Fluent in Vietnamese (reading, writing, speaking) and Working proficiency in English

Location

Offsite

Travel

The consultant is not expected to travel

Remuneration and budget :

Remuneration: USD 180 (daily)
Expected duration of contract: 60 working days from 10 Jul 2026 to 31 Dec 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.
• 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.