Team Lead, Vaccine Development

Contract

This is a P-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 10 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 204,886 USD and 256,769 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The IVB Department's mission is 'To promote the health and well-being of all people, in all countries, by advancing the impact of vaccines and immunization programmes through partnership and leadership; policies and guidance; evidence and research'. Our work is aligned with the WHO 13th Global Programme of Work (GPW13), with a central focus to drive impact in countries, to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being at all ages. The Strategic Objectives of the IVB Department include:

1) Establishing global immunization agendas, strategies and policies to build and harness commitment to action.

2) Promoting research and innovation to increase impact of vaccines, technologies and immunization practices.

3) Advancing evidence-based introduction and access to vaccines and immunization innovations.

4) Optimizing immunization delivery to ensure high-impact, sustainable and equitable programmes.

5) Harnessing Vaccine Alliances and Partnerships, including collaborations with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and key WHO partners, towards cross-programme coordination and collaboration in pursuit of universal health coverage.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

- Provides technical leadership and managerial support within the Department, in the area of vaccine development against priority diseases including TB, HIV, RSV, GBS, GAS, influenza, dengue and emergingdiseases such as COVID-19, Ebola, Zika, Chikungunya, and others.

- Develops with stakeholders the: expression of target vaccine characteristics; development roadmaps including clinical development pathways; evidence to support WHO policy decisions; development of value attribution frameworks for the contribution of these vaccines to broader health indicators such as antimicrobial resistance and disability; and ensures that activities in the area of vaccine development are carried out efficiently and effectively.

- Develops and proposes technical health policies and strategies for implementation through collaboration with WHO regional and country offices and provides advice in developing further the clinical evaluation of safety, efficacy and usability of candidate vaccines for strengthening and improving technical capacity of target clienteles.

- Manages the programme area in delivering its objectives through efficiently managing a team of technical staff, financial resources and effective work planning to optimize the programme's deliverables in line with the mandate of the Organization.

- Manages the monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the subject area of work of key performance indicators and reporting requirements and mechanisms to optimize performance of Programme deliverables.

- Serves as the technical reference among the peer community, UN Agencies and other stakeholders at the technical levels in the respective area of expertise.

- Liaises with and utilizes partnerships in other UN Agencies, Donor, or research institutions in the field of vaccine development to position the technical area of work and implementation into Global and/or National policies.

- Represents the programme area of work at various technical and policy meetings to advocate for vaccine development.

- Perform all other related duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: An advanced level university degree in medicine. Desirable: A PhD in infectious disease, epidemiology, immunology or tropical medicine.

Experience

Essential: A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in management of vaccine clinical Research and Development (R&D); experience in the area of health policies and strategies; demonstrated experience of vaccine policy generation at the international level. Demonstrated experience managing human and financial resources. Desirable: Experience conducting vaccine clinical trials in low-income countries.Experience of routine vaccination programmes in low-income countries.Experience in the development and policy generation of high priority vaccines, such as COVID-19.

Skills

- Demonstrated expertise in vaccine product development for diseases primarily impacting low-and middle-income countries, including clinical trial design and conduct in low- and middle-income countries.

- Demonstrated expertise in translational vaccine research, antigen discovery and immunobiology.- Strong skills in the area of developing and establishing vaccine product development strategies and policies.

- Strong skills in the area of developing and carrying out evidence-to-policy reviews.

- Demonstrated experience at the international level, including with WHO and/or other relevant multilateral/ UN agencies.

- Concrete skills in the planning and coordination of multidisciplinary public health programmes, which optimally includes the implementation of a public health/disease control programme.- Excellent skills and ability in managing diverse teams and financial resources.

- Strong skills in mobilizing resources.

- Excellent ability to engage and communicate effectively and diplomatically with external partners including ministries of health, donor institutions, Civil Society, and other stakeholders. Commitment to collaborate effectively with key partners in the vaccine product development area.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences Communication Producing results Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond Creating an empowering and motivating environment

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of French.

REMUNERATION

WHO salaries for staff in the Professional category are calculated in US dollars. The remuneration for the above position comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 89,837 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable), a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 6229 per month for the duty station indicated above. Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level

• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

• A written test may be used as a form of screening.

• In the event that your candidature is retained for an 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.

• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.

• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.

• For information on WHO's operations please visit: http://www.who.int.

• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

• 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 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 final candidates.

• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

• WHO has a mobility policy which can be found at the following link: http://www.who.int/employment/en/. Candidates appointed to an international post with WHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.

• Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.