Consultant - 2025 Update of the Model List of Essential Medicines

Purpose of consultancy

Support the Secretariat of the Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines in preparing documents (e.g. applications) for the 2025 Expert Committee meeting and update of the Model List;

Support the Secretariat in finalizing the Executive Summary and the Technical Report related to the 2025 Expert Committee meeting and update of the Model List.

Background

The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines serves as a guide for countries or regional authorities to prioritize medicines in accordance with local priorities and treatment guidelines. It is updated every 2 years by the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and the Use of Medicines. The latest edition was published in 2023 and contains more than 500 medicines that meet priority health needs globally, including many antimicrobial medicines. The next update is planned for April 2025. In even-numbered years, applications presenting new medicines are developed for review by the Expert Committee. In odd-numbered years, the technical report series (TRS) (i.e. the document summarising the committee's decisions) is developed.

Recognizing the importance of authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the optimal use of antibiotics to tackle antimicrobial resistance, WHO developed and published the AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) antibiotic book in 2022. The AWaRe book provides concise, evidence-based guidance on the choice of antibiotic, dose, route of administration, and duration of treatment for more than 30 of the most common clinical infections in children and adults in both primary health care and hospital settings. The information included in the book supports the recommendations for antibiotics listed on the WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines and Essential Medicines Children and the WHO AWaRe classification of antibiotics. A similar approach is followed for cancer medicines, with a section of the Model List of Essential Medicines dedicated to innovative medicines used against multiple types of cancer.

To ensure the greatest utility of recommendations in the Model List and AWaRe, considerable planning and strategic activities are undertaken by the WHO Essential Medicines Team Secretariat to prepare the background documents that will support the Expert Committee in its endeavour.

Deliverables

• Deliverable 1: Review and write the evaluation of technical documents (including internal and external applications) for the 2025 EML Expert Committee meeting.

Expected by 30 January 2025

• Deliverable 2: Executive Summary Report and the Technical Report of the 24th update of the Model List of Essential Medicines.

Expected by 30 April 2025

• Deliverable 3: Write the technical input to scientific manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed journals on topics related to essential antimicrobial medicines, AWaRe and cancer recommendations, which will be originated after the 2025 Expert Committee meeting.

Expected by 30 May 2025

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• First university degree in pharmacy, or medicine, or human biology.

Desirable:

• PhD in infectious diseases or immunology or public health.

Experience:

Essential:

• 2 to 5 years direct experiences in guideline panels, hospital drug therapeutics committees, and/or national or international authorities in charge of recommendations on selection and use of medicines.

Desirable:

• A minimum of 10 scientific publications evaluating clinical interventions in SCOPUS-indexed journals and a total of at least 100 citations in SCOPUS-indexed journals in the last 5 years.
• Experience working in low- and middle-income countries and clinical epidemiology background.
• Previous experience in WHO Expert Committees and Panels procedures.
• Experience in the use of GRADE.

Skills:

Essential:

• Strong technical knowledge in medicines selection and use and antimicrobial stewardship;
• Strong technical knowledge about WHO Expert Committee and Panel procedures;
• Excellent technical writing skills;
• Good communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to work in a multicultural team and maintain effective working relationships with recognized Experts and stakeholders;
• Strong methodological (clinical epidemiology) and analytical skills with the ability to conduct research, identify and analyse literature relevant to the programme area;
• Good planning and organizational skills with attention to detail and with the ability to multi-task and work under pressure;
• Strong IT skills: Word, Excel, presentation software, databases and web navigators.

Languages required:

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable:

• Expert or intermediate knowledge of any other UN official languages.

Location

On site: WHO, HQ, Geneva

Travel

The consultant is not expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration:

Band level A - USD 3,955 - 6,980 per month.

Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited):

USD 3,000 per month for 7 months, totaling USD 21,000.

Expected duration of contract:

11 months.

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.
• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.
• 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.
• Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority. The execution of the work under a consultant contract does not create an employer/employee relationship between WHO and the Consultant.
• WHO shall have no responsibility whatsoever 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.
• Consultants working in Switzerland must register with the applicable Swiss cantonal tax authorities and social security authorities, within the prescribed timeframes (Guidelines issued by the Swiss Mission are available at: https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-onu-geneve/en/home/manual-regime-privileges-and-immunities/introduction/Manuel-personnes-sans-privileges-et-immunites-carte-H/Non fonctionnaires et stagiaires.html