Team Lead; Vaccines and Immunization Policy

Organizational context:
The World Health Organization's (WHO) Immunization, Vaccines & Biologicals (IVB) department, within the Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Care division, aims to ensure everyone benefits from vaccines. This role contributes to shaping global immunization agendas, strategies, and policies, promoting research, advancing vaccine introduction, optimizing delivery, and fostering partnerships to achieve universal health coverage.

Job purpose:

This role provides technical leadership and managerial support for vaccine and immunization policy within the WHO's Immunization, Vaccines & Biologicals department. The purpose is to ensure the timely development of evidence-based WHO policy recommendations and to support policy-making processes at regional and national levels. This involves developing and proposing health policies and strategies, advising on policy adaptation and implementation, and serving as a focal point for immunization policy matters.

The role also involves managing a team, overseeing workplans, financial resources, and program deliverables to align with WHO's mandate, while conducting research and disseminating best practices to build capacity.

Responsibilities:
Provide technical leadership and managerial support in vaccine and immunization policy, ensuring the development of evidence-based WHO policy recommendations and supporting regional and national policy-making bodies. Develop and propose health policies and strategies in collaboration with Regional and Country Offices, acting as a focal point for immunization policy matters and advising on adaptations and implementation. Manage the program area by leading a technical team, overseeing workplans, financial resources, and activities to optimize deliverables.

Conduct research on best practices, disseminate information for capacity building, and manage monitoring and evaluation of key performance indicators. Serve as a technical reference point for peers, UN agencies, and stakeholders, and liaise with partners like Gavi. Represent the program area in international forums and working groups to advocate for WHO policy and support the department's credibility. Specific duties include serving as Executive Secretary to the SAGE advisory committee, overseeing vaccine position papers, acting as a departmental focal point for assigned diseases, and managing resource mobilization and donor reporting.

Education:

Essential:
An advanced university degree (Doctoral/MD or PhD) in public health, medicine, vaccinology, immunology, or a related biological science. Desirable:
Advanced training in epidemiology, vaccinology, or immunology.

Work experience:

Essential:
Minimum of 10 years of professional experience in vaccine evaluation and extensive experience in health policy and strategy development. Demonstrated experience in international vaccine and immunization policy generation, appraising evidence for policy development, and managing human and financial resources. A record of peer-reviewed publications is also required. Desirable:
Experience with routine vaccination programs in low-income countries, policy generation for high-priority vaccines, and organizing technical advisory committees.

Skills:

Advanced scientific and technical expertise in vaccine development and evaluation (efficacy, effectiveness, impact, safety). Advanced knowledge of immunization, epidemiology, and disease surveillance. Ability to direct and assess scientific work. Leadership skills for effective collaboration at national and international levels. Ability to establish and interact with advisory committees and foster consensus. Strong planning, organization, coordination, and implementation skills. Excellent oral and written communication.

Extensive knowledge of WHO and ability to work in a multicultural environment.

Required languages:

Desired languages: