Consultant - Health Policy and Systems Research (HSR) at World Health Organization (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant - Health Policy and Systems Research (HSR)

Ref No: 2300774
Location: Anywhere (Off-site - Home based)
Contractual Arrangement: Fixed-term appointment
Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days): 27.5 days in 11 months
Organization: HQ/HSR Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research SCI
Schedule: Part-time

Purpose of consultancy

• To provide technical and facilitation support to the Alliance Secretariat in undertaking a health policy and systems research programme on the role of digital interventions in health systems in low- and middle-income countries.  

Background 

• The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR) (http://www.who.int/alliance-hpsr/en/), in collaboration with the WHO Department of Digital Health and Innovations is supporting a series of 10 research teams to better understand the role of digital interventions (DIs) in strengthening health systems in LMICs (with a focus on data solutions for PHC managers).
• The global technological revolution has heralded rapid growth in the development of DIs on health in the past two decades. At the 71st World Health Assembly, WHO Member States endorsed a resolution on digital health that states that governments must recognize the importance of DIs for facilitating health systems strengthening and achieving UHC.
• However, the adoption and implementation of DIs that purport to strengthen health systems is often unsystematic, and governments have found it challenging to assess, scale up and integrate such solutions effectively.
• This problem has several potential implications for health systems, including the ineffectiveness of DIs due to lack of alignment with existing health systems, the diversion of resources and attention towards DIs and away from other pressing priorities, and ethical concerns ranging from exacerbation of inequities to hazards to data privacy and safety. 
• This programme will support the generation of coherent HPSR knowledge on the role of digital data solutions for PHC managers in complex health systems in LMICs, stimulate learning and action among policy and decision-makers at local and country level, and disseminate the knowledge broadly to inform strategies for the integration of DIs in health systems in different LMIC contexts.

Deliverables

• Organizing and facilitating, along with the AHPSR secretariat, a framework harmonization workshop for selected teams. The aim of the workshop will be to develop collective agreement on which core themes and questions will be addressed in each of the research proposals. A framework will be developed in which common questions to be addressed across all research protocols will be identified, context specific questions that are unique to particular contexts will be enlisted, and standards for direct and analytic generalizability of findings will be established. 
• Contributing to the development and application of the conceptual framework for the research, providing in depth feedback to the research teams, supporting grantees to develop a draft protocol and research plan with timelines for each study, supporting the research teams in finalising their research protocols and data collection instruments, monitoring and providing remote technical support to the grantees in the conduct of the research.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages
Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• Advanced University Degree in Public Health, Health Policy, or Health Systems.

Desirable: 

• A Doctorate in Public Health, Health Policy, or Health Systems.

Experience:
Essential:

• Over ten years of relevant experience in global health research, including experience in the field of health policy and systems research with relevance to low- and middle-income countries. 
• Track record of scientific articles relevant to the field of health policy and systems research, including in high-impact peer-reviewed journals. 
• Experience in capacity building and mentoring in the field of health policy and systems research, and in organizing international research workshops and meetings.
• Experience in advancing and developing health policy and systems research, with a minimum of 10 publications in peer-reviewed journals. 
• Demonstrated experience at the international level.

Desirable: 

• Experience in the field of digital health and health systems.
• Peer reviewed publications on digital health and health systems. 

Skills:
Essential:

• Ability to develop and advance methods in health policy and systems research.
• Good conceptual and practical understanding of health systems frameworks and their applicability to LMICs.
• Organizational abilities including in the planning and execution of research workshops. 
• Ability to guide and mentoring HPSR research teams and consortia, across diverse settings globally.
• Excellent writing and editing skills.

Languages required:
Essential:

• Expert knowledge of English.

Travel:

• The consultant is expected to travel.

Expected duration of contract: 

• 11 months (27.5 days during the period of 11 months).

Remuneration

• Salary: USD550 - USD625 per day (Band level C).
• Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited)

Application Closing Date
15th February, 2023 (11:59:00 PM).