International Consultant - Support Kenya’s Vaccine Portfolio Optimization and Prioritization and Gavi 6.0 Application.

Nairobi, Kenya·Posted today

Apply on WHO careers ↗

Full job description

Position details

Vacancy number: 2603806
Contractual arrangement: External consultant
Contract duration: 6 Months
Organization: AF_KEN Kenya
Schedule: Full-time
Closing date: Sep 15, 2026, 11:59:00 PM

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

Consultant to support Kenya’s Vaccine Portfolio Optimization and Prioritization and Gavi 6.0 Application

1. Background

Kenya has made significant progress in reducing morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases through sustained investment in immunization and the introduction of new and underutilized vaccines. As the country advances its Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda and implementation of the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030), there is a need to ensure that immunization investments remain evidence-based, equitable, financially sustainable, and responsive to the country's evolving disease burden and public health priorities.

The current immunization landscape is characterized by an expanding range of available vaccines, increasing demands on domestic and external resources, and the need to maximize health impact within a constrained fiscal environment. Under the Gavi 6.0 strategy, financing arrangements have shifted to a consolidated grant model, providing countries with a single vaccine budget and a unified grant mechanism. The emphasis is on strengthening country-led prioritization, optimizing vaccine portfolios, improving programmatic and financial sustainability, and ensuring that vaccine investments deliver the greatest public health benefit while reaching zero-dose and underserved populations. Gavi 6.0 specifically promotes stronger prioritization and optimization of countries' vaccine portfolios to support sustainable and equitable immunization programmes.

Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Health (MoH), through the National Vaccines and Immunization Programme (NVIP), with technical support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, will undertake a Vaccine Portfolio Optimization and Prioritization (VPOP) exercise. The exercise will provide a structured and transparent framework to evaluate current and potential vaccine investments against agreed criteria, including public health impact, equity, value for money, affordability, programmatic feasibility, and long-term sustainability. The outcomes will inform strategic vaccine investment decisions, support effective allocation of resources, and strengthen the resilience and sustainability of Kenya's immunization programme.

To support this process, WHO seeks to recruit a consultant to provide technical leadership and operational support to Ministry of Health in the planning, implementation, facilitation, analysis, and documentation of the VPOP exercise, and to support the development of evidence-based recommendations for future immunization policy and investment decisions in Kenya.

2. Deliverables

Outline clear tasks and deliverables, to be carried out in the framework of the background described above.

These need to be time-bound and specific.

The consultancy is expected to contribute to:

An evidence-based assessment of Kenya's vaccine portfolio and investment options.
Improved prioritization of vaccine investments within the available budget envelope.
Enhanced alignment of vaccine financing decisions with national disease burden and public health priorities.
Increased capacity of KENITAG and the National Vaccines and Immunization Programme to apply evidence-informed prioritization approaches.
Strengthened stakeholder engagement and consensus around vaccine prioritization decisions.
Identification of optimal investment scenarios for discretionary vaccines, including TCV and Malaria vaccines.
Maximization of health impact, equity, and value for money from Kenya's estimated US$60 million vaccine budget.
Timely completion of Kenya's VPOP exercise and successful submission to Gavi by March 2027.

The deliverables are the Inception Report; Situational Analysis Report; Literature Review Report; Budget and Financing Analysis Report; Stakeholder Consultation Report; KENITAG Technical Briefs; Draft and Final VPOP Reports; Gavi Submission Package; Final Consultancy Report.

The consultant will produce the following deliverables:

Deliverable	Description
Inception Report	Detailed methodology, workplan, timeline, stakeholder mapping, and implementation approach
Situational Analysis Report	Assessment of Kenya's current vaccine portfolio and immunization programme
Literature Review Report	Review of evidence on vaccine prioritization and optimization options
Budget and Financing Analysis Report	Analysis of Kenya's estimated US$60 million vaccine budget, including guaranteed and discretionary allocations, financing scenarios, and prioritization options
Stakeholder Consultation Report	Summary of stakeholder engagements and key recommendations
KENITAG Technical Briefs	Evidence summaries and presentations prepared for KENITAG deliberations
Draft VPOP Report	Draft analysis and recommendations for vaccine portfolio optimization
Final VPOP Report	Final report incorporating stakeholder and KENITAG inputs
Gavi Submission Package	Technical documentation and supporting materials required for submission to Gavi
Final Consultancy Report	Summary of work undertaken, findings, recommendations, and lessons learned

3. Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications

Essential:

Advanced university degree (Master's level or above) in Public Health, Epidemiology, Medicine, Health Economics, Health Policy, Pharmacy, Statistics, or other relevant field.

Experience

Essential:

At least seven (7) years of relevant experience in immunization programmes, vaccine policy, public health planning, health economics, or related fields.
Demonstrated experience in vaccine introduction, immunization programme evaluations, or immunization policy development.
Experience supporting National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) or equivalent advisory bodies.
Proven experience conducting evidence reviews, programme assessments, and policy analyses.
Strong analytical and report-writing skills.

Desirable:

Experience working with Gavi-supported countries.
Familiarity with Gavi 6.0 strategy and vaccine financing mechanisms.
Knowledge of Kenya's health system and immunization programme.
Experience facilitating multi-stakeholder consultations and consensus-building processes

Skills/Knowledge

Technical Knowledge

Strong knowledge of immunization programmes, vaccine policy, vaccine introduction processes, and vaccine-preventable diseases.
Understanding of Vaccine Portfolio Optimization and Prioritization (VPOP), health priority-setting frameworks, multi-criteria decision analysis, and evidence-based decision-making.
Knowledge of health economics, immunization financing, Gavi policies and funding mechanisms, and national vaccine investment planning processes.

Technical Skills

Ability to analyze and synthesize epidemiological, economic, programmatic, and policy evidence to inform vaccine investment decisions.
Proven experience facilitating stakeholder consultations, workshops, and consensus-building processes.
Strong analytical, report-writing, presentation, and project management skills, with proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex technical information to diverse audiences.
Strong facilitation, stakeholder engagement, negotiation, and consensus-building skills.
Ability to work effectively with government officials, development partners, technical experts, and other stakeholders in a multidisciplinary environment.

Languages and level required

Essential

English: Expert level with excellent written and spoken communication skills.

4. Technical Supervision

The consultant will be supervised by the WHO Representative to Kenya and/or a designated WHO technical officer

Email: Dr KIMAMBO, Neema Rusibamayila kimambon@who.int

5. Location

The consultant will work:

On site: Nairobi

Off site: n/a

On site for insurance purposes :_Nairobi__(please indicate location/address). (This is where a duty travel is planned during the course of the consultancy but the consultant is being hired to work from home)

6. Travel - If travel is involved, full medical clearance is required

Place of assignment; Nairobi, Kenya

Travel; On need basis

7. Remuneration and budget (travel costs excluded)

This will be based on the international consultants' rates applicable.

Currency: USD

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.