Roster for International Consultants - Public Health Laboratory Assessments

New Delhi, India·Posted today

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Full job description

Position details

Vacancy number: 2603597
Contractual arrangement: External consultant
Contract duration: 6 months
Organization: SE/WHE WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE)
Schedule: Full-time
Closing date: Sep 16, 2026, 6:59:00 AM

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

Purpose of consultancy:

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide specialized technical and operational support to strengthen public health laboratory systems in the WHO South-East Asia Region. The consultancy will support the phased implementation of the Public Health Laboratory Recognition Programme by building regional assessment capacity, facilitating laboratory self-assessments and developing laboratory-specific improvement plans. It will also strengthen national capacity for the detection and characterization of priority bacterial and fungal pathogens through assessments of antimicrobial resistance national reference laboratories, implementation of standardized laboratory procedures, and development or revision of national essential diagnostics lists for antimicrobial resistance. The consultancy will contribute to more standardized, quality-assured and sustainable laboratory services capable of supporting disease surveillance, antimicrobial resistance monitoring and public health emergency preparedness and response.

Background:

Public health and national reference laboratories are essential for disease surveillance, outbreak detection and response, antimicrobial resistance monitoring, and broader health-security decision-making. Despite continued investment across the WHO South-East Asia Region, laboratory capacity remains uneven, and assessments are not always linked to standardized requirements, sustained technical support or structured improvement plans.

WHO is therefore proposing to establish a voluntary Public Health Laboratory Recognition Programme for Pathogens of Epidemic and Pandemic Potential to unify capacity-building efforts by national authorities, WHO and partners. The programme will assess designated laboratories against standardized terms of reference covering sustainable diagnostic capacity, quality management, biosafety and biosecurity, public health functions and national laboratory-network coordination. Following a laboratory self-assessment and on-site review, compliant laboratories will receive time-limited WHO recognition, while laboratories with identified gaps will be supported to develop and implement corrective action plans.

In parallel, stronger national capacity is required for the detection and characterization of priority bacterial and fungal pathogens, including antimicrobial resistance. This consultancy will support implementation of the Recognition Programme and assessment and improvement of AMR national reference laboratories. Together, these activities will strengthen the quality, reliability, safety and sustainability of laboratory services for surveillance, preparedness and public health response.

Deliverables

Support the implementation of the Public Health Laboratory Recognition Programme

Activity 1.1 : Planning, organizing and facilitating regional webinars, country orientation sessions and technical consultations to introduce the programme, explain the recognition standards and assessment methodology, guide laboratory self-assessments, and support countries and laboratories in preparing for participation

Activity 1.2: Planning and delivering a regional training-of-trainers workshop to establish a cohort of qualified experts capable of supporting laboratory assessments, improvement planning and implementation of the Recognition Programme.

Activity 1.3: Planning, coordinating and participating in in-country technical missions to support initial laboratory self-assessments using standardized assessment tools, identify priority gaps, and develop laboratory-specific corrective action and quality-improvement plans.

Strengthen national laboratory capacity for the detection and characterization of priority bacterial and fungal pathogens

Activity 2.1: Assessing the capacity, functions and operational readiness of antimicrobial resistance national reference laboratories

Activity 2.2: Facilitate hands-on mentoring and remote technical support to selected national reference laboratories to address priority gaps identified through assessments and improvement plans.

Activity 2.3: Support development of national AMR laboratory network coordination mechanisms, including referral pathways, specimen transport arrangements, reporting flows and communication between reference laboratories and sentinel sites.

Activity 2.4: support adaptation of WHO standardized laboratory protocols/SOPs for detection, identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, quality assurance, biosafety, and referral of priority bacterial and fungal pathogens, aligned with national laboratory systems.\\\\

Deliverables

Regional orientation and consultation package for the Public Health Laboratory Recognition Programme, including agenda, presentations, participant lists and summary reports.
Training-of-trainers workshop report, including training materials, list of trained assessors, participant evaluation results and recommendations for maintaining a regional assessor pool.
Completed laboratory self-assessment and on-site assessment reports for selected laboratories, using standardized assessment tools covering diagnostic capacity, AST practices, quality management, biosafety and biosecurity, data management, workforce capacity and laboratory-network functions.
Laboratory-specific corrective action and quality-improvement plans, including prioritized gaps, timelines, responsible parties and resource needs.
Standardized SOP package for priority bacterial and fungal pathogen detection and characterization, including AST, quality control, biosafety, isolate referral and data reporting procedures.
External quality assessment/proficiency testing improvement plan, including participation status, results review and corrective actions for selected laboratories.
Draft or revised national essential diagnostics list for AMR, including priority tests, equipment, reagents and consumables needed for sustainable implementation.
Final consultancy report, summarizing activities completed, deliverables produced, country-specific progress, key challenges, recommendations and proposed next steps.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential: Minimum university degree in Laboratory medicine, Laboratory sciences, microbiology, pathology, molecular biology, virology, bacteriology, infectious diseases, epidemiology, public health and/or global health.

Desirable: Advanced degree or training in public health, epidemiology, infectious diseases or microbiology.

Experience

Essential: Minimum of five years’ relevant experience working in laboratory diagnostics or related work at public health laboratories or clinical laboratories, or research laboratories.

Desirable:

Experience in planning and conducting training activities.
Experience in developing country setting in the area of surveillance and response to emerging and/or re-emerging diseases.
Previous relevant international experience in working for WHO in a developing country context.
Previous work experience in Asia is an asset.

Skills/Knowledge:

Essential:

Proven knowledge and skills in Public health laboratory preparedness for infectious hazards including emerging and re-emerging diseases of public health emergencies of international concern, laboratory support for public health response readiness and microbiological risk assessment
Give technical advice and guidance taking into consideration the views of multiple stakeholders and partners in resource-limited contexts;
Proven ability to promote consensus, communicate progress and results, and resolve issues in a proactive manner, while ensuring effective work practices andethics.
Strong managerial, monitoring, evaluation, organizational skills including ability to negotiate with national and international authorities and partners.
Ability to work flexibly, autonomously and efficiently, in a fast-paced environment, with the ability to adapt to shifting priorities.
Strong writing skills including for presentations, proposals, concept notes, reports and other documents.
Excellent communication, interpersonal and diplomatic skills.
Experience synthesizing information and communicating effectively in a timely manner to broad and diverse audiences.
Ability to work harmoniously as a member of a team, adapt to diverse

Desirable:

Sound knowledge of standards, methodology and techniques in public health laboratories, including those in microbiology, molecular biology, virology, bacteriology, and biosafety and biosecurity.
Knowledge in communicable disease prevention and control, including the concept and principles of surveillance, laboratory confirmation, risk assessment, rapid response and preparedness; knowledge of international public health laboratory systems including quality management systems and external quality assessment schemes.

Languages and level required (Basic/Intermediate/Expert):

Essential: Expert knowledge of of English

Location: On site for insurance purposes: New Delhi, India

Travel : The consultant is expected to travel. Tentative travels to Sri Lanka, Bangaldesh, Timor Leste, India, and Bhutan

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration: USD 8,000 monthly within Band Level – B pay band range
Living expenses: N.A as home based
Expected duration of contract: Full time for 6 months

Additional information:

This vacancy notice is being issued for establishing Roster for International Consultants - Public Health Laboratory Assessments.
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.
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