The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the WHO Academy Quality Committee to fill open positions from the South-East Asia Region (SEARO) and African Region (AFRO). This “Call for experts” provides information about the WHO Quality Committee, the expert profile being sought, the process to express interest, and the process of selection.

Background

Established in 2019, The WHO Academy is a priority initiative of the WHO transformation agenda and will support accelerated learning towards achievement of existing global public health goals supported by the United Nations and the WHO. The Academy will support the competency development needs of WHO staff and stakeholders with innovative digital and state-of-the-art in-person learning experiences. Academy courses will be accessible through its digital learning experience platform and via its campus network. The Academy’s Campus in Lyon, France, will feature high-tech learning environments, a world-class health emergency simulation centre and collaboration spaces for learning co-design, research and innovation for health impact.

The Academy will be officially launched in early 2024 as an internal WHO Department. The Academy Quality Committee has been established to serve in an advisory capacity to the WHO with a focus on providing expert and strategic advice and recommendations to support WHO in its implementation of world class standards and quality management system with the WHO Academy and the Health Workforce Department.

Functions of the WHO Academy Quality Committee

The Quality Committee will undertake the following key functions:

a. Review and make recommendations on the development and evolution of the Academy’s standards, quality management system and metrics to ensure alignment with best practice, evidence and international standards in lifelong learning

b. Provide strategic recommendations, best practices and insights on lifelong learning systems and technologies that will enhance the Academy’s quality efforts in delivering its programs and services

c. Provide guidance and recommendations on quality frameworks that ensure adaptability in the marketplace given the rapid evolution of skills acquisition and competency based lifelong learning

Operations of the Academy Quality Committee

The Quality Committee shall have up to 9 members, who shall serve in their personal capacities to represent the broad range of disciplines relevant to the work of the WHO Academy. The Quality Committee shall normally meet two times each year. However, WHO may convene additional meetings. The Quality Committee meetings may be held in person (at WHO headquarters in Geneva, WHO Academy Campus in Lyon or another location, as determined by WHO) or virtually, via video or teleconference. The working language of the group will be English.

Who can express interest?

The WHO Academy Quality Committee will be diverse and multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to quality assurance, adult learning, credentialing, innovative learning technologies, and learning science. The WHO is seeking one member from the SEARO region and one member from the AFRO region. Eligible members include those individuals whose nationality and significant work experience has been conducted in countries represented by

• SEARO: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste,
• AFRO: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

WHO welcomes expressions of interest from:

a. internationally renowned experts with an outstanding record of achievement, credibility and be recognized as regional thought leaders in their field relevant to the Quality Committee

b. Have diverse experience and expertise in one or more of the following areas: quality assurance, adult learning, credentialing, innovative learning technologies, and learning science

c. Have proven experience of operating at the highest strategic level in the public, private or other sectors

d. Have excellent interpersonal and communication skills to support effective discussion with a range of stakeholders

e. Subscribe to the values and ethical code of WHO

Submitting your expression of interest

To register your interest in being considered for the WHO Academy Quality Committee, please submit the following documents by 19 March 2023, 24:00h (midnight) Geneva time to https://whoacademy.awardsplatform.com/

• A cover letter, indicating your motivation to apply, your relevant regional and global affiliations and how you satisfy the selection criteria. Please note that, if selected, membership will be in a personal capacity. Therefore, do not use the letterhead or other identification of your employer;
• Your curriculum vitae; and
• A signed and completed Declaration of Interests (DOI) form for WHO Experts, available at https://www.who.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest.

After submission, your expression of interest will be reviewed by WHO. Due to an expected high volume of interest, only selected individuals will be informed.

Important information about the selection processes and conditions of appointment

Members of WHO advisory groups (AGs) must be free of any real, potential or apparent conflicts of interest. To this end, applicants are required to complete the WHO Declaration of Interests for WHO Experts, and the selection as a member of an AG is, amongst other things, dependent on WHO determining that there is no conflict of interest or that any identified conflicts could be appropriately managed (in addition to WHO’s evaluation of an applicant’s experience, expertise and motivation and other criteria).

All AG members will serve in their individual expert capacity and shall not represent any governments, any commercial industries or entities, any research, academic or civil society organizations, or any other bodies, entities, institutions or organizations. They are expected to fully comply with the Code of Conduct for WHO Experts (https://www.who.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest). AG members will be expected to sign and return a completed confidentiality undertaking prior to the beginning of the first meeting.

At any point during the selection process, telephone interviews may be scheduled between an applicant and the WHO Secretariat to enable WHO to ask questions relating to the applicant’s experience and expertise and/or to assess whether the applicant meets the criteria for membership in the relevant AG.

The selection of members of the AGs will be made by WHO in its sole discretion, taking into account the following (non-exclusive) criteria: relevant technical expertise; experience in international and country policy work; communication skills; and ability to work constructively with people from different cultural backgrounds and orientations .The selection of AG members will also take account of the need for diverse perspectives from different regions, especially from low and middle-income countries, and for gender balance.

If selected by WHO, the proposed member will be sent an invitation letter and a Memorandum of Agreement. Appointment as a member of an AG will be subject to the proposed member returning to WHO the countersigned copy of these two documents. WHO reserves the right to accept or reject any expression of interest, to annul the open call process and reject all expressions of interest at any time without incurring any liability to the affected applicant or applicants and without any obligation to inform the affected applicant or applicants of the grounds for WHO’s action. WHO may also decide, at any time, not to proceed with the establishment of the AG, disband an existing AG or modify the work of the AG.

WHO shall not in any way be obliged to reveal, or discuss with any applicant, how an expression of interest was assessed, or to provide any other information relating to the evaluation/selection process or to state the reasons for not choosing a member.

WHO may publish the names and a short biography of the selected individuals on the WHO internet.

AG members will not be remunerated for their services in relation to the AG or otherwise. Travel and accommodation expenses of AG members to participate in AG meetings will be covered by WHO in accordance with its applicable policies, rules and procedures.

The appointment will be limited in time as indicated in the letter of appointment.

If you have any questions about this “Call for experts”, please write to academy@who.int well before the applicable deadline.

Deadline: March 19, 2023, 24:00h (midnight) Geneva time.

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