Consultant for National Immunization Strategy (NIS)

1. Purpose of the Consultancy
The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical guidance to the Afghanistan National Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) for development of a National Immunization Strategy (NIS) 2026-2030 in line with WHO NIS guidelines.
Specifically, it aims to provide coordination and technical support to the establishment of NIS team, development of timeline of activities, desk review of available documents and preparation of situational analysis report, development of the strategies in close coordination with the NIS team and EPI stakeholders in country, development of NIS M&E framework, cost estimates as well as NIS and EPI annual operational plan.

Background
Immunization programs aim at preventing morbidity and mortality attributable to vaccine preventable diseases by offering vaccines to the population, in accordance with established technical guidelines. The World Health Organization (WHO) together with partners have developed a new strategic document for immunization - Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030). This together with other important global guidelines such as Gavi-5.0 presents a roadmap on how to achieve the vision of a world where everyone everywhere at every age, fully benefits from vaccines for good health and wellbeing. To assist countries in development of the new strategic plans within the context of IA2030, the National Immunization Strategy (NIS) guidelines were released by WHO in August 2020.
WCO Afghanistan supported implementation of the comprehensive EPI review in October 2024; the findings and recommendations will feed into the NIS development process. The NIS development is becoming even more relevant in view of declining routine immunization coverage and ongoing polio and measles outbreaks with 26 WPV cases reported in 2024-2025 and 73,384 cases of measles reported in 2024-2025.

2. Planned timelines (subject to confirmation)
Start date: 1 April 2025
End date: 30 September 2025
6 months renewable

3. Work to be performed
Output 1: Conduct situational analysis and develop strategy framework
• Deliverable 1.1: NIS Development Team set up with identified ToR & timeline of activities accompanied by a stakeholder engagement plan
• Deliverable 1.2: Situation analysis report by the immunization system
• Deliverable 1.3: Strategies defined to achieve NIS vision of the country with clear identification and agreement of roles and responsibilities across different levels of government and non-government organizations to deliver the strategies

Output 2: Develop M & E framework for action
• Deliverable 2.1: High-level indicators and milestones needed to keep track of progress towards priorities are identified
• Deliverable 2.2: NIS scorecard finalized from a consensus with stakeholders on the indicators and milestones with a consensual publication timeline

Output 3: Finalize cost estimates and develop a budget for the new strategy:
• Deliverable 3.1: Cost estimates for NIS completed with country team using NIS. Cost tool
• Deliverable 3.2: NIS budget dialogue organized with government and development partners and other stakeholders with identified source of funding

Output 4: Finalize NIS and EPI Annual operational plan
• Deliverable 4.1: Meeting held with stakeholders to present final NIS
• Deliverable 4.2: EPI Annual Operation Plan for ongoing year extracted from NIS.Cost and shared with country team

4. Technical Supervision
The selected Consultant will work on the supervision of:
Responsible Officer: Dr Chinara Aidyralieva, EPI Team Lead, WCO/AFG Email: aidyralievac@who.int
Manager: Dr Edwin Ceniza Salvador, WR/AFG Email: salvadore@who.int

5. Specific requirements
- Qualifications required:
• Essential – University Degree in Medicine or in Public health.
• Desirable: Health Economist
- Experience required:
• Essential: At least 5 years of experience working in the public health programs including developing strategies and frameworks
• Good knowledge on EPI and Program planning and budgeting

- Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office software applications.
• Knowledge of Afghanistan health system, with good understanding of the Afghanistan vaccination program
• Good knowledge on EPI Program review, root cause analysis, strategic planning, data analysis and interpretation
• Excellent ability to provide sound technical advice, writing guidelines, developing plans and building capacity.
• Good interpersonal skills, teamwork, time management and coaching.

- Language requirements:
• Essential: Expert knowledge of English
• Desirable: Knowledge of Dari and Pashto languages

6. Place of assignment
Kabul, Afghanistan

7. Medical clearance
The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness.
8. Travel
Consultant is expected to carry out field mission.

The consultant is expected to travel according to the itinerary and estimated schedule below:
Travel dates Location:
From 1/04/2025 To 30/04/2025 Kabul, Afghanistan
Purpose: Purpose of the mission: to support preparation and implementation of the NIS workshop, partners coordination and NIS drafting.

Travel dates Location:
From 01/09/2025 To 30/09/2025 Kabul, Afghanistan
Purpose: Purpose of the mission: to coordinate finalization of the NIS with partners and preparation for the final debriefing on the NIS.

All travel arrangements will be made by WHO – WHO will not be responsible for tickets purchased by the Consultant without the express, prior authorization of WHO. While on mission under the terms of this consultancy, the Consultant will receive subsistence allowance.
Visas requirements: WCO Afghanistan will support visa upon arrival process.

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.
• The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits workforce regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.
• The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its workforce. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States (https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) are strongly encouraged to apply for WHO jobs.
• Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email toreasonableaccommodation@who.int
• An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. 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 (https://www.who.int/about/who-we-are/our-values) 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 short-listed candidates.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority.
• WHO shall have no responsibility 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.
• Please note that WHO’s contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at shws@who.int.
• In case the recruitment website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click the link for detailed guidance on completing job applications: Instructions for candidates.
• For Consultants hired for HQ, Switzerland vacancies
• Consultants working in Switzerland must register with the applicable Swiss cantonal tax authorities and social security authorities, within the prescribed timeframes (Guidelines issued by the Swiss Mission are available at: https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-onu-geneve/en/home/manual-regime-privileges-and-immunities/introduction/Manuel-personnes-sans-privileges-et-immunites-carte-H/Non fonctionnaires et stagiaires.html