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Qualifications

Purpose of consultancy

To enhance  the capacity of the Data, Evidence and Digital Health (DDH) programme and support its work, a roster of qualified specialists/consultants in artificial intelligence (AI) is being established. This roster will feature  a diverse group of experts, representing various technical domains, regions, genders, and levels of experience. In this context, AI encompasses  all current and emerging domains and sub-domains, including but not limited to Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, Expert Systems, Robotics and Data Science. These areas will be applied  across various health contexts, such as clinical diagnosis and decision support, care delivery, health promotion, health systems, health information systems ,and public health.

Background

Strengthening Digital Health is a key priority  identified in the European Programme of Work (EPW)1.The Data, Evidence and Digital Health programme  (DDH), part of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems (CPS) at the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO Europe), coordinates the digital health flagship. It provides technical and policy guidance on the safety and efficacy of digital health solutions, while ensuring that  health equity, gender equality, equity and human rights remain central in their implementation. Through its work, the DHH supports countries to leverage the use of digital technologies to improve the interface between people and health services, enhance health system performance, and  strengthen critical public health functions, including disease surveillance, early warning, and risk assessment. The DDH unit also monitors and measures progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Triple Billion Goals, while developing and implementing a measurement framework for the EPW. It offers strategic direction, technical assistance, and tailored support to countries to strengthen their capacity to generate timely, credible, reliable, and actionable data. Additionally, the unit seeks to develop new approaches and methodologies for the use of new digital technologies in healthcare, such as telemedicine and big data, to complement traditional methods for measuring and monitoring health status and health system performance. The key priorities for the DDH unit are outlined in the Regional Digital Health Action Plan for the WHO European Region 2023–2030 (RC72)2 .

Deliverables

Experts on the roster will collaborate with WHO Europe technical units, country offices, and partners to support the development of data and digital health products, with a particular focus on AI implementation across the identified health contexts. They will provide consultancy to strengthen all areas relevant to and impacting the implementation of responsible and ethical AI at the national level for countries of the WHO European Region. This includes expertise across a range of socio-political, technical, and operational aspects of AI in health, such as:

* AI strategy, policy, governance, legislation, regulation, and financing
* National and cross-border sourcing for training, testing, and validating AI models
* Application of standards and data quality measures to AI, facilitating its reliability, accuracy and transparency
* AI computing architectures (native, cloud and quantum computing)
* Security of AI systems
* Research, ethics, gender, equity, and human rights considerations in AI operations

In achieving the scope of work outlined in the objectives above, the consultant will deliver a portfolio the following products and activities tailored on a case-by-case basis to an individual request for support made by the DDH programme:

a) Provide assistance to the Data and Digital Health Programme and WHO Country Offices on strengthening AI strategy and governance in countries, including:
– Support the development of policies and guidelines related to the ethical and responsible use of AI in health, in alignment with WHO’s strategic objectives;
– Conduct assessments that evaluate existing and proposed strategy/policy/action-plans of AI along with situational analyses and baseline evaluation of AI implementations;
– Conduct mapping and analysis of existing and proposed governance models, along with the regulatory and legislative frameworks for AI, in the WHO European Region;
– Provide expert and specialized advice and technical leadership on attainment of programme objectives and execution options, developing concrete proposals and implementation plans for concrete actions;
– Conduct research and analysis on emerging trends, opportunities, and challenges in the field of AI and health to inform policy development;

b) Provide technical guidance and support related to the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of AI services and applications and their integration into existing national health system and public health environments, including:
– provide support and guidance to implementing teams in country to ensure success of implementation and scale-up of AI activities;
– provide technical assistance and support to countries in developing their own AI strategies and frameworks for health;.
– provide guidance to countries on the development of regulatory and legislative frameworks supporting implementation and scaling of AI and that enshrine gender, equity and human rights.

c) Support implementation of capacity building activities in countries to strengthen knowledge of AI, and the data and data subsystems used to train, test and validate AI. This includes:
– design and/or delivery of capacity building workshops in countries to address the planning, implementation, management, resource requirements, governance and integration of AI as part of national health system transformation programmes;
– develop and deliver training programs, workshops, and capacity-building initiatives to enhance understanding of AI technologies among WHO staff and Member States;

d) Promote and strengthen collaboration for AI with partners operating at the national and regional level and through multi-country / multi-stakeholder AI networks hosted by WHO Europe. This includes:
– collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, including governments, academia, industry partners, and civil society organizations, to gather input and build consensus on AI policy priorities;
– support with organizing and facilitating events and workshops for strengthening cooperation and collaboration between experts and stakeholders in the field of AI and foster international cooperation and collaboration as well as the exchange of expertise;

The exact format of each individual support request is to be agreed on a case-by-case basis between CPS/DDH and the consultant prior to the commencement of any work.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications

Essential:

First university degree in science/computer science/data science, digital health, public health or medical informatics.

Desirable:

Relevant AI specialized training and/or additional university degree in any of the above fields.

Experience

Essential:

Minimum of five years combined national and international work experience in designing, implementing, managing and/or assessing health AI programmes and services including the design and implementation of strategy and policy for AI in health.

Desirable:
* Experience in management and oversight of complex AI and/or enterprise digital service implementation and operation in large scale healthcare or public health environments.
* Experience in designing and conducting workshops for a multi-stakeholder audience.
* Experience in public health or working with health ministries in delivering rolling programmes of work to achieve national health policy objectives.

Skills/Knowledge

Essential:
* Technical knowledge of one or more AI domains/sub-domains
* Expertise in the assessment, planning, development, and implementation of digital transformation projects  and programmes for national health systems and AI solutions.
* Knowledge on how to integrate gender, equity, and human rights considerations into digital environments and AI solutions.
* Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
* Knowledge of international regulation anddirectives affecting  the design of AI solutions and the data subsystems supporting its training, testing and validation.

Desirable:
* Knowledge of and/or certification in an internationally recognized project management methodology.
* Ability to provide technical feedback and to engage senior health policymakers in constructive dialogue when needed.
* Strong analytical skills  to evaluate complex issues and assess conflicting opinions.
* Excellent writing skills for developing clear and comprehensive assessment and recommendation reports.
* Knowledge of public health principles, healthcare management, and health service delivery.
* Experience working with national and international agencies involved in AI, data, and digital health.

Languages required:

Essential:
Expert knowledge of English

Desirable:
Working knowledge of Russian

Location

Consultancy services may be required for home-based work and/or on-site with travel for in-country missions, depending  on the specific areas of the DDH programme as outlined in the deliverables. The location will vary based on the specific projects being implemented, availability of funding, and the nature of work requested.

Travel

The consultant may be expected to travel, as determined by funding availability and/or the specific work requested.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration will depend on the nature of work including in terms of responsibilities, complexity, required degree of specialization by the work to be performed. It will also depend upon the knowledge, qualifications, experience and skills required and applied in accordance with WHO’s national or international consultant’s pay band ranges.

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.
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• For roster VNs:
  The purpose of this vacancy is to develop a list of qualified candidates for inclusion in this advertised roster. All applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application (whether successful or unsuccessful) upon conclusion of the selection process. Successful candidates will be placed on the roster and subsequently may be selected for consultancy assignments falling in this area of work or for similar requirements/tasks/deliverables. Inclusion in the Roster does not guarantee selection to a consultant contract. There is no commitment on either side.