Consultant – Facilitate the development of the WHO training in best practices for the design and implementation of clinical trials

Purpose of consultancy

To facilitate the platform development and content curation for the WHO training resources for clinical trials.

Background

At the World Health Assembly in May 2022, World Health Organization (WHO)’s Member States passed resolution WHA75.8 on strengthening clinical trials to provide high-quality evidence on health interventions and to improve research quality and coordination. The resolution recognized the importance of strengthening the global and national clinical trials ecosystems to advance: 1) equitable clinical trial capacity development; 2) health outcomes related to the burden of diseases at national and regional levels; and 3) to provide functional capacities that can pivot in times of emergencies.

To forward these goals, a WHO Guidance for best practices for clinical trials has been developed with a 16-member Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and in consultations with global experts and all relevant stakeholders in clinical trials, including Member States, patient and community engagement organizations, funders, researchers, ethicists, regulators, and representatives from industry. The Guidance outlines key ethical and scientific considerations for well-designed and well-implemented clinical trials. A series of regional and global consultations, including the first WHO Global Clinical Trials Forum, took place in 2023, where stakeholders agreed to a vision of collective efforts in improving clinical research infrastructure and capabilities in countries and globally, and calls for accelerating access to fit-for-purpose training packages for clinical trials.

To support relevant stakeholders in adoption and implementation of the best practices, the Secretariat of the WHA75.8 is now seeking a consultant who would contribute to the development of the WHO training for clinical trials.

Deliverables

Under the direct supervision of the responsible technical officer, the consultant will contribute to the following tasks:

• Task 1: Facilitate collaborative development and piloting of the online training modules of the WHO training for clinical trials. This includes:
  • review and provide input to the instructions and standard templates for the curation of contents for training materials development (such as structure and formatting for the PowerPoint slide decks, quizzes, case studies, assignments, assessments, etc.), in collaboration with the partner institutions.
  • liaise with the developers of the training contents to prepare the materials according to the set standards.
  • collate and review the draft training materials against the standards, and request revisions from the developers, when necessary.
  • facilitate the materials review by the Secretariat, steering group, technical advisory group and other external reviewers when requested.
  • facilitate the technical validation/testing of the training materials with the WHO Academy or other platform provider.
  • facilitate regular and efficient updates with the online training platform team and the training materials developers to meet the deadline for project milestones.

Deliverable 1.1: standard templates and instructions for course materials preparation.
Deliverable 1.2: prepared materials for the core training modules for digitalization.
Deliverable 1.3: tested modules in the WHO Academy platform or other online platform.

• Task 2: Facilitate the pilot of the WHO clinical trials online training. This includes:
  • write a draft standard operation procedure (SOP) for an efficient and effective feedback mechanism to monitor the platform uses, and to address any technical and user experience issues.
  • monitor and liaise with users on their feedback or requests.
  • facilitate a user experience study in collaboration with the platform provider and course content developers.
  • draft the study report and propose needed improvements.
  • facilitate the study outcome communication and implementation with the relevant developers or platform provider.

Deliverable 2.1: draft SOP for monitoring and feedback mechanism.
Deliverable 2.2: draft user experience study report.

• Task 3: Facilitate the development of the WHO clinical trial training resource hub website. This includes:
  • draft the layout of the website of the WHO clinical trials training resource hub.
  • curate content for the resource hub website, including collation, formatting, or linkage of existing resources and newly developed tools that enhance or are complimentary to the core training modules.
  • facilitate dissemination of the training resources in line with the Secretariat’s outreach and dissemination plan.

Deliverable 3.1: updated clinical trials training resource hub website, including curated training resources.

• Task 4: Ensure efficient continuous training materials development and resource hub updates. This includes:
  • review mechanisms for sustainable and efficient content development.
  • write a draft standard operation procedure (SOP) for new or updated training content installment to the platform.

Deliverable 4.1: draft SOP for the addition and update of training content installment in the platform.

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential:

• First-level university degree in health sciences, social sciences, health education, clinical trials, or other related field.

Desirable:

• Training in adult learning and/or e-learning in a related field.

Experience

Essential:

• At least two years of relevant experience working in training in clinical trials, or health research, health systems, workforce, or policies.
• Experience in developing or using online training programmes.
• Experience in conducting studies with qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Demonstrated experience in working at the international level.

Desirable:

• Experience with WHO online training program development, openWHO.org, or other online learning platforms.

Skills/Knowledge:

Essential:

• Ability to analyze and synthesize relevant information
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Strong project management skills
• Proficiency in computer software
• Ability to work effectively under pressure

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

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable:

• Intermediate knowledge of another UN official language.

Location

Off-site: Home-based.

Travel

The consultant is not expected to travel.

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

Remuneration:

Band level A: USD 3,955 – USD 6,980 per month

Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited):

N/A

Expected duration of contract:

11 months

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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