VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT - CONSULTANT

WHO Rwanda in Collaboration with Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) is inviting applicants from suitable qualified Rwandan Nationals to fill the following Consultancy:

Title: Senior consultant to support design and implementation COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness study

Duty Station:Kigali

Date issue: 07/12/2022

Deadline: 20/12/2022

1.Background

COVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March 2020. Rwanda confirmed the first case on 14 March 2020, and subsequent prevention measures including travel and mass gathering restriction, lockdowns, physical distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing were instituted. As the number of COVID-19 cases continued to raise despite the installation of prevention measures, WHO launched the Blueprint on   vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics for the development and distribution of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.

Through COVAX, AVAT, and bilateral initiatives, Rwanda accessed to more than twenty million vaccine doses, and six types of vaccines including Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Sinopharma, Johnson and Johnson, and Sputnik were utilized through   countrywide campaigns. As of 25 September 2022, 70.3% and 68.6% of the total population has received one and two doses respectively while 42.6% received a booster dose. These represent 101.2%, 98.8%, and 61.4% of the target population which received the first, second and booster dose respectively. 

2.Justification

Although the population continues to receive vaccines and the number of infected continue to decrease dramatically, no study has been conducted to evaluate the real effectiveness and impact of administered vaccines in Rwanda. We believe that assessing the immune response through evaluating the level of infection risk reduction or disease among vaccinated individuals attributed to vaccination in real-world conditions following mass vaccination will be helpful to address gaps in evidence of vaccine efficacy. The findings from the vaccine effectiveness evaluation will guide regulatory and policy decisions on future COVID-19 vaccinations.

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3.Purpose of the assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in Rwanda population.

Moreover, the below specific objectives will be considered:

1. Evaluate real-world performance of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Rwanda since the launch of COVID-19 vaccination
2. Contribute to information generation for addressing gaps in evidence of vaccine efficacy from clinical trials
3. Provide updated information to regulatory and policy making bodies for decision

4.Organizational context

The consultant will work under the supervision of the WHO EPI Focal Point in collaboration with Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC). The day-to-day supervision will be ensured RBC/Division of Research, Innovation and Data Science, in collaboration with WHO

5.Work assignment

 The consultant will be responsible for designing and implementation the COVID-19 vaccines effectiveness study.  In collaboration with WHO and RBC, the consultant will be tasked to:

1. Design vaccine effectiveness study protocol and data collection tools
2. Facilitate the process of protocol review by National Ethic Committee and the acquisition of ethical clearance
3. Facilitate training of data collectors
4. Organize and supervise data collection and analysis
5. Produce the preliminary vaccine effectiveness   study report
6. Organize and facilitate meeting to present the preliminary findings
7. Elaborate the final report and facilitate the dissemination workshop as required

6.Deliverables

The consultant is requested to deliver the following:

• Submission of inception report which include the methodology and implementation timelines
• Study protocol, data collection tools developed and validated
• Compilation, analysis of data, and submission of preliminary reports for review
• Submission of final reports

The above-mentioned deliverables shall be produced over two months

Qualifications of the consultant

Education:

• Advanced University degree (Masters level or above) in Medicine, Public Health or Epidemiology

Experience:

• Demonstrated experience of five years and above in designing and implementing research.
• Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing observational studies
• Having conducted vaccine effectiveness and impact studies would be an asset

Skills

• Good communication and writing skills demonstrated by scientific publications
• Teamwork

How to apply

Interested candidates shall submit their CVs by email to afwcorw@who.int

Selection and contract signing

After analysis of CVs, WHO Rwanda will notify the selected candidate in writing and call for discussion followed by contract signing if fully agree. The work is expected to start immediately after contract signing.

Done at Kigali, 7^th December 2022

Dr Brian CHIROMBO

WHO Representative