The World Health Organization (WHO) is hiring a Team Lead (Vaccines and Immunization Policy) in the Department of Immunization, Vaccines & Biologicals (IVB), within the Division of Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Care (PPC). The role sits in the Immunization & Vaccine Policy team at WHO headquarters and is a full-time, two-year fixed-term appointment. IVB aims to shape a world where everyone, everywhere, at every age, fully benefits from vaccines for good health and well-being. Its work covers leadership, partnerships, coordination, research, guidance, technical assistance, data for action, and impact monitoring, in both routine and outbreak settings.
The Team Lead (Vaccines and Immunization Policy) will:
- Provide technical leadership and managerial support in vaccine and immunization policy, ensuring timely development of evidence-based WHO policy recommendations.
- Serve as Executive Secretary to the SAGE advisory committee, providing strategic and operational leadership for SAGE and its working groups on vaccine and immunization matters for routine and emergency use.
- Oversee the WHO/IVB Steering Group on vaccine position papers and related policy guidance, with final responsibility for the scientific and technical content.
- Serve as focal point to regions on immunization policy, including support to Regional and National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (RITAGs and NITAGs).
- Manage a small team of technical staff, including workplans, financial resources, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting.
- Oversee resource mobilization and donor reporting.
- Represent the programme at meetings, international fora, and working groups, and maintain partnerships with UN agencies, donors, research institutions, and technical partners such as Gavi.
Qualifications required:
- An advanced university degree at the Doctoral (MD) or PhD level in public health, medicine, vaccinology, immunology, or another relevant biological scientific area.
- A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in vaccine evaluation, and extensive experience in health policy and strategy development.
- Demonstrated experience of vaccine and immunization policy generation at the international level.
- Demonstrated experience in appraising evidence that can support vaccine policy development.
- A record of peer-reviewed publications with emphasis on scientific aspects of vaccines and immunization.
- Demonstrated experience managing human and financial resources.
- Advanced scientific and technical expertise in vaccine development and evaluation, including efficacy, effectiveness, impact, and safety studies.
- Advanced knowledge of immunization, epidemiology, and disease surveillance.
- Ability to establish and interact with major advisory committees and to foster consensus.
- Ability to plan, organize, and coordinate work from several sources, and to express ideas clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
- Expert knowledge of English.
Duty station
Geneva, Switzerland.
Application deadline
Oct 14, 2026, 12:59:00 AM.
