Purpose of work
To provide technical guidance to the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS) in harmonizing and assessing the quality of the gathered datasets for the development of the global gestational weight gain standard (GWG). The incumbent will also engage in auxiliary analyses to facilitate the development of the GWG standards. In addition, the consultant will carry out data management and statistical analysis for the definition of optimal GWG ranges, as required by the World Health Organization (WHO) secretariat.
Background
WHO Departments of Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS) and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research (SRH), with key contributions from the Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, and in partnership with an expert group including researchers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the Cornell University (USA), and the University of British Columbia (Canada), are developing a global gestational weight gain (GWG) standard to address a critical public health data gap. There is lack of evidence-based public health tools for monitoring GWG that apply to women of all body mass index (BMI) levels and geographic locations. Moreover, in terms of recommendations, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines were developed primarily from the findings of observational studies from high-income countries (HIC).
In order to develop these standards, WHO has launched a global call for data where the organization invited interested data providers to register their interest in submitting relevant data sources for consideration in the development in the final study. The data that will be gathered from this global call and other means will present significant heterogeneity in terms of format and variable definitions, and thus harmonization will be necessary for pooling the datasets.
Deliverables
- Regular reports based on follow up with data providers of eligible studies towards the acquirement of datasets
- Database with all acquired raw datasets harmonized to align with the structure outlined in the GWG data sharing standards document
- Database with all harmonized datasets further standardized to align with recommendations from the GWG Technical Advisory Group (TAG)
- Reports on data quality checks to validate the dataset based on the recommendations of the Steering Committee and the TAG
- Report on auxiliary analyses to support the development of the GWG standards and for the definition of GWG optimal ranges.
Qualifications, experience, skills and languages
Educational qualifications
- Essential: First university degree in public health, statistics, epidemiology or nutrition.
- Desirable: Advanced university degree in public health, statistics, epidemiology or nutrition is desirable.
Experience
- Essential: 5 to 10 years of experience in harmonizing and analyzing datasets. Proven experience conducting statistical analyses in multi-country studies.
- Desirable: 2 to 5 years of experience with the analysis of maternal and child health data, including in the antenatal healthcare setting.
Skills/Knowledge
- Essential: Very strong Data management
- Desirable: Very strong Statistical analyses
Languages and level required
- Essential: Expert knowledge of English
- Desirable: Expert knowledge of English
Location
Off-site: home-based
Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded)
- Remuneration: Band level B (USD 7,000 – 9,980 per month)
- Expected duration of contract: 11 Months
- Target start date: March 2024
- Work schedule: 100%
Requirements from applications
- A cover letter explaining the applicant’s motivation for applying to this position.
- A copy, in pdf format, of the applicant’s updated WHO CV or Personal History Form (detailed instructions on how to create or update WHO CV through the following link: https://careers.who.int/careersection/ex/jobsearch.ftl
- PLEASE NOTE: The selected candidate(s) will be asked to produce copies of all degrees/diplomas/certificates as mentioned in their CVs or Personal History Forms, as well as a copy of their passport and other documents as appropriate.
- Full contact details
- Description and contact details of at least 3 recent references (the references shall be related to the present Terms of Reference).
A prospective applicants requiring any clarification on technical or contractual matters may notify WHO via email (nfs@who.int) no later than 19 March 2024
- Deadline for submission of applications
The deadline for submission of applications is 21 March 2024 at 16h00, Geneva time. - Email address for submission of applications
Applicants should submit the required documents in PDF format by email to: nfs@who.int. Please include " WHO Consultant for Data Harmonization for Gestational Weight Gain Project (GWG) " in the subject matter of your email application. Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted and incomplete submissions will not be considered.