Consultant- Infectious Diseases and Pathogens Prioritization Exercise in London

Project HOPE is an international NGO of more than 1,000 engaged employees and hundreds of volunteers who work in more than 25 countries, responding to the world’s most pressing global health challenges. Throughout our 60‑year legacy, Project HOPE has treated millions of patients and provided more than $3 billion worth of medicines to local health care organizations around the world.

Project HOPE seeks a consultant to provide targeted technical support for the finalization and documentation of Project HOPE’s infectious diseases and pathogens prioritization process, ensuring the final outputs are rigorous, transparent, and fit‑for‑purpose for strategic and programmatic use.

Historically, Project HOPE’s infectious disease portfolio has focused primarily on HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and, more recently, global health security—reflecting prevailing global funding priorities. However, the epidemiological profiles, health system capacities, and social determinants of health vary substantially across Project HOPE’s countries and regions of operation. As a result, reliance on global disease priorities alone does not fully capture local and regional public health realities or strategic opportunities.

To address this gap, Project HOPE seeks to implement a systematic, transparent, and inclusive infectious diseases and pathogens prioritization process that integrates global comparability with regional and country‑specific context. This process is intended not only to generate technical rankings but to inform country strategy discussions, guide technical and programmatic investment decisions, and strengthen business development positioning.

Project HOPE is undertaking a structured infectious diseases and pathogens prioritization exercise across countries where it actively implements programs. The objective is to identify high‑priority infectious diseases and pathogens to inform program design, business development, country strategy conversations, and investment decisions across global, regional, and country levels.

This effort is led by a Technical Working Group (TWG) comprising representatives from Project HOPE’s regional teams and relevant home office units, divisions, and departments. The TWG is supported, as needed, by a multidisciplinary group of technical advisors drawn from Project HOPE’s implementation countries.

Specific Objectives:

• Refine and finalize prioritization criteria and sub‑criteria.
• Define scoring levels and thresholds for each criterion and sub‑criterion.
• Assign and validate criteria weights using sound and transparent statistical methods.
• Determine appropriate survey methodology and sample sizes across global, regional, and country levels.
• Refine or develop a user‑friendly survey or scoring tool to support consistent application.
• Analyze prioritization data and generate ranked disease lists aligned across organizational levels.
• Document the prioritization methodology, results, and lessons learned in a clear and actionable report.

Under the guidance of the TWG, the consultant will provide end‑to‑end technical support for the final step of the infectious diseases and pathogens prioritization exercise. Key responsibilities will include:

• Refining the prioritization criteria and sub‑criteria.
• Defining scoring levels and threshold of each criteria/sub‑criterion.
• Determining appropriate sample sizes and participant profiles at global, regional, and country levels.
• Conducting or supporting statistical analysis to derive final criteria weights.
• Aggregating and analyzing scoring data using standardized quantitative methods.
• Developing a comprehensive final report documenting methodology, criteria weighting, results, and key insights.

The assignment is expected to span 1 month, with an estimated level of effort of 10 working days, focused on the final stage of the prioritization process.

Position Requirements:

• Advanced academic training (Master’s degree or higher) in epidemiology, public health, biostatistics, or a related field.
• At least 8–10 years of experience in infectious disease epidemiology, health security, or public health priority‑setting.
• Demonstrated experience designing or implementing multi‑criteria decision analysis (MCDA), risk‑ranking, or disease prioritization exercises.
• Strong quantitative and statistical analysis skills, including experience with expert elicitation and weighting methods.
• Proven experience working across multiple countries and regions, preferably in low‑ and middle‑income settings.
• Excellent facilitation, communication, and technical writing skills, with the ability to translate complex analyses into actionable insights.