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. We have helped build hundreds of health programs from the ground up and responded to humanitarian crises worldwide.
Code of Conduct
It is our shared responsibility and obligation to treat each other with respect, take affirmative steps to prevent matters involving Sexual Exploitation & Abuse and Trafficking in Persons, and to disclose all potential and actual violations of our Code of Conduct, which may include Conflicts of Interest, Fraud, Corruption, Discrimination or consHarassment. Together we can reinforce a culture of respect, integrity, accountability, and transparency.
Summary:
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.
Background
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—often shaped by international expert consensus and donor agendas—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 (BD) positioning, particularly as the organization continues to expand its work in health security and preparedness.
Establishing a shared, mutually defined understanding of priority endemic infectious diseases and pathogens aligns with Project HOPE’s commitment to people-centered, country-owned, partnership-based, and data-driven approaches. A structured prioritization exercise at country and regional levels will enhance understanding of disease burden, risk, and threat dynamics, while strengthening evidence-informed
decision-making across the organization. While rankings may differ across global, regional, and country levels, the framework is intentionally designed to support both comparability and context-specific decision-making, recognizing that alignment will not always be exact but can still meaningfully inform strategic dialogue and planning.
Ultimately, grounding program design and BD efforts in locally relevant priorities is expected to improve responsiveness, accelerate implementation, and increase programmatic impact.
Project Overview
Project HOPE is undertaking 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, as aligned with PH’s 5-year strategic plan.
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.
To date, the TWG has:
· Developed an overarching prioritization process.
· Compiled a comprehensive long list of infectious diseases and pathogens.
· Applied a two-step process, including literature review and expert input, to generate a
refined short list.
· Drafted prioritization criteria, disease factsheets, and a preliminary survey tool in
preparation for the final prioritization phase.
The methodology builds on established best practices in multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), adapted to Project HOPE’s mandate, geographic footprint, and operational objectives. Key methodological elements include explicit prioritization criteria, expert elicitation, criteria weighting, standardized scoring, and quantitative ranking, supported by structured facilitation and documentation. Where feasible, expert judgment has been triangulated with available epidemiological data, surveillance information, and contextual risk indicators to enhance methodological credibility and analytical robustness.
Building on the extensive groundwork already completed by the TWG, Project HOPE seeks targeted external technical support exclusively for the final stage of the prioritization process, focused on finalizing the methodology, refining the survey tool, and supporting the analysis and interpretation of results.
Specific Objectives
The Consultant will:
1. Refine and finalize prioritization criteria and sub-criteria.
2. Define scoring levels and thresholds for each criterion and sub-criterion.
3. Assign and validate criteria weights using sound and transparent statistical methods.
4. Determine appropriate survey methodology and sample sizes across global, regional, and country levels.
5. Refine or develop a user-friendly survey or scoring tool to support consistent application.
6. Analyze prioritization data and generate ranked disease lists aligned across organizational levels.
7. Document the prioritization methodology, results, and lessons learned in a clear and actionable report
Description of Assignment
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:
1. Methodological Design and Planning
· Refine the prioritization criteria and sub-criteria.
· Define scoring levels and threshold of each criteria/sub-criterion.
· Develop detailed guidance materials, including criteria definitions, and scoring instructions, to ensure consistent interpretation across users and levels.
2. Sample Size, Criteria Weighting, and Survey tool
· Determine appropriate sample sizes and participant profiles at global, regional, and country levels.
· Design and implement criteria-weighting approaches using suitable methods (e.g., probabilistic inversion, PAPRIKA, or equivalent).
· Conduct or support statistical analysis to derive final criteria weights.
· Refine existing survey tools or develop an alternative, user-friendly scoring instrument.
3.Data Analysis and Ranking
· Aggregate and analyze scoring data using standardized quantitative methods.
· Generate ranked lists of infectious diseases and pathogens, including measures of uncertainty and agreement where appropriate.
· Support interpretation of results for programmatic and strategic use.
4. Reporting and Knowledge Products
· Develop a comprehensive final report documenting methodology, criteria weighting, results, and key insights.
· Produce summary outputs suitable for internal decision-making, program design, and business development discussions.
· Incorporate feedback from the TWG and key stakeholders into final deliverables.
Deliverables
1. Inception report with finalized methodology, criteria, and detailed workplan.
2. Criteria-weighting design, tools, and analytical outputs.
3. Cleaned and analyzed prioritization datasets with ranked disease lists.
4. Draft and final infectious disease prioritization report.
5. Final presentation of findings to Project HOPE’s Technical Working Group.
Duration of Consultancy
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.
Indicative LOE:
· Methodological Design and Planning: 2 days
· Sample Size, Criteria Weighting, and Survey tool: 3 days
· Data Analysis and Ranking: 2 days
· Reporting and Knowledge Products: 3 days
A detailed timeline will be confirmed during the inception phase.
Location of Assignment
The consultancy will be primarily remote, with regular virtual engagement with Project HOPE’s Technical Unit and periodic engagements with the infectious disease TWG, regional teams, and country programs.
Position Requirements
The consultant should demonstrate the following:
· 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.
· Familiarity with donor-funded global health programming and strategic planning processes is an asset.
As part of the recruitment process, shortlisted candidates may be asked to submit additional documentation and examples of relevant work.
Notice to applicants: Project HOPE does not conduct direct solicitation/recruitment via email. Project HOPE never asks job applicants for
payment or financial information at any stage of the recruitment process. Project HOPE will never send you a third-party check and ask you to cash it. If you have been recruited via email, please contact Compliance@projecthope.org
Due to the substantial number of inquiries, we receive, only candidates who have met the required experience & qualifications for this position will be considered. No phone calls please. However, since we are active around the world in the field of public health, we may wish to retain your CV in our database for other/future opportunities, unless you direct us otherwise.
Thank you very much for your interest in Project HOPE and this exciting project opportunity.
