International Consultant - Artificial Intelligence Governance, WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, Manila, Philippines

The consultant will support the establishment of the expert advisory group on AI in health for the WHO Regional Office in the Western Pacific (WPRO) and the organization of the first in-person expert group meeting.

Artificial intelligence is advancing at a pace that existing health governance structures were not designed to absorb. Large language models, multimodal diagnostic tools, autonomous decision-support systems, and generative AI applications are entering the health sector not over decades but over months. Each new model brings different capabilities, risk profiles, and implications for deployment. While the potential benefits are significant, the rapid and often inadequately governed adoption of AI in health raises urgent concerns around safety, algorithmic bias, data privacy, equity, and accountability. Many Member States in the Region lack the institutional capacity or technical expertise to evaluate AI health tools critically or govern their deployment responsibly.

At the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific (RC76), member states endorsed three priorities on AI in Healthcare: (1) Use case prioritization: identify and prioritize high-impact use cases of AI for health equity, (2) Ecosystem strengthening: strengthen the ecosystem to accelerate responsible adoption and implementation, and (3) Capacity building: strengthen public sector capacity for responsible AI adoption. Country representatives and stakeholders requested WHO WPRO to provide regional support in translating normative frameworks into operational tools for LMICs in the region.

To amplify impact of the regional effort and to ensure it’s grounded in evidence, REI will establish the advisory group of experts on AI in health. The expert group would provide guidance on the work of WHO WPRO, including the overall regional policies, strategies and recommendations on AI in health for member states, ranging from use case prioritization, capacity building, implementation ecosystem, health technology assessment adapted for AI, and other topics to implement the three priorities agreed by member states at RC76.

The Research, Ethics and Innovation (REI) at WHO WPRO is seeking a consultant to support the team with establishment of the expert group on AI in health.

The consultant is assigned to:

Output 1: Provide support to REI in establishing the governance framework and Terms of Reference to formally constitute the expert group as a WHO-compliant institutional mechanism.

Deliverable 1.1: Comparative analysis of at least three analogous WHO advisory groups (SAGE, STAG-IH, Digital Health TAG) with documented recommendations for the WPRO AI expert group structure, mandate, and governance provisions (to be completed by 31 July 2026)

Output 2: Provide support to REI in establishing a transparent and well-documented open call process and selecting qualified experts.

Deliverable 2.1: Open call documentation package including eligibility criteria, expert profile descriptions, application form, and assessment rubric, ready for publication (to be completed by 31 August 2026)

Deliverable 2.2: Dissemination plan targeting WHO WPRO country office networks, Member State health ministries, academic institutions, and professional associations across the region, with evidence of reach (to be completed by 31 August 2026)

Deliverable 2.3: Contribute technical expertise to screening and ranking shortlist of candidates with documented eligibility assessment, diversity analysis, and compiled Declaration of Interest forms submitted to the selection panel (to be completed by 31 October 2026)

Deliverable 2.3: Technical support to selection report documenting panel deliberations, selection rationale, conflict of interest findings, and geographic and gender balance analysis, submitted for senior management endorsement (to be completed by 15 November 2026)

Deliverable 2.4: Provide guidance to drafting formal appointment letters and onboarding documentation package prepared and issued to all appointed expert group members (to be completed by 30 November 2026)

Output 3: Provide technical support to REI in conducting the first in-person expert group meeting, with a workplan adopted by group consensus and cleared meeting report published.

Deliverable 3.1: Assist in providing inputs on detailed meeting workplan, background paper, agenda development, and participant coordination (to be completed by 31 October 2026)

Deliverable 3.2: Contribute to drafting programme agenda, background report and proposed three-year workplan options for in-person meeting deliberation (to be completed by 31 January 2027)
 

EDUCATION

Essential: A university degree in a field relevant to the mandate of the assignment is required. Relevant fields include public health, health policy and systems, digital health, health informatics, bioethics, health technology assessment, or a related discipline.

Desirable: A master’s degree or higher in above disciplines. A background that combines technical understanding of digital or AI systems with health policy or governance experience is strongly preferred.

EXPERIENCE

Essential: A minimum of three years of professional experience in public health, health policy, or digital health and AI in countries in the Western Pacific is required.

Desirable: International experience within WHO or other UN Organizations at multiple geographical locations; demonstrated experience in evidence generation and knowledge sharing for public health (e.g. academic articles, presentation at international conferences, field projects); experience in producing technical reports, frameworks, action plans at WHO or other UN organizations.

TECHNICAL SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Experience designing or managing international organization advisory group processes, including terms of reference development, open call management, expert selection, and meeting organization
• Experience working on AI, digital health, or health technology governance at the national, regional, or international level
• Experience working with or within LMIC health systems in the Western Pacific or Southeast Asia, with practical understanding of the governance, regulatory, and implementation constraints that characterize these settings 
• Ability to produce high-quality technical documents — including terms of reference, background papers, consultation summaries, and meeting reports
• Ability to work harmoniously as a member of the team, adapt to diverse cultural and educational backgrounds and maintain a high standard of personal conduct

LANGUAGE

Essential: English (Read - Write - Speak / Expert-level)

Desirable: French (Read - Write - Speak / Expert-level); Chinese (Read - Write - Speak / Expert-level)

The Consultant will be offered an onsite for insurance purposes (full-time) contract and expected to work five days per week. 

In addition, the Consultant is expected to participate in weekly teleconference meetings and provide frequent updates on work progress to the team.

The Consultant is expected to undertake travel (mission) as part of this assignment. Travel dates TBD.

Visa requirements: It is the Consultant’s responsibility to fulfill visa requirements and ask for visa support letter(s) if needed.

• Pay band level A - (USD 340 daily) Monthly USD 6,800
• Contract period of 11 months

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