Consultant, GTFCC Cholera Country Support Platform (CSP) Research Agenda Review

Organizational Context

The GTFCC is a partnership of more than 50 institutions, including NGOs, academic institutions, and UN agencies, with a secretariat hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In 2017, the GTFCC launched the Global Roadmap to 2030 which aims to eliminate cholera in 20 countries and reduce the number of cholera deaths reported every year by 90%. Recognising the importance of research for effective management and control of cholera, the GTFCC Research Agenda was launched in 2021, to define the most pressing research priorities for achieving the goals of the global roadmap.

The Research Agenda was developed using a Child Health And Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) approach involving 138 experts in 33 countries, who were mostly implementing partners and researchers working in the areas of epidemiology, OCV, and WASH. The key priorities highlight that research should be focused on:

• optimizing the delivery of existing interventions to maximize impact on populations in need
• developing new interventions/strategies

The priorities were categorised by five technical pillars (OCV, WASH, Surveillance, Case Management, and Community Engagement as a cross-cutting theme) and reviewed by the GTFCC Technical Working Groups for each pillar. The outputs provided in the Research Agenda are:

• Top 20 research priorities for the Cholera Roadmap
• Top 5 research priorities for each technical pillar (OCV, WASH, Surveillance, Case Management)
• Top 20 research priorities for respondents from cholera-endemic countries

The full list of priorities can be found in the GTFCC Research Agenda.

In 2024, the GTFCC conducted a scoping review to assess progress of the research agenda priorities. As a follow-up to this work, the GTFCC would now like to review the research agenda priorities and launch an updated research agenda for 2026-2030.

The GTFCC Country Support Platform

In 2019, cholera-affected countries called for additional technical support from the GTFCC in the development and implementation of their multisectoral National Cholera Plans for control or elimination (NCPs). In response to countries' needs, the GTFCC established a Country Support Platform (CSP) that supports efforts primarily at the national level to control and eliminate cholera. The CSP was launched in 2020 and it is hosted by the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC).

The CSP is supporting cholera-affected countries by working towards the following outcomes:

• Cholera-affected countries have an NCP and a multisectoral coordination mechanism to align government, national actors, GTFCC partners and key stakeholders towards a shared strategy.
• The cholera-affected countries have mobilized resources toward the funding needs identified in their NCPs.
• The cholera-affected countries receive multisectoral technical support and capacity building for the formulation and the implementation of their NCPs.

Job Purpose

The consultant will work within the CSP team and should consider how to capture inputs from countries as part of the research agenda update.

Job Duties And Responsibilities

The consultant/s will work closely with the GTFCC Senior Research Officer to:

• Extract research priorities that are sufficiently addressed using the 2024 scoping review, to be removed from the research agenda
• Identify research priorities from cholera-affected countries through their National Cholera Plans
• Consult GTFCC working groups to identify research areas of interest for each of the GTFCC technical pillars
• Support a consultation with academic and public health experts on areas not currently captured by the research agenda or GTFCC working groups (e.g., those generating and using research on climate and cholera)
• Facilitate the refinement of research agenda priorities in coordination with the GTFCC research advisory group
• Manage a survey for stakeholders to provide feedback on the drafted research agenda
• Prepare a report summarising the finalised research agenda for 2026-2030
• Support the dissemination of the research agenda via the GTFCC research meeting in March 2026

Alignment to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) objectives and strategy

Strategic Priority 3: Growing gaps in health and well-being

IFRC's Strategy 2030: The IFRC supports National Societies to work with vulnerable communities to achieve better health and reduced vulnerabilities as well as to improve water and sanitation conditions in chronic and acute contexts during emergencies.

The IFRC was appointed in 2020 to be the operational arm of the GTFCC for the CSP project. This positions the IFRC and the network at the heart of global and regional partnerships for inter-agency coordination for eventual cholera elimination.

Global Flagship Initiatives: Reduce cholera-related deaths by 50%. Cholera continues to threaten the lives of millions of people and yet with the provision of safe water and sanitation so many lives can be saved. The IFRC's Global Water and Sanitation Initiative (including OneWASH) will be expanded to ensure equitable, sustainable and affordable access to water and sanitation to reduce cholera-related deaths by 50% by 2025.

Job Duties And Responsibilities (continued)

Suggested Timeline

9th May: Contract initiated and onboarding completed

May: Methodology agreed and brief inception report completed

June: NCPs reviewed and research priorities identified

July: Research priorities from GTFCC working groups established

August: FGDs completed on specific research topics

September: Materials prepared for GTFCC Research Advisory Group review

October: Full day workshop with Research Advisory Group to refine priorities

November: Draft research agenda developed for inputs via global survey

December: Survey responses to be reviewed with Research Advisory group

January: Final amendments made to Research Agenda 2026-2030 Report

February: Dissemination materials finalised

March: Research Agenda is launched at GTFCC Research Meeting

Deliverables

Output 1: Methodology and inception report for research agenda update process agreed in collaboration with the GTFCC Research Advisory Committee

Output 2: A summary of research priorities identified from National Cholera Plans, where available

Output 3: Materials for focus group discussions including information for participants and note taking for: GTFCC working groups; specific research topics

Output 4: GTFCC updated research agenda draft to be used in a survey for inputs from a wider range of stakeholders

Output 5: Final report of GTFCC Research Agenda 2026 - 2030

Output 6: Materials to support dissemination including a manuscript, PowerPoint presentation, and stakeholder mapping of research donors to be invited to the GTFCC Research meeting in 2026

Support to be provided to the consultant

The GTFCC Senior Research Officer will work closely with the consultant to support the delivery of expected outcomes. The GTFCC Research Advisory group will support the development of the methodology and provide ongoing technical assistance to guide the project, including the refinement of research priorities and the structure of the research agenda. This will be provided remotely, or in-person if the consultant is based in London or Geneva.

The consultant will be provided with access to: materials developed as part of the scoping review work in 2024 (unpublished), NCPs and research agendas from cholera-affected countries, the GTFCC cholera research tracker; IFRC and WHO archives, documentation used for the development of the Global Research Agenda; introductions to cholera research stakeholders, as required.

Education

Required

• Relevant university degree in Biomedical Science, Public Health or similar fields.
• Advanced Research degree in relevant subject area.

Experience

Required

• Published research in the field of cholera or infectious diseases, in peer-reviewed or grey literature.
• Experience of research uptake and/or policy implementation of research findings.

Preferred

• Experience in operational research for public health or infectious disease interventions.
• Research consultancy experience and/or evidence of leading research studies on public health topics.

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

Required

• Fluency in English.
• Thematic background in cholera, infectious diseases, WASH, or other relevant area.
• Strong scientific writing and editing skills.
• Skilled in preparing and delivering presentations.

Preferred

• Fluency in French.
• Ability to review and critically assess scientific literature from a range of fields.

Competencies, Values and Comments

Application Instructions

• Please submit your application in English only.
• Please include the following in your application:
• Cover letter
• CV
• Proposed workplan
• Budget breakdown per deliverable in CHF (Swiss Francs).