WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REGIONAL OFFICE FOR AFRICA
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTE BUREAU REGIONAL DE L’AFRIQUE
ORGANIZAÇÃO MUNDIAL DE SAÚDE ESCRITÓRIO REGIONAL AFRICANO
REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR AFRICA Fifty-third session Johannesburg, South Africa, 1–5 September 2003 Provisional agenda item 10
AFR/RC53/15 29 July 2003 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
QUALIFICATIONS AND SELECTION OF THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR Executive Summary 1. One responsibility of the fifty-fourth session of the Regional Committee for Africa, which will meet in 2004, will be to nominate a candidate for the post of Regional Director. The fortyeighth session of the Regional Committee in 1998 decided by resolution AFR/RC48/R7 to establish for the first time a regional search committee to assist the Regional Committee in the nomination process at its forty-ninth session. 2. Resolution AFR/RC48/R7 adopted qualifications and criteria for selection and appointment of the Regional Director applicable to that nomination, which included having an understanding and commitment to the WHO mission; leadership and managerial abilities; professional technical qualifications; cultural, social and political sensitivity; and medical fitness. 3. The Regional Committee is requested to consider whether or not it wishes to form a search committee for the upcoming nomination of Regional Director at the fifty-fourth session next year. If so, it could use the same criteria for selection and appointment, as well as the same terms of reference, as were adopted in AFR/RC48/R7. The search committee would operate under the existing Rules of Procedure of the Regional Committee, especially Rule 52. If it decides to establish a search committee, the Regional Committee is also requested to determine its size and composition as there are cost implications in this nomination process. 4. The Regional Committee is requested to decide whether it wishes to establish a search committee to evaluate candidates for nomination to the post of WHO Regional Director for Africa. A possible draft resolution for the consideration of the Regional Committee appears as Annex 2 to the present report.
CONTENTS Paragraphs Background ............................................................................................................................1–4 Criteria for nomination .............................................................................................................5 Terms of reference of the Search Committee ........................................................................6–7 Membership of the Search Committee ..................................................................................8–9 Cost implications ...............................................................................................................10–11 ANNEXES Page 1. 2. Criteria for the nomination of Regional Director ..............................................................3 Draft Resolution: Formation of a Regional Search Committee for the selection of Regional Director ..........................................................................................................5
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Background 1. The Regional Committee will need to nominate a candidate for the post of Regional Director at its fifty-fourth session in 2004; the nominated candidate will then be submitted to the Executive Board for appointment. To that end, the Regional Committee is invited to consider whether it wishes to establish a Regional Search Committee for the purpose of encouraging the submission of suitable candidates and evaluating the candidatures received. 2. It should be noted that a special group of the Executive Board, set up in 1996 to review the Constitution and regional arrangements of the World Health Organization, proposed inter alia that the criteria established for the selection and appointment of the Regional Director for Europe be considered for application in all regions. The possible use of search committees has also been considered in previous reviews of regional arrangements by the Board, for example in 1994– 1995. 3. The practice among WHO regions concerning the establishment of search committees or groups has not been uniform. The Regional Committee for Europe has established search groups for each nomination of a regional director since its fortieth session in 1990. The Rules of Procedure of the Regional Committee were amended, most recently in 2001, to make search committees a regular feature of the procedure for the nomination of the Regional Director. The Regional Committee for Africa established a search committee for the first time at its fortyeighth session in 1998, by resolution AFR/RC48/R7. The other regional committees have not established search committees to date. Beyond the regional context, it should be noted that the International Agency for Research on Cancer has established search committees on two occasions. 4. If the Regional Committee wishes to consider establishing a search committee at the present session, it may wish to take into account the various issues set out below: Criteria for nomination 5. Criteria to be met by the candidate nominated for the post of Regional Director were adopted by the Regional Committee in resolution AFR/RC48/R7. The Regional Committee may wish to request the Search Committee to use the same criteria for the purpose of its work. These criteria are reproduced in Annex 1 to this document. Terms of reference of the Search Committee 6. The aforementioned resolution AFR/RC48/R7 also sets forth the terms of reference of the Search Committee, as follows: (a) (b) (c) (d) to encourage Member States to propose suitable candidates; to interview all candidates, evaluate their written statements and their other expressed views and intentions in relation to the requirements of the post; to consider any views on the candidates expressed by the Director-General when the candidatures are transmitted to the Search Committee; and to evaluate the candidates in their entirety and report thereon to the Member States.
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7. Should the Regional Committee decide to establish a search committee, it may wish to confirm the foregoing terms of reference. The Search Committee, moreover, will need to operate within the existing Rules of Procedure of the Regional Committee, in particular Rule 52. Membership of the Search Committee 8. The formula used by the Regional Committee in resolution AFR/RC48/R7 included a combination of ex officio members holding specific offices (in either the Regional Committee or in the Technical Discussions) and other members designated by selected Member States. In this respect, some difficulties were experienced with the previous Search Committee in obtaining the designations of specific individuals from Member States in time for the meeting of the Search Committee. In the case of the European regional search group, there are no ex officio members, nor are members designated by selected Member States. Rather, the search group is composed entirely of specified individuals drawn from delegations to the Regional Committee session in which the search group is established. 9. Should the Regional Committee decide to establish a search committee, it may also wish to consider establishing a committee of a size large enough to allow an appropriate geographical balance within the Region but not so large as to become too costly. The previous Search Committee was composed of seven members with seven alternates. It may be most appropriate to endeavour to arrive at the membership through a process of comprehensive consultations during the fifty-third session of the Regional Committee. Cost implications 10. By way of information, the cost of the previous Search Committee for the African Region, which had a total of seven members and held only one meeting, amounted to US$58 000. Thus, as indicated in the previous paragraph, the size of the Committee and the number of times it meets will be decisive factors so far as cost is concerned. Because of the issue of cost and the difficulties in travel in the Region, the previous Search Committee conducted limited initial business by correspondence and then only met once to interview and evaluate the candidates immediately after the deadline for submission of candidatures. 11. The Regional Committee may wish to pass a resolution establishing a regional search committee that shall operate within the existing Rules of Procedure, encourage the submission of suitable candidatures, evaluate the candidatures received and provide other specified assistance to the Regional Committee in the consideration of the nomination of Regional Director at the Regional Committee’s fifty-fourth session.
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Annex 1 CRITERIA FOR THE NOMINATION OF REGIONAL DIRECTOR Qualifications The following constitute the set of criteria that should be met by the candidate nominated to the post of Regional Director. Good understanding of and commitment to the WHO mission The candidate must show a clear understanding of WHO mission, roles, functions, policies and strategies. There must be demonstrated evidence of the candidate’s personal involvement or a plan to further that commitment. Proven leadership qualities The candidate must be visionary, dynamic and results-oriented. It is very important that the candidate possess the ability to communicate both orally and in writing, in a clear, effective and inspiring way to varying target groups, including the mass media, political leaders, other leaders in the public health field, health personnel, a wide range of academic and professional groups within and outside the health sector as well as WHO staff. He or she should have personal integrity and a great capacity to withstand pressures from both official and private sources on issues that could jeopardize the Organization’s interests. Proven managerial ability The candidate should be able to manage a complex organization in the health field. This requires a highly analytical mind and the ability to set clear goals and objectives, design appropriate programmes for the optimal use of the Organization's overall resources, and develop an appropriate process for the monitoring and evaluation of the work of the Organization in the Region. It is important that the candidate have skills both in fostering teamwork with appropriate delegation of responsibility and in creating a conducive work environment for staff at regional and country office levels. Given the need to interact with and actively support the efforts of headquarters and other regions within the context of the oneness of the Organization, the candidate's ability to work effectively with leaders, at both national and international levels, in the health and related sectors is an important requirement. Professional and technical qualifications The candidate should be professionally qualified in the health field and have a sound knowledge of public health, including its epidemiological basis.
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Annex 1 Sensitivity to cultural, social, political and other differences The candidate should have a broad knowledge of and be sensitive to the varying cultural, social, political and linguistic differences of the Region. For this reason, he or she should, among other things, be fluent in at least one of the three working languages of the Region and have a working knowledge of at least one of the other languages. Reasonable working experience in the Region, particularly in the work of WHO, would be an asset. Medical fitness The candidate should be sufficiently healthy to carry out the duties of the post.
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Annex 2 DRAFT RESOLUTION FORMATION OF A REGIONAL SEARCH COMMITTEE FOR THE SELECTION OF REGIONAL DIRECTOR (document AFR/RC53/15) The Regional Committee, Bearing in mind that the fifty-fourth session of the Regional Committee will nominate a Regional Director for the period 1 February 2005 to 31 January 2010; Considering that transparency and equity should be the watchwords for the evaluation of candidates, using established criteria; Considering also the desirability of ensuring that the competition should be fair and open in order to select the most suitable candidate; Recalling resolution AFR/RC48/R7 by which the Regional Committee at its forty-eighth session established a search group in connection with the nomination at its forty-ninth session of a Regional Director; 1. CONFIRMS the continued applicability of the criteria adopted by resolution AFR/RC48/R7, and annexed to this resolution, as the criteria that should be met by the candidate nominated for the post of Regional Director; 2. DECIDES: (a) to establish a Regional Search Committee that shall operate within the existing Rules of Procedure, to assist the Regional Committee for Africa in the consideration of the nomination of Regional Director at its fifty-fourth session; that the terms of reference of the Search Committee shall be: (i) to encourage Member States to propose suitable candidates; (ii) to interview all candidates, evaluate their written statements and any other views and intentions which they express in relation to the requirements of the post; (iii) to consider any views on the candidates expressed by the Director-General when the candidatures are transmitted to the Search Committee; and (iv) to evaluate the candidates in their entirety and report thereon to the Member States;
(b)
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Annex 2 (c) that the Search Committee shall be composed of the following seven members and their respective alternates: Members individual / country …………………….(Chairman) Alternates individual / country ………………………(Alternate Chairman) ……………………… ……………………… ……………………… ……………………… ……………………… ………………………
……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. …………………….
(d) that a member or alternate shall cease to serve on the Search Committee if a candidate presented served together with the member or the alternate on a country delegation to the fifty-third session of the Regional Committee, and that alternates shall automatically replace members when the latter are unable to complete their term for any reason; (e) that the Search Committee shall meet not less than eight weeks before the date set for the opening of the Regional Committee at which the Regional Director is to be nominated, to interview and evaluate the candidates; and (f) that the Chairman of the Search Committee shall send, under confidential cover, to each Member State of the Region, through the Director-General, the Search Committee’s evaluation report on all candidates; 3. REQUESTS the Director-General to send copies of: (a) all communications concerning the nomination of the Regional Director to the Member States pursuant to the Rules of Procedure of the Regional Committee; and (b) all proposals and accompanying curriculum vitae received from Member States by the deadline for submission of candidatures; to the Search Committee not less than ten weeks before the date fixed for the opening of the fifty-fourth session of the Regional Committee, and to transmit the report of the Search Committee to each Member State of the Region when received from the Chairman of the Search Committee.