Only complete applications will be considered.

Santé publique France serves the health of everyone, at every stage of life, throughout the country, and seeks to ensure that its governing bodies, through their composition and the experience of their members, are capable of addressing all of these situations.

Applications will be selected by a jury convened by the Agency, based on the information provided in the cover letter, the candidates’ alignment with the sought-after skills, and an analysis of conflicts of interest. The jury will ensure that the essential skills required for the Scientific Council to fully carry out its missions are represented within its ranks, and that gender parity and diversity are taken into account during the selection of candidates.

Declarations of interest will be reviewed by Santé publique France’s Internal Ethics Committee.

Candidates will be informed of the outcome of the review of their application via email from the Scientific Council secretariat following approval of the Scientific Council’s composition by the Board of Directors (during the fourth quarter of 2020).

Members will be appointed for a four-year term.

Click HERE to learn more about Santé publique France’s missions

The Scientific Council is tasked with the ^following:

1. Provide advice on Santé publique France’s research, expertise, and study priorities, as well as on its scientific partnership and programming policies

2. Assist Santé publique France’s management in developing procedures for calls for proposals

3. Validate and oversee the evaluation process for Santé publique France’s scientific activities, and issue recommendations to management based on the results obtained

4. Provide advice on the need to establish expert committees

It assists Santé publique France in its mission to contribute to the development and implementation of national and European public health policies. It may, on its own initiative, formulate observations and recommendations on any scientific or technical issue falling within the institution’s scope of competence. These are forwarded to the Director General and the Chair of the Board of Directors.

It prepares an annual report on the scientific and technical aspects of Santé publique France’s activities. This report is submitted to the Board of Directors and the Directorate General of Health.

The Scientific Council is called upon to issue opinions and recommendations on (non-exhaustive list):

• The objectives and performance agreement and its implementation;

• The annual work program and strategic directions;

• The various programs implemented in the areas of health emergency alert, preparedness, and response; surveillance; prevention; and health promotion, including communication;

• The terms of interaction between Santé publique France and research partners;

• The expert review process implemented by Santé publique France;

• Lessons learned by Santé publique France from external evaluations and audits where scientific quality and priorities are concerned;

• The various strategies of Santé publique France whenever a scientific component must be taken into account;

• Any topic it deems relevant, particularly regarding emerging issues (scientific, health-related, societal).

The Scientific Council may also, at the request of the General Directorate or the Board of Directors, conduct reviews of Santé publique France’s directorates or programs.

The Scientific Council consists of twenty-seven members^³, including its chair, at least four of whom currently work or have worked abroad or within European or international organizations. The agency aims to significantly expand the international scope of its Scientific Council.
Members are appointed upon the recommendation of the Director General for a four-year term, renewable, by decision of the Chair of the Board of Directors, following approval by the Board of Directors of the list of members. They are selected from among scientific experts in the Agency’s areas of competence and recruited following a call for applications, after review of their professional background and conflicts of interest, in accordance with the provisions of Article L. 1451-1.

The role of a member of the Scientific Council is incompatible with membership in any other body of the Agency and with any contractual relationship with it.

The Chair of the Scientific Council is appointed from among its members by order of the Minister of Health, following the Scientific Council’s recommendation.

In the event of a vacancy, for any reason whatsoever, a new member shall be appointed under the same conditions for the remainder of the term of the person they are replacing.

The Scientific Council may call upon the assistance of any qualified person.

The aim is to recruit individuals whose expertise and experience will enable the Scientific Council to conduct a collective and comprehensive analysis of Santé publique France’s scientific policy, to examine how the agency carries out all of its missions based on the best available scientific evidence, and to analyze its various programs in greater detail.

The Agency’s multi-year program (2018–2022) currently comprises 28 programs and is structured around five key areas:

• health determinants,

• populations,

• diseases,

• intervention and territories,

• infrastructure.

The work program will evolve significantly in 2021 to reflect Santé publique France’s priorities: climate change, social and territorial inequalities, digital development, economic and social evaluation of interventions to improve population health, and preparedness for responding to health threats.

Given our missions, members of the Scientific Council are expected to possess:

• proven and recognized scientific expertise;

• the ability to grasp the scientific strategy of a public health agency dedicated to a population-based approach, as well as the scientific and operational challenges of the programs it develops in the fields of surveillance, early warning, prevention, health promotion, and preparedness and response to health crises;

• excellent knowledge and understanding of the challenges and key players at the national, regional, and international levels in the fields of protecting and improving the health of populations, and strengthening public health systems and services.

Candidates’ experience (work and publications) in the following areas is particularly sought after:

• the generation of knowledge and evidence regarding public health interventions and their application in prevention and health promotion to improve population health;

• the generation, analysis, and use of public health indicators, particularly regarding the assessment of the public health burden of diseases and health determinants;

• the generation of knowledge to document the impacts of climate change on population health and to implement public policies and interventions aimed at reducing these impacts;

• generating knowledge to document the impact of social and territorial inequalities on health and to evaluate public policies and interventions aimed at reducing this impact;

• application of digital technologies in public health;

• designing, implementing, or evaluating surveillance, early warning, and monitoring systems;

• supporting the response to health crises, including planning and evaluating the government’s response;

• design and implementation of public policies and interventions aimed at improving the health status of populations, including social marketing interventions;

• economic and social evaluation of public health investments and interventions;

• advocacy and the implementation of public health policies among the population;

• understanding of issues related to institutional capacity building in public health, particularly with a focus on field-level actions and decision support;

• translation and application of knowledge and evidence to support public decision-making;

• development and implementation of a scientific policy for a public health expert organization.

Operating Procedures

The Scientific Council is convened by its chair, or at the request of the Director General, or at the reasoned request of at least one-third of its members, or at the request of the Board of Directors. It meets in plenary session at least three times a year, either in person or via web conference.

Agendas are prepared jointly by the Chair of the Scientific Council, the Deputy Scientific Director to the Executive Director, and the Secretariat of the Scientific Council.

The minutes of Scientific Council meetings and the annual activity report are prepared by the Scientific Council Secretariat prior to approval by the Scientific Council.

The Scientific Council’s opinions and recommendations are drafted by the Scientific Council, without the involvement of the Scientific Council Secretariat. The same applies when conducting program or strategic direction reviews, or for evaluation reports requested by Santé publique France.

Working Language

The working language of the Scientific Council will be adapted to the composition of the Scientific Council (French and/or English).

Workload for members

To ensure optimal performance, the Scientific Council typically meets three times a year (two two-day meetings and one one-day meeting) in person. Ad hoc meetings via web conference are organized as needed.

The Scientific Council establishes working groups to carry out specific activities (program evaluation, review of the work program, etc.).

Role and Additional Responsibilities of the Chair of the Scientific Council

The Chair of the Scientific Council is a member of the Board of Directors of Santé publique France, in an advisory capacity. The Board of Directors meets three times a year.

The Chair presents the annual activity report to the Board of Directors. The Chair may be invited to meetings of the Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee or the Committee for Policy and Dialogue with Society to ensure a link with these bodies.

He is an ex officio member of the ANSES Scientific Council and may appoint a representative to it.

His workload is estimated at 10 to 12 days per year.

Travel and subsistence expenses are reimbursed in accordance with the terms and conditions applicable to civilian government employees.

Compensation for loss of income in the case of self-employed individuals, as well as compensation for time spent attending meetings and for work performed, will be provided in accordance with the schedule established by the Board of Directors of Santé publique France.