AMR Surveillance Adviser (Technical and Data) at British High Commission

Main purpose of job:

The post holder will support the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) International Health Regulations (IHR) Strengthening Project in Nigeria. The IHR Strengthening Project (IHR-SP) aims to improve global health security through increasing compliance with the IHR in selected countries and regions in Africa and Asia, taking an all-hazards approach. 

Antimicrobial resistance is a national and global health security priority. Effective AMR surveillance requires coordinated action across human health, animal health and the environment, reliable sentinel-site and laboratory reporting, quality-assured data systems and sustained partner engagement. This post holds the full AMR surveillance workstream, combining technical leadership with hands-on data and digital systems responsibilities.

The AMR Surveillance Adviser (Technical and Data) will lead AMR surveillance strengthening activities under the UKHSA IHR Strengthening Project, combining the technical coordination and governance functions of surveillance adviser with data management, analytics and digital systems. The post-holder will work with the NCDC, national AMR coordination structures, ministries, laboratories, One Health partners and subnational teams to strengthen AMR governance, sentinel-site performance, laboratory–surveillance linkages, data quality and data use. They will also support the development of the AMR data systems, dashboards and analytical outputs that translate surveillance data into public health evidence.

This post offers an excellent opportunity to gain experience of working in a fast paced and innovative environment and is an ideal chance for someone looking to advance their career in Public Health project monitoring and evaluation. The ideal candidate must have a flexible approach to meet the needs of the service, be able to work to tight deadlines and manage multiple workstreams and priorities at the same time. This post will be based in Abuja with some travel to other areas of Nigeria if relevant. Occasional international travel (e.g. to other countries in the sub region, or to the UK) may be required.

Key Working Relationships

Within the Project

• Country Lead, UKHSA IHR Strengthening Project
• National Technical Lead, AMR
• Surveillance and Epidemiology Technical Advisers
• Laboratory and Quality Management Advisers
• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer
• Project support Officers

External Partners

• NCDC surveillance, laboratory, data and emergency operations teams
• National AMR Coordination Committee and AMR Secretariat
• Federal Ministry of Health departments responsible for surveillance, laboratory services, health information systems, IPC and stewardship
• National reference laboratories and AMR sentinel laboratory networks
• Subnational health ministries and sentinel surveillance sites
• Animal health, environmental health and food safety stakeholders under the One Health framework
• Development partners: WHO, Africa CDC, US CDC, RTSL, MSH etc.

Roles and responsibilities:

AMR Surveillance Leadership and System Strengthening

• Lead implementation of AMR surveillance activities under the agreed UKHSA IHR-SP workplan, including supporting the review and development of protocols, guidelines, indicators, reporting templates and SOPs.
• Provide technical support to the NCDC to strengthen AMR surveillance governance, sentinel-site reporting and laboratory–surveillance linkages at national and subnational levels.
• Identify priority gaps in AMR surveillance systems and support practical, partner-owned improvement plans aligned to the National Action Plan on AMR and IHR requirements.
• Promote alignment between AMR surveillance, IDSR, laboratory surveillance, antimicrobial stewardship, IPC and One Health surveillance frameworks.

Sentinel-Site Expansion, Mentoring and Supportive Supervision

• Support mapping, prioritisation and phased expansion of AMR sentinel surveillance sites, including onboarding, protocol implementation and reporting workflow establishment.
• Conduct supportive supervision and mentoring visits alongside NCDC to sentinel sites, working with laboratories and surveillance teams to improve data completeness, timeliness and quality.
• Support routine site performance reviews, corrective action planning and sustainability arrangements for sentinel-site surveillance beyond year one.

Data Management, Analytics and Digital Systems

• Support the strengthening of routine data collection, cleaning, validation and analysis of AMR surveillance datasets. 
• Support implementation, optimisation and day-to-day use of AMR surveillance software including AMRISS, WHONET, SORMAS, DHIS2 and LIMS, and develop SOPs, user guides and data flow documentation.
• Support Athe development of dashboards, charts, maps and summary briefs using Excel, Power BI, R or other approved tools to support AMR technical working groups and decision-makers.
• Support interoperability between national AMR data systems and WHO GLASS reporting requirements and prepare AMR data outputs for national and global reporting.

Data Quality and Laboratory–Surveillance Linkages

• Provide technical guidance on data quality and validation approaches for AMR surveillance data, building NcDC capacity to independently apply these. 
• Promote standardised data elements, antimicrobial susceptibility testing outputs and reporting formats, and support alignment between laboratory information systems and surveillance reporting.
• Support the facilitation of technical dialogue between national reference laboratories and sentinel sites to strengthen data flow, verification and feedback mechanisms.

Governance, Coordination and One Health Collaboration

• Provide technical support to AMR surveillance technical working groups, partner meetings and One Health coordination platforms.
• Maintain effective working relationships with government ministries, laboratories, subnational teams, development partners and implementing partners.
• Promote practical One Health approaches to AMR surveillance across human, animal and environmental health sectors, including joint data review and coordinated response planning.

Capacity Building, M&E and Programme Delivery

• Assess training needs with NCDC and facilitate the development of training materials, workshops, mentoring visits and peer-learning sessions for surveillance, laboratory and data staff.
• Track workplan implementation progress and contribute to quarterly reports, annual reports that provides evidence for multi-year AMR surveillance strengthening roadmap.
• Document achievements, risks, lessons learned and recommendations and carry out other duties as reasonably required by the line manager.

The above is an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. You will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be expected by UKHSA. These responsibilities may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organization 

Essential qualifications, skills and experience  

• Master's degree qualification or equivalent experience
• Postgraduate qualification in Public Health, Epidemiology, Microbiology, Health Informatics, Data Science or a closely related discipline.
• Significant experience in public health surveillance, AMR surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory-based surveillance or health security programme delivery.
• Strong knowledge of AMR surveillance principles: sentinel surveillance, priority pathogens, antimicrobial susceptibility testing data, reporting pathways, data quality and data use.
• Demonstrable experience working with health information systems, surveillance software or laboratory data platforms.
• Experience designing or implementing surveillance protocols, guidelines, SOPs, indicators or reporting tools.
• Experience supporting training, mentoring, supportive supervision or institutional capacity-building activities.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills on complex matters, often requiring persuasion and influence.
• Proficiency in at least one data analysis or dashboard tool such as Excel, Power BI, R, Python, Stata or DHIS2 analytics.
• Strong programme coordination and stakeholder engagement skills, and excellent written and verbal communication.
• Commitment to professional ethics, data protection and respectful partnership working.
• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships. 

Desirable qualifications, skills and experience  

• Experience in laboratory quality management, external quality assessment or data quality assurance processes.
• Experience with WHONET, AMRISS, SORMAS, DHIS2, LIMS or WHO GLASS reporting workflows.
• Experience supporting antimicrobial stewardship, IPC or One Health surveillance programmes.
• Knowledge of IHR (2005), national AMR action plans or IDSR frameworks.
• Field Epidemiology Training Programme qualification or equivalent applied epidemiology experience.
• Experience preparing technical briefs, surveillance bulletins, manuscripts or policy documents.