Associate Director, Laboratory Services at FHI 360

Location:                    Country Office Abuja

Supervisor:                Director of Prevention, Care & Treatment

Basic Function:

The Associate Director of Laboratory Services will provide leadership in implementing high quality laboratory services for FHI Nigeria, including building laboratory capacity at health facility sites to combat HIV, TB, malaria and other infectious diseases.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Provide technical leadership and technical support related to the laboratory services and management component of HIV/AIDS care and treatment for the Nigeria bilateral project.
• Coordinate the design, planning and implementation of the laboratory component of HIV/AIDS care and treatment, including ART, in collaboration with state and community level project clinical staff, laboratory specialists and state and local agencies in Nigeria.
• Provide technical assistance in capacity building for laboratory services at health facilities and other settings as appropriate.
• Carry out quality control functions/ activities, in collaboration with the zonal team, of the labs, including quality control inspections schedules and the collection of quality control records; ensure the availability of high quality documentation.
• Develop quality control and quality assurance systems in collaboration with existing personnel and systems and ensures related documentation, training and monitoring.
• Review and monitor QA and QC activities of the Laboratory in order to determine conformance with established policies, national regulations, and accreditation requirements.
• Develop guidelines, tools and recommendations related to the implementation, monitoring and quality assurance of laboratory services for TB care and treatment, malaria care and treatment and opportunistic infections (OI) in collaboration with technical staff within FHI and at national, state and local agencies in Nigeria.
• Develop lessons learned from activities related to laboratory services and management for HIV/AIDS care and treatment and apply these lessons to improve both existing programs and the design of new programs.
• Remain informed on new findings in the field of laboratory technology that  relate to HIV/AIDS, OI, malaria care and treatment by reviewing current literature, and draws implications from research for program activities.
• Develops concept papers and research papers to improve and or extend existing laboratory activities.
• Support the Director in managing the FHI Laboratory Services Department, defining strategies, goals, objectives and working plan, and monitoring their implementation.
• Supervise and mentor FHI lab staff both at CO, zones and state offices to improve and maintain high standards of performance in all their local laboratory activities.
• Play a key role in facilitating and maintaining complex collaborative lab programs with international partners.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills & Attributes:

• Knowledge of health and development programs in developing countries in general and Nigeria specifically.
• Excellent working knowledge of laboratory equipment and techniques for the following categories of assays: HIV rapid and confirmatory testing, hematology, biochemistry, CD4/CD8, HIV viral load, HIV DNA qualitative test, HIV viral resistance (genotype and phenotype).
• Good working knowledge of laboratory equipment and techniques for the microscopic identification and culturing of different TB species, and drug resistance tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
• Experience in the management of laboratory services, particularly health facility-based services, including quality assurance systems, laboratory analysis, and interpretation and reporting techniques based on best practices, quality management practices and safe work practices.
• Knowledge of laboratory service and management issues related to the clinical management of HIV/AIDS, including ART.
• Knowledge of laboratory service and management issues related to  mycobacterium  Drug resistance Tuberculosis (MDR-TB)
• Knowledge of laboratory service and management issues related to  Opportunistic infection (OI) and malaria
• Knowledge of District Health Information System (DHIS) and Lafiya Management Information System (LAMIS) is required.
• Ability to work well with others and develop and maintain compatibility among project staff, project collaborators, subcontractors and consultants.
• Outstanding organizational skills and the ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines.
• Must be able to work independently, and as part of a management team
• Sensitivity to cultural differences and understanding of the social, political and ethical issues surrounding HIV infections.
• Ability to represent FHI/Nigeria to donors, government officials and the NGO community.
• High degree of proficiency in written and spoken English communication, including presentation and training skills.
• Proven ability in supervising staff.
• Well-developed computer skills.
• Ability to travel within Nigeria 25% time.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Masters degree in laboratory sciences, biological science or related degree with 7 to 9 years relevant experience.
• or doctorate degree in laboratory sciences, biological science or related degree with 5 to 7 years relevant experience.
• A minimum of 5 years experience in laboratory setting of which 3 must be on a HIV laboratory management donor funded program.
• Certification / license to practice as a medical laboratory scientist is required.
• Experience in a clinical laboratory setting and working in a donor funded program is required.
• Proven experience in project development, planning and facilitating technical training. 
• Familiarity with Nigerian public sector health system and NGOs and CBOs is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with USAID and PEPFAR programs is as advantage.