AVoHC Rapid Responder - Epidemiologist at African Union(AU)

Purpose of Job

• The Africa CDC seeks to recruit a national and citizen of any Member State of the African Union to be a roster member of the African Volunteers Health Corps.
• This is not recruitment for employment but volunteer service for Africa CDC.
• The potential AVoHC Volunteers candidates are those who have experience in Public Health Management, social and behavioural science, epidemiology, communication, Infection Prevention and Control, laboratory, mental health, etc., from Africa Union Member States.
• The potential applicants are encouraged to be fully employed and willing to volunteer for the skills and competencies any time requested by Africa CDC. 

Main Functions:

• In the context of the Africa CDC Public Health Emergencies Incident Management System (IMS), at the different levels, the epidemiologist shall provide technical support to the subnational/national/regional/continental incident management teams, the Ministry of Health (MOH) in strengthening surveillance and response for priority diseases, conditions and events.
• S/he will also support to monitor the implementation and operations of surveillance and response programs with special focus on early detection, verification and rapid response to epidemics and other public health events of international concern, as well as capacity building of national experts, in compliance with IHR (2005).

Specific Responsibilities
During deployment the Epidemiologist shall perform the following major duties and responsibilities:

Response:

• Provide support on the response activities for the country of deployment for case detection, early warning and response, descriptive and analytical epidemiology, and any other epidemiological support duties, where required, such as contact tracing, monitoring and evaluation, or others
• Lead and/or contribute to the technical and analytical aspects of epidemiological outbreak responses, including (i) setting up or contribute to enhanced surveillance, (ii) analyse data, (iii) develop and/or implement data collection tools, (iv) produce reports 
• Support quality assurance and training activities to strengthen critical capacities in the deployed country in the context of the healthcare system in collaboration with partners (e.g. Ministry of Health, WHO, NGOs) as appropriate.
• Support management of outbreak priorities and activities in line with MS outbreak response plan.
• Support response in affected countries to reduce the impact of the outbreak, including scoping the need for further support and research.

Data Management and Analysis:

• Contribute to the development, strengthening and application of data management and health information tools
• Provide strong data management and analytical support, and apply adequate tools
• When required, conduct complex statistical analyses of surveillance data, interpret results, and make appropriate recommendations

Teaching and Training:

• Teach colleagues and stakeholders on surveillance and epidemiology and support ongoing training activities within the MS of deployment and partners.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience
Essential:

• Master’s Degree or First University Degree (Bachelor’s Degree) in Epidemiology, Statistics, Database Management, Public Health or other related technical disciplines from an accredited/recognized institute. 

Desirable:

• An advanced University Degree (Ph.D) in Epidemiology, Statistics, Database Management, Public Health or other related technical disciplines from an accredited/recognized institute will be an added advantage. 
• Candidates with advanced level of field epidemiology training program are highly encouraged to apply

Knowledge and experience:

• At least 2 years of experience for those with a Master’s Degree and 5 years’ experience for those with a Bachelor’s Degree in a similar role.
• Knowledge of health protection in acute emergencies, including knowledge of surveillance and response mechanisms and tools.
• Knowledge of public health information in emergency settings, including surveillance, data capture, data management, data analysis and epidemiological outputs.
• Experience of research in a relevant field, with at least one peer reviewed publication.
• Experience of statistical analyses and advanced analytical epidemiology.
• Experience of teaching and training
• Experience working with an international organization is a valuable asset. 
• Previous experience working in Africa that reflects an in-depth knowledge of infection prevention and control 

Required Skills:
Functional Skills:

• Demonstrable technical expertise and experience in supporting and/or managing complex, public health programmes with special emphasis on infection prevention and control
• Skills in programme monitoring and evaluation is an asset.
• Demonstrable skills to conceptualize, plan, develop, implement, and evaluate resource management support requirements. 
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills and a proven ability to deliver under tight deadlines and works well under pressure. 
• Excellent skills and abilities applied to translating technical information into presentations, briefings and report for both technical and lay audiences 
• Knowledge of oral communication techniques and skill in presentation delivery, programme consultation and credible verbal response to inquiries. 
• Knowledge of interpersonal relationship practices and skills to meet and deal with persons of diverse backgrounds. 
• Demonstrable proficiency in MS Word, MS Excel, Power Point, data visualization and statistical packages as well as data analysis skills are mandatory. 

Personal Abilities:

• Ability to work under pressure, stay on track and meet deadlines 
• Analytical and problem-solving abilities 
• Proven ability to produce precise and intelligible reports and office briefs in line with the requirements of the Africa CDC. 
• Able to operate in a multicultural environment 
• High level of autonomy at work, yet with profound team-spirit 
• Adaptive, patient, resourceful, resilient and flexible 
• Pro-active and solutions oriented 
• Knowledge of results-based management 

Tenure Of Appointment:

• The AVoHC Team Members will be deployed on on-call basis, based on the incident.
• The Africa CDC will determine the duration of deployment in consultation with member state authorities. 

Gender Mainstreaming:

• The AU Commission is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Languages:

• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, and Spanish) is mandatory and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage

Remuneration

• This is call for AVoHC membership. Successful applicants are not entitled to any monetary incentives during membership.  However, during assignment, deployed experts will have rights to the following:
  • Economic class round-trip ticks and other travel related expenses
  • Health insurance during the deployment period
  • Stipend, communications, Incidentals and Risk allowance
  • Accommodation allowance in case of deployment outside of the city of residence
  • Certificate of recognition of your contribution at the end of deployment