Epidemiologist at Medecins Sans Frontieres

Main Purpose

• Assessing, implementing, and maintaining epidemiological surveillance systems/monitoring according to MSF protocols, standards, and procedures, to contribute to evidence-based decision-making, using well-managed health data in the outbreak and emergency MSF programs.

Job Description

Main responsibilities include, but are not limited to:  

• Carrying out key epidemiological activities in outbreak investigation (description including time, place, and people with emphasis on mapping when it is needed) and advising on the operational response.
• Implementing and maintaining a surveillance system to monitor epidemiological trends of relevant outbreak-prone diseases.
• Guiding activities of medical staff for surveillance and/or active case finding, including ensuring the use of consistent case definitions and data recording (briefing of all new staff)
• Guide and support the implementation of initial assessment (for the emergency situation), rapid health assessment (baseline or follow-up) and surveys with support from both medical coordination and HQ epidemiologist.  
• Preparing and adapting routine documentation (survey forms, training materials, letters of request/notification, locally appropriate consent forms etc.) with support of HQ epidemiologist.
• Preparing an appropriate sampling frame and sample selection guidelines with support of HQ epidemiologist
• Planning and supervising the associated HR processes of the staff under his/her responsibility (recruitment, training/induction, evaluation, potential detection, development, and communication) and ensuring that staff exhibits required skills after training and pilot test.
• Managing data systems and ensuring accurate, high-quality databases (dhis2; line lists; alert management tool) analyzing results and preparing regular written reports on progress and findings (weekly epidemiological report; sitreps; capitalization reports…) for medical coordinator/HQ and when appropriate to external collaborators/networks (MoH, other NGOs, etc.)
• Providing training sessions to medical teams on relevant aspects of epidemiology to enhance team response capacity (ensure all the EPREP staff at project level have the basics to carry out investigation and surveillance)
• Collaborate with federal and state ministry of health through respective counterparts to mutualize efforts in surveillance, outbreak response and coordination (active participation in the EOC and technical working groups)
• Provide a weekly epidemiological report with clear and concise analysis about the epidemiological situation at country level with emphasis on potential outbreak.  
• Detect and analyse potential alerts received from different states and trigger an investigation when relevant with support from medical coordination.
• Participate actively in the implementation of the mission EPREP strategy and lead the projects team in the kick-off of the intervention (training on case definition; implementing a line list; coordinate the sampling in collaboration with the state; follow up the active case search…)  
• Brief all the medical managers and data entry supervisors about the new tools to be implemented for better monitoring and surveillance (new line lists, diphteria, measles, meningitis)
• Provide technical support to the medical coordination and field in data analysis using the existing data management systems (Praxis; dhis2; dashboard…)
• Be ready and committed to be deployed wherever there is need in accordance to the operational response and strategy
• For the sake of the emergency response, the mission epidemiologist is expected to spend 60% of his time on the field and 40% in coordination.

Requirements

Education:

• Essential: Medical Doctor (preferable), Nurse, or Biomedical background with a degree in Epidemiology. MBBS/ B.N. Sc/ BSc Biomedical Science
• Desirable: Master’s Degree with extensive training in Statistics  
• Mandatory: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Epidemiology or Public Health.

Experience:

• Previous experience as an epidemiologist with MoH is a plus.
• At least a few years of tropical medicine experience (having assumed a coordination position is a plus)
• Experience in field epidemiology.

Languages:

• Essential: Fluency in spoken and written English
• Desirable: Local language in work area.

Competencies:

• Results and Quality Orientation L2
• Teamwork and Cooperation L2
• Behavioural Flexibility L2
• Commitment to MSF Principles L2  
• Stress Management L3.

Knowledge:

• Use of epidemiology related analytical software (Excel, Epi-info, STATA or SPSS).

Remuneration

• According to MSF salary scale (Level 8) plus 13th month allowance equivalent to 1 month of gross salary.