Senior Program Officer, Global Health Security (Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) Surveillance Project) at Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria

Location: NCDC, Abuja
Scheduled Work Time: Monday - Friday (Flexibility, willing to travel and work weekends)
Project: Strengthening Global Health Security in Nigeria (SECURE-NIGERIA)
Reports To: Project Director SECURE-Nigeria & Principal Investigator SECURE-Nigeria
Operational Contacts: NCDC, State Public Health Department, US-CDC Atlanta, US-CDC Nigeria team and other stakeholders within the states

Project Overview

• The SECURE- NIGERIA cross cutting disease surveillance network consists of three separate parts which will include three surveillance activities;
  • Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) surveillance
  • Serologic Surveillance using Viral load (VL) remnant specimens from People Living with HIV (PLHIV)
  • Serologic surveillance using stored Antenatal Care (ANC) stored dried blood spots (DBS). The Acute Febrile illness (AFI) project is a hospital-based prospective active surveillance project to be implemented in six tertiary facilities in Nigeria across six states including FCT.
• The results of this project will provide data to support more reliable estimates of the burden of disease, and updated evidence-based algorithms for the management of febrile illness; generate valuable surveillance data, which will inform programmatic planning for effective prevention and control of infectious diseases.

Position Overview

• S/he will serve as the Project Manager for the cross cutting disease sentinel surveillance project.
• This position is responsible for the management of SECURE-Nigeria’s newly established project on crosscutting communicable disease sentinel surveillance network.
• This includes Acute Febrile illness (AFI) sentinel surveillance and serology surveillance.
• The Project Manager will work closely with the NCDC surveillance team and provide leadership and strategic direction for this project, its coordination and use of diagnostic test to better identify the cause of fever and epidemic-causing pathogens from remnant viral load and ANC samples.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical and operational support, training, as needed to implement sentinel surveillance for AFI and serological surveillance using remnant viral load and ANC samples.
• Support the capacity of NCDC to implement sentinel surveillance for epidemic prone diseases.
• Develop close working relationships with Acute Febrile illness & serologic surveillance investigators and key opinion leaders in the field.
• Support data analysis from ongoing sentinel data
• Play a leadership role in the scientific team as the AFI and serologic surveillance expert, and a key coordination role amongst NCDC and IHVN team.
• Support AFI sentinel surveillance and serologic surveillance across all six sentinel sites
• Ensure that activities and diagnostics conducted are of the highest quality, in accordance with global norms for diagnostic tests.
• Manage and supervise sentinel surveillance project staff.
• Manage a team of scientists and project managers in each sentinel site to execute established programme goals.
• Report to the stakeholders on progress of individual projects and budgets on a regular basis and present interim reviews for stakeholders review.
• Prepare reports and presentations to the CDC.

Requirements
Essential:

• Advanced Clinical Degree (MD, MBBS, BMChB, BPh, DM, RN or equivalent Degree) with at least five years’ experience in disease surveillance.
• An advanced degree in epidemiology, public health or related background is needed.
• A thorough understanding of IDSR guideline and relevant infectious disease epidemiology and public health issues.
• Strong scientific background with a track record of published studies.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Strong project management skills;

Desirable:

• Proficiency in the use of data analytical software.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.