Senior Program Specialist (Surveillance) at US Embassy

Duties

The incumbent coordinates and manages assigned survey and disease surveillance activities in country. These include the design of routine disease surveillance systems with the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the conduct of large, complex surveys designed to measure HIV prevalence and other indicators of importance to evaluating the impact of HIV control programs. Partners to which the incumbent will provide technical or managerial oversight include the MOH, national universities, International NGOs and private sector partners. Job holder provides technical expertise and assistance to the Ministry of Health (MOH) and other participating partners in the design, implementation and strengthening of routine disease surveillance systems and the conduct of large, complex surveys designed to measure HIV prevalence and other indicators of importance to evaluating the impact of HIV control programs. The incumbent is a key member of the PEPFAR Strategic Information (SI) Technical Working Group (TWG) that ensures that surveillance systems are meeting the needs of the national HIV/AIDS Program in Nigeria and that PEPFAR Nigeria program priorities are developed, and also serves as a member of other Multi-sectored Technical Groups. Job holder works in cooperation with GoN staff at all levels of government to apply case-reporting procedures, sentinel surveillance, and population-based surveillance methodologies to ensure that PEPFAR’s program’s objectives are met.

Qualifications and Evaluations

Requirements:

EXPERIENCE: Five (5) years of public health experience in the management and development of epidemiological surveillance and /or large-scale surveys of HIV/AIDS or other disease programs are required. Additional one (1) year of experience at the managerial level is required.

Please address this factor in your ERA application under Major Duties and Responsibilities.

JOB KNOWLEDGE: 

Incumbent is required to have vast knowledge of research methods and the collection, analysis and presentation of public health/epidemiologic data in order to plan, design, direct the implementation of and strengthen procedures for collection, analysis and dissemination of HIV/AIDS epidemiological data. This includes advanced knowledge of the principles, theories and practices of USG and internationally recognized standards for surveillance and survey regulations and procedures.

Detailed knowledge of the host government health care system and structures including familiarity with Ministry of Health policies, program priorities and regulations is required. Incumbent must have detailed knowledge of the structure and function of endemic and international NGOs providing HIV prevention and basic palliative care, as well as understanding of the work and current projects of other collaborating and donor agencies as to how overall HIV/AIDS surveillance of the programs is being conducted and how data is being analyzed. Good working knowledge of team management techniques to plan, organize and direct multi-disciplinary project teams and activities is required.

Good working knowledge of overall administrative requirements in development and support of grants, contracts, memoranda of understanding and cooperative agreements is required.

Education Requirements:

• Medical Degree (MBBS/MBBCh) or Terminal Degree in Public Health, Medicine, Epidemiology or Demography is required.

Note: NYSC Certificate or Exemption document is required.