Senior Technical Officer, Laboratory Services at Family Health International

Job Requisition ID: 2022202217
Supervisor: STA, Laboratory Services

Basic Function

• Provide technical expertise and assistance in implementing high quality laboratory services within the care and treatment project in Nigeria, including laboratory capacity development at project health facility sites.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Give technical support and develop quality policies, quality tools, SOPs and recommendations related to the implementation, monitoring and quality assurance of laboratory services for HIV/AIDS, opportunistic (OI) and malaria care and treatment in collaboration with technical staff within FHI and at national, state and local agencies in Nigeria.
• Provide technical assistance in capacity building for laboratory services at health facilities and other settings as appropriate.
• Develop concept papers and research papers to improve and or extend existing laboratory activities.
• Carry out quality control functions/activities, in collaboration with the zonal and state teams, of the labs, including quality control inspections schedules and the collection of quality control records; ensure the availability of quality records documents.
• Review and monitor QA and QC activities of the Laboratory in order to determine conformance with established policies, national regulations, or accreditation requirements.
• Provide technical leadership and technical support related to high technology (TB culture, PCR) laboratory services.
• 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 drawing implications from research for program activities.
• Coordinate Proficiency testing (PT) activities and ensure PT is being done for each specialty; explore other ways of testing evaluation in the absence of PT
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Requirements

• B.Sc in Laboratory Sciences or related field with 7-9 years post national youth service experience and a minimum of 5 years experience in provision of laboratory support for HIV/AIDS.
• Or Master's Degree in Laboratory sciences or related field with 5-7 years post national youth service experience and a minimum of 5 years experience in provision of laboratory support for HIV/AIDS.
• 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 advanced laboratory procedures, diagnosis and management related to HIV/AIDS care and treatment is required with some experience in an international development organization preferred.
• Certification of license to practice as a medical laboratory scientist is required.
• Expertise in hematology, TB and blood safety issues will be an added advantage.

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).
• Excellent working knowledge of laboratory equipment and techniques for the identification and culturing of different TB species,  and drug resistance tuberculosis ( MDR-TB).
• Thorough knowledge of QA, QC and proficiency testing concepts; the ability to apply these concepts to resolve complex conditions in laboratory and administrative settings.
• 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  Opportunistic infection (OI) and malaria.
• Knowledge of District Health Information System (DHIS) and Lafiya Management Information System (LAMIS) is required.
• Laboratory management and training experience and ability to understand full range of issues around the laboratory management of HIV/AIDS, including provision of counseling and testing services.
• Sensitivity to cultural differences and understanding of the social, political and ethical issues surrounding HIV infection.
• Ability to work well with others and to develop and maintain compatibility among project staff, subcontractors, consultants and recipients of assistance.
• Ability to manage tight deadlines and deliver high volumes of work with minimal supervision.
• High degree of proficiency in written and spoken English communication.
• Well-developed computer skills.
• Ability to travel within Nigeria 25% time.