Technical Advisor, Digital Health (SORMAS) at GIZ Nigeria

Responsibilities & tasks:

Responsibilities

• The Technical Advisor supports the implementation of RPPP activities related to digital surveillance and pandemic preparedness, with a focus on strengthening the implementation of Surveillance Outbreak
• Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS) in Nigeria and across West Africa.
• The Advisor is responsible for: Providing technical leadership and coordination for SORMAS and other digital-health related activities in Nigeria and the Gambia, in close collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Gambia Ministry of Health (MOH), RCSDC, SORMAS Foundation and other relevant partners.
• Overseeing project management and coordination of technical assistance, consultancies, and implementation grants to national and regional partners.
• Supporting the national/regional digital health governance and sustainability agenda, including SORMAS institutionalization, interoperability with DHIS2, and alignment with national digital health strategies.
• Advising partners on digital health implementation, policy, and system strengthening, ensuring alignment with One Health and pandemic preparedness objectives.
• Facilitating South–South cooperation and knowledge exchange through the SORMAS Community of Practice (CoP) and other regional mechanisms.
• Supporting monitoring, learning, and communication for RPPP’s digital health outputs, including documentation of
• good practices, technical lessons, and regional coordination outcomes.

Tasks

Management and Coordination

• Coordinate the planning, implementation, and follow-up of SORMAS and other digital health related activities in Nigeria and at the ECOWAS level.
• Liaise closely with NCDC, Gambia MOH, RCSDC, and GHS counterparts to harmonize priorities, ensure technical coherence, and align with the broader RPPP interventions.
• Oversee and manage the technical and financial aspects of cooperation with implementing partners, consultants, and service providers (e.g., SORMAS Foundation, software developers, event firms).
• Support the design and execution of training programmes, workshops, and peer-learning events on digital surveillance, system maintenance, and data management.
• Ensure that all technical and administrative processes comply with GIZ’s quality assurance, documentation, and reporting standards.

Communication and Networking

• Maintain strong working relationships with government institutions, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and
• Prevention (NCDC), development partners, and other GIZ projects supporting digital health.
• Represent RPPP in relevant national and regional digital health fora, technical working groups, and coordination platforms.
• Promote structured information sharing and knowledge management through documentation, newsletters, and the SORMAS Community of Practice.
• Support communication and visibility activities highlighting RPPP’s contributions to regional digital health strengthening.

Professional Advisory Services

• Provide high-level technical advice to government and regional institutions on the implementation, governance, and sustainability of digital surveillance systems.
• Contributes to the development of strategic and operational documents such as digital health roadmaps, sustainability frameworks, and capacity-building plans.
• Develop and review Terms of Reference (ToRs), supervise consultancies, and assess deliverables to ensure quality and technical relevance.
• Provide inputs to regional SORMAS strategy, interoperability frameworks, and One Health data integration initiatives.
• Contribute to RPPP3’s Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) framework, including data collection, indicator tracking, and results reporting for Output 4 (Digital Health).

Other Duties / Additional Tasks

• Support cross-component collaboration within RPPP (e.g., One Health, coordination, logistics, communication).
• Perform other duties assigned by the supervisor, particularly those that contribute to the overall achievement of RPPP objectives in West Africa.

Required qualifications, competences and Experience

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Health Informatics, Digital Health, Public
• Health, Epidemiology, Health Policy or a related field with demonstrated experience and expertise in digital transformation.

Professional Experience:

• At least 8 –10 years of progressive experience in digital health, public health informatics, or eHealth project implementation.
• Proven experience advising national or regional bodies on digital health policy, governance, and system implementation.
• Strong understanding of digital global goods, open-source systems, and interoperability frameworks (e.g., DHIS2, OpenMRS, FHIR).
• Demonstrated experience in strategy development, system sustainability planning, and capacity-building for digital health teams.
• Experience with SORMAS is a strong advantage.
• Prior experience working with NCDC, WAHO, RCSDC or similar regional cooperation contexts an added advantage.
• Experience in pandemic preparedness, IHR core capacities, and One Health approaches will be an asset.
• Other knowledge and competencies
• Excellent analytical, coordination, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong communication and facilitation abilities across multicultural and interdisciplinary teams.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools and familiarity with project management software.
• Professional proficiency in English. French an added advantage.
• Willingness to travel regularly within Nigeria and ECOWAS Member States.
• Willingness to upskill as required by the tasks to be performed – corresponding measures are agreed with management.