Job Vacancies at Sightsavers

About the role 

Globally, after many years of effective treatment of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), there is the potential to stop mass drug administration (MDA) for Lymphatic Filaraisis (LF) and onchocerciasis (OV). To stop MDA, Disease Specific Assessment (DSA) must be conducted in line with World Health Organization guidelines. In Nigeria, supported by Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation (BMGF), Sightsavers is supporting critical efforts to assess eligibility in hundreds of local government authorities (LGAs) to stop MDA – meaning millions of people will no longer require annual treatment. This necessitates a coordination effort; internally, between the various surveys Sightsavers will support the FMoH to deliver, and externally, with the other OV and LF surveys BMGF will support other partners to deliver. The role will lead this project, working closely with Sightsavers Nigeria country office and other stakeholders, as well as supporting DSAs in other countries to progress the elimination and control of NTDs.

As the Survey Manager you will enhance elimination and control agendas for OV/LF, Schistosomiasis (SCH) and Soil-transmitted Helminths (STH) by; 

• Coordinating the survey delivery process, with specific accountability for the management of the BMGF project that provides direct assistance to the Nigerian FMoH in undertaking OV and LF DSAs;  

• Coordinating Sightsavers technical and logistical assistance of both government and partners to deliver high quality and timely DSAs;  

• Strengthening the use of survey data, including timely data flow to ESPEN (Expanded Special Project to Eliminate NTDs) and WHO  

The principal accountabilities of this role include; 

• Conduct and co-chair, alongside FMoH, regular monitoring calls with COs, partners, and government officials to ensure delivery of at least 90% of DSAs are completed, safely, on time, within budget, according to agreed standards and in so doing provide quality assurance to all stakeholders;  

• Work with Sightsavers technical advisors and NTD Risk Finance and Performance, FMoH and partners to develop budget formats as required, and review and approve DSA budgets;  

• Develop and maintain a survey forecast that aligns with the FMoH annual survey plan, project specific outputs and outcomes, and is reflected in both the Sightsavers Financial Management Forecast (FMF) and Procurement Supply Chain (PSC) forecast;   

• Support FMoH, Nigeria Survey Coordinator and other partners to submit timely requests to WHO for the donation of LF diagnostics and positive controls, and monitor expiry dates of donated items, coordinating among all partners to ensure shortest dated stock is used first  

• Contribute to improved understanding of DSA unit cost;   

• Chair internal Sightsavers Survey Sitrep calls.  

• Coordinate timely, quality assured delivery of appropriate technical advice and assistance 

• Raise both awareness and understanding of ESPEN Collect;  

• Working with the ESPEN Collect team, FMoH, COs and partners to:  

• Complete annual bulk registration of DSAs with ESPEN Collect;  

• Finalise lists of communities/schools;  

• Validate/Approve the final forms; and,  

• Schedule training.  

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About the role

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) are supporting the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) in Nigeria to address the increasing number of LGAs (Local Government Areas) that are eligible for community-based impact and surveillance surveys. This will aid Mass Administration of Medicine (MAM) stopping decisions for Onchocerciasis (OV) and Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), reducing both the geographic area and number of people that would require Mectizan (Ivermectin).  

As the Survey Coordinator you will work with the FMoH NTD Coordinator, Sightsavers Nigeria country office, the NTD Survey Manager and ESPEN (Expanded Special Project to Eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases). You will ensure that recipients of BMGF funding conduct high-quality prevalence surveys and that beneficiaries have a positive end to end experience. This includes internal coordination and strategy, logistics, communication, support to users of survey platforms and ongoing project deliverables.  

The Survey Coordinators other key duties and accountabilities include: 

• Support standardisation of survey protocols and training materials i.e., develop a core package of training materials and technical protocol templates used to support the survey planning process and enhance quality and reproducibility of surveys supported by BMGF, including standard operating procedures (SOPs) for survey teams and MoH (Ministry of Health), and PowerPoint training materials for both training of trainers and survey teams. 
• Ensure that core survey support packages make use of existing WHO materials, align with minimum internal and World Health Organisation (WHO) quality standards, support robust monitoring and reporting systems including use of ESPEN Collect, and that lessons learned are actioned in a programmatically relevant period. 
• Monitor quality of surveys during implementation and correct usage of the core survey support package, working closely with the broader oncho and LF technical teams with in the FMoH, ESPEN, and Sightsavers. 
• Support the development of a standard reporting and presentation format for onchocerciasis survey and MDA coverage data to be reported to the NOEC, aligning with CHIP and ESPEN dashboards. 
• Ensure timely evidence-based reports and updates delivered to senior technical advisors for onchocerciasis and LF at the FMoH, ESPEN, and Sightsavers. 
• Work closely with FMoH and other implementation partners and academic institutions to ensure the technical and operational aspects of the core onchocerciasis and LF survey support package are appropriate, relevant, and aligned to specific settings. 
• Provide support to the onchocerciasis and LF survey teams to update and maintain accurate records in the project survey tracker. 
• Attend and actively participate in meetings where project deliverables are discussed, including Sightsavers Operations calls, Integrated Survey Unit (ISU) calls, Oncho and LF coordination calls, and the Research Knowledge and Dissemination calls. 
• Escalate issues to senior technical advisor for onchocerciasis and LF at the FMoH, ESPEN, and Sightsavers. 
• Choose the timing and method to directly disseminate technical advice on onchocerciasis and LF surveys to relevant staff and partners. 

This is a highly varied and involved role and the above is not an exhaustive list of duties or required professional skills. Please see the Job Description for full details. 

About you 

As the successful candidate you will have extensive experience and/or qualifications in transmission, control, or prevention of onchocerciasis and/or LF. You will also have experience in implementing onchocerciasis and/or LF surveys, designing and delivering training to survey personnel, or similar, and knowledge of the biology and control of onchocerciasis and LF in Africa. 

Further jobholder Requirements 

• A successful record of accomplishment of working in different contexts;  
• Experience designing surveys and collecting data on Simulium damnosum, onchocerciasis epidemiology and LF in Africa;  
• Experience in field data collection;  
• Experience with Public Health NTD Projects; 
• Experience or qualification in Public Health, NTDs, Infectious Diseases, or Social Sciences;  
• Ability to think strategically and effectively translate technical concepts into action plans and SOPs;  
• Demonstrably skilled in both written and verbal communication in English;  
• Excellent analytical and IT (Information Technology) skills;   
• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity for all.