Surveillance and Epidemiology Lead at the Institute of Human Virology (IHVN)

The Institute of Human Virology (IHVN) is a leading and reputable non-governmental organization addressing infectious and non-infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and cancer through the provision of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, capacity building, research, care, and support services. IHVN is in partnership with local and international organizations and the different tiers of the government of Nigeria at the national, state, and local levels. The Institute’s vision is to be a leader in providing quality health services, capacity building, and research in West Africa and beyond.

We are recruiting qualified candidates to fill the position below:

Job Title: Surveillance and Epidemiology Lead

Location: Abuja
Work Time: Monday - Friday (Flexibility, willing to travel and work weekends)
Reports To: Project Director SECURE-Nigeria & Principal Investigator SECURE-Nigeria
Department: Finance & Administration Department

Details

• Through funding from US-CDC, IHVN is implementing the Strengthening Global Health Security Agenda in Nigeria Project SECURE-Nigeria. This project provides technical support to Government of Nigeria agencies including NCDC and NPHCDA to strengthen surveillance activities as part of IHR 2005.
• Under this cooperative agreement through various component funding, SECURE –Nigeria is implementing several surveillance project including:
  • Establishing Sentinel surveillance for Acute Febrile illness
  • Strengthening surveillance systems for adverse event monitoring following COVID-19 vaccines rollout
  • SARS-CoV 2 Serological Surveillance using remnant samples
  • Strengthening routine IDSR reporting and data management
  • Capacity building for Epidemiology and Data analysis
  • Infection prevention and Control Practices etc. other IHR related support.

Position Overview
The incumbent will provide technical leadership and lead in the following activities within SECURE Nigeria:

• Acute Febrile illness (AFI) sentinel surveillance
• Adverse event following immunization (AEFI) surveillance
• Development of priority disease strategic plan for NCDC
• Surveillance data quality management system at NCDC
• Assessment of the capacity for e Laboratory IDSR and Logistic management system at the national public health institute.vi) Hand Hygiene program implementation. The surveillance and Epidemiology lead will work closely with other members of the team, NCDC and NPHCDA to achieve project deliverables.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical and operational leadership as needed to implement surveillance for Acute febrile illness (AFI), Adverse event following immunization (AEFI) surveillance and other surveillance activities within the SECURE-Nigeria project
• Develop close working relationships with NCDC and priority disease technical working groups (TWG) to support outbreak response activities
• Develop protocol and provide technical leadership in the evaluation of public health functions and process as required
• Support disease technical working group
• Develop and implement strategies to strengthen surveillance operations of the GoN
• Facilitate the management, development and monitoring of work plans and budgets; ensures appropriate levels of technical assistance for interventions
• Supervise technical, operational, and managerial aspects of SECURE-Nigeria project as a senior member of the team
• Assist the project director to ensure effective management, and accountability of the SECURE-Nigeria project, through providing technical leadership to diverse teams to deliver on project’s deliverables and mandate
• Provide technical support to the team in the areas of infectious disease and event surveillance, infection prevention and control and epidemiological research
• Coordinate the development of strategies, SOPs, standards, and guidelines for public health surveillance

Minimum Requirements
Essentials:

• Advanced Clinical Degree (MD, MBBS, BMChB, BPh, DM, RN or equivalent Degree) with at least 7 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.

Application Closing Date
16th December, 2022.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send a detailed Resume and a one-page Cover Letter as one MS Word document explaining suitability for the position to the "Deputy Director, Human Resources" via: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the mail.

Note

• Candidates are advised to provide three professional referees with email addresses and phone numbers.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.