Workforce Capacity Officer At FHI 360

Workforce Capacity Officer, CDC: Enhancing Global Health Security: Strengthening Global Public Health Surveillance Systems and Preparedness Globally.

REPORTS TO: FHI 360 Project Lead

LOCATION: US based. Consideration will also be given to suitable candidates residing in one of the country offices

About FHI 360:

FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions. Our staff includes experts in health, education, nutrition, environment, economic development, civil society, gender, youth, research, and technology — creating a unique mix of capabilities to address today’s interrelated development challenges. FHI 360 serves more than 70 countries and all U.S. states and territories. We are currently seeking qualified candidates for the position of Workforce Capacity Officer for an anticipated Global Health Security (GHS) opportunity for multiple countries.

Job Summary / Responsibilities:

The Workforce Capacity Officer (WCO) will drive the overall strategic approach in workforce development in countries to ensure technical excellence and impact for infectious disease surveillance systems strengthening at global and country levels for an anticipated Global Health Security (GHS) opportunity for multiple countries that has the following key objectives:

1) strengthening public health surveillance systems;

2) improving the public health surveillance workforce;

3) improving the interface between public health disease surveillance and laboratory systems;

4) reinforcing emergency surveillance preparedness;

5) enhancing electronic disease surveillance platforms and systems; and

6) enhancing the use of surveillance data for public health action by supporting global health security partners to develop or continue the implementation of surveillance activities.

The WCO will work closely with the Principal Investigator, Project Director, regional directors in Africa, Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean regions, other members of the project leadership team, project partner technical team leads, the project business official, and other project staff to develop the overall project strategy for capacity building. S/he will develop/adapt tools to assess human resource (HR) capacity for surveillance and use of data from various sources to determine training needs and implementation strategy. S/he will also look at how the capacity within the surveillance system impact the workforce needs and make recommendations for capacity strengthening activities accordingly. The WCO will develop/update training curricula, materials and conduct training for key public health workforce including epidemiologists, laboratorians, surveillance, and informatics personnel. The WCO will liaise closely with key stakeholders to guide capacity building policies. As the WCO will support the program globally, s/he will look for opportunities for cross program sharing to enhance learning. S/he will represent the project at technical meetings, conferences, and other convenings and provide technical expertise on capacity building for surveillance systems strengthening to the project and stakeholders. The WCO will report to the PI for the project based at PATH.

Key responsibilities include:

• Provide technical leadership in design, development, implementation, and planning of capacity building activities for surveillance strengthening.
• Develop/adapt existing tools which can used to assess HR capacity for surveillance.
• Identify and deploy methodologies to enhance HR capacity for surveillance, based on findings from assessments.
• Collaborate with global and multilateral stakeholders involved in surveillance capacity strengthening efforts at global and country levels.
• Build staff, partner, and implementing staff capacity for surveillance by sharing new knowledge, evidence, and best practices with the project team, the MOHs and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with the MEL Team to develop systems to monitor implementation of capacity building against established standards and track the effect of capacity building initiatives at global and country level
• Responsible for accomplishing assigned job responsibilities, and following the standards and practices of the donor and the project.
• Maintains a constructive dialogue and technical exchange with project leadership, the donor, field counterparts, government staff, and technical staff of implementing partners.
• Develops and maintains collaborative relationships with donor/client organizations, relevant government agencies, bilateral and other agencies working on GHS activities.
• Ensures that workforce capacity building activities align with international and country-specific standards and are technically sound.
• Advise and support governments for the institutional strengthening of epidemiologic surveillance to provide timely and accurate information on diseases with epidemic potential.
• Contribute to the preparation and management of the work plans, budgets, reports, and periodic evaluation of the project.
• Organizes and develops training and learning procedure manuals, guides, course materials and visual materials for learning needs.
• Ensures appropriate and timely technical support to field programs.
• Manages learning communities; synthesize cap building lessons learned, accomplishments, and challenges, and contributing to required and ad hoc reports
• Ensures the quality of implemented capacity building activities and systems at all levels.
• Other duties as assigned.

Core competencies/required skills:

• A minimum of a Master’s degree or its international equivalent in public health, medicine, social sciences, epidemiology, or related field, with a focus on infectious disease detection and surveillance.
• Minimum 8 + Years of relevant experience in management of and technical direction to projects and/or programs in capacity strengthening.
• Broad understanding of global policies and guidelines that guide infectious disease surveillance and reporting including outbreak investigation.
• Proven professional experience working with a range of partners including host country governments, donors, civil society, and the private sector, developing and maintaining effective partnerships and diplomatically influencing policy and project decisions with government and donor officials.
• Previous experience working on CDC funded projects
• Strong organizational skills, high level of attention to detail, demonstrated leadership experience and strategic planning.
• Fluency in English. Ability to work in French will be an asset.

Employment is contingent on the award of funding.

• This job posting summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.

FHI 360 is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer whereby we do not engage in practices that discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.
FHI 360 fosters the strength and health of its workforce through a competitive benefits package, professional development and policies and programs that support a healthy work/life balance. Join our global workforce to make a positive difference for others — and yourself.