Technical Officer – Knowledge Management, Data and Research At Amref Health Africa

PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN AMREF AND AFRICA CDC

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), a specialized technical institution of the African Union (AU), has partnered with Amref Health Africa in pursuit of its vision, mission and strategic objectives. The ultimate objective of this partnership is to redefine Africa’s health security strategy in order to improve the public health systems on the African continent and in the global community by extension. This collaboration seeks to achieve but is not limited to the following:

1. Develop and strengthen the Africa health systems.
2. Enhance and strengthen African response capacity to public health emergencies.
3. Strengthen regional integrated surveillance and laboratory networks (RISLNET) in Africa.
4. Facilitate programmatic and scientific collaboration benefiting Member States.
5. Facilitate enhancement and strengthening of the programmatic and technical capacities via deployment of human resources.
6. Facilitate and enhance private sector engagement in the African health sector and other partnerships concerning workforce development, emergency response and public health networks.

This partnership has an ambition to strengthen Africa CDC capacity to improve public health systems across Africa, to enhance the continent’s readiness to respond to disease threats, including the on-going response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be achieved through scaling up the capacity of the five Africa CDC Regional Coordination Centres (RCCs) to support the continent to respond to health emergencies at the point of need, amplifying the capabilities and reach of the HQ team across all strategic pillars.

JOB PURPOSE

Under direct supervision of the Head of Division, Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR), the Technical Officer – Knowledge Management, Data and Research will be responsible for carrying out a variety of technical and programs management support services in the area of risk assessment and risk ranking, researches, public health evaluations and early warning systems.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Collaborate with EPR work stream leads in the dissemination of baselines, monitoring and evaluation information and learning.
• Develop operational guidelines (SOPs/TORs) for conducting After Action Reviews/Intra-Action Review to assess and improve the emergency response in the African Continent.
• Conduct and coordinate After Action Reviews (AARs) activities post epidemics and Intra Action Review (IAR) during protracted public health emergencies.
• Coordinating operational research across work streams for process improvement.
• Develop operations research proposals and guidelines for implementation in collaboration with division work streams.
• Provide technical guidance to member states on scientific writing, big data collection and documentation.
• Facilitate dissemination of research results at regional and international conferences in collaboration with member states.
• Work closely with NPHIs and Research Division to compile Africa CDC EPR research priorities.
• Conduct regular event monitoring and risk assessment and emergency grading and provide technical recommendations.
• Provide technical guidance on risk assessment, risk ranking and event grading processes and activities to member states.
• Facilitate establishment of early warning systems and indicators for event detection in collaboration with Preparedness and Response work streams.
• Develop guidelines and SOPs on risk ranking and event grading in collaboration with Division for Surveillance and Disease Intelligence.
• Archive and maintain database of public health events on the African continent.
• Support Member States to conduct operational studies during disease outbreak and other Public Health Emergencies.
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by Supervisor.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Academic Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Public Health or a related field from an accredited academic institution with at least two (2) years of relevant professional experience in research, public health, emergency preparedness and response and global health security.

Or

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Health or a related field from an accredited academic institution with at least five (5) years of relevant professional experience in research, public health, emergency preparedness and response and global health security.

Required Professional Work Experience

• Minimum of two (2) to five (5) years of experience (based on academic qualifications) in supporting implementation of public health related activities and programmes
• Experience working with an international organization is a valuable asset
• Previous experience working in Africa that reflects an in-depth knowledge of public health issues and public health workforce in general
• Demonstrable experience and knowledge of operations of the Africa CDC and Regional Coordination Centres
• Understanding of the African Union’s way of working and managing associated relationships with Member States and partners is a valuable asset
• Experience with engaging and interacting with senior-level officials and other key stakeholders in both public and private-sector organizations

Personal Skills

• Strong analytical capacities
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team and personal qualities of integrity and credibility
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with exceptional attention to details
• Ability to work under pressure, stay on track and meet deadlines
• Analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Proven ability to produce precise and intelligible reports and office briefs in line with the requirements of the African Union
• Able to operate in a multicultural environment
• High level of autonomy at work, yet with profound team-spirit
• Adaptive, patient, resourceful, resilient and flexible
• Pro-active and solutions oriented
• Knowledge of results-based management

Language Requirement

• Proficiency in one of the African Union working languages (Arabic, English, French, Swahili, Spanish and Portuguese) is required.
• Knowledge of one or several other working languages would be an added advantage.

REMUNERATION

For internationally recruited staff, the indicative basic salary is US$ 35,044.83 (P2 Step 5) per annum plus other related entitlements, including post adjustment (46% of basic salary), a housing allowance of US$ 22,932.00 (per annum) and gratuity (15% of gross salary).

For locally recruited staff, the indicative basic salary is US$ 35,044.83 (P2 Step 5) per annum plus other related entitlements, including post adjustment (46% of basic salary), a housing allowance of US$ 6,879.60 (per annum) and pension (15% of gross salary).