Position Title:  Technical Officer – Surveillance & Public Health Preparedness (1 position)  

Reports to: Technical Advisor – Surveillance & Public Health Preparedness

Employment Type: Full-time

Job Location: Dar es Salaam

Travel: Up to 40% in intervention districts outside of job location

Overall Job Function:

The Technical Officer – Surveillance & Public Health Preparedness is a member of the central technical team responsible for providing technical guidance on surveillance and surveys supported under the project. Under the supervision of the Technical Advisor – Surveillance & Public Health Preparedness, s/he provides technical assistance to regional staff ensuring effective implementation of interventions related to HIV recency surveillance and public health preparedness including COVID-19 risk mitigation in both community and facility settings. Recognizing that a comprehensive approach to infectious diseases is paramount, s/he assists teams to ensure that HIV services robust and able to withstand public health emergencies or other health security risks. 

Specific Responsibilities and Duties:

• Provide guidance, implementation, and monitoring to ensure that designed surveillance and survey activities achieve programmatic, financial and administrative goals, and that project resources are utilized in line with applicable ICAP and donor policies and procedures.
• Participate in applying risk assessment principles to program planning, implementation and goals, particularly in the context of HIV services in community and facility settings in the intervention areas
• Support development of protocols, SOPs, and training materials for surveillance and survey initiatives.
• Support stakeholder engagement required to plan and rollout survey and surveillance activities and foster collaboration with partner institutions
• Support capacity building, training, and mentoring of staff and service providers to ensure all HIV-related interventions in community and facility settings are implemented in a safe manner which mitigates risks from COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies or health security risks.
• Support development of SOPs and job aids to align intervention activities with COVID-19 risk mitigation guidance and infection prevention and control (IPC) measures.
• Participate in design and monitoring and evaluation needed to ensure that all interventions are adhering to IPC standards and able to withstand public health emergencies or other health security risks.
• Support timely implementation of all major program activities relevant to the technical areas according to the objectives and deliverables. This includes conducting relevant site visits, supporting regional team activities, and developing reports on program progress and achievements.
• Support regional teams to develop work plans and strategies relevant to the technical areas in both community and facility settings to achieve 100% of the annual targets and other related indicators relevant to the portfolio and closely monitor the implementation of work plans.
• Ensure compliance with national and international standards and best practices for program implementation and that all programs are implemented in accordance with national guidelines and policy, protocol/SOPs, good clinical practice, and ethical/regulatory requirements.
• Contribute to the development of monthly, quarterly and annual reports and slidedecks to the donor and various stakeholders
• Conduct frequent supervision and monitoring visits to program sites and regions
• Collaborate with SI team to translate data outcomes into program improvement strategies, and to provide data analysis support to frequently monitor the effectiveness of interventions.
• Perform any other tasks assigned by the supervisor

Qualifications, Knowledge, and Skills:

• Required Education: Medically trained personnel (MD, MBBS or equivalent) with background in public health or Masters’ degree or higher in public health or related field.
• Required Technical Experience: Minimum 3 years’ work experience in HIV field, including demonstrated experience and knowledge in research and global health security (GHS)/emergency preparedness strategies and programs as well as HIV surveillance o Preferred: Research experience an advantage
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with fluency in English required.
• Strong computer skills (MS Excel, Access, Word, and PowerPoint at minimum; preferred proficiency with statistical Software such as SAS and SPSS).
• Ability to provide high quality technical assistance to regional offices.
• Ability to lead and work with a diverse team
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and strong problem-solving skills.
• Flexibility to work after normal working hours and on weekends with significant travel outside of duty station.
• Familiarity with Tanzanian context; fluency in Kiswahili preferred