Jobs
U.S. Embassy & Consulates Recruitment 2023/2024
Applications are invited from interested and suitably qualified candidates for U.S. Embassy & Consulates Recruitment 2023/2024.
We are recruiting to fill the following position below:
Page Contents
Job Title: CDC Public Health Specialist, Influenza Epidemiologist
Introduction
The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria is seeking eligible and qualified applicants for the position of Public Health Specialist, Influenza Epidemiologist to join the CDC team.
The job holder serves as a Senior Public Health Specialist supporting Influenza Program activities and is responsible for planning, formulating, analyzing, evaluating, and/or implementing policies for CDC’s public health programs for influenza, and respiratory pathogen surveillance, prevention, and control activities.
This job holder will provide comprehensive public health disease and surveillance advice, research and assistance directed to the development and readiness to detect, respond, and manage outbreaks of avian/human influenza and other emerging infectious diseases in South Africa and the region.
The job holder will work with partners to establish surveillance to monitor the circulation and impact of respiratory pathogens and improve laboratory support for surveillance and outbreak response.
The position holder will also be involved in partner contact that includes senior and mid-level officials at the ministry of health and a wide variety of implementing partners.
The Epidemiologist serves as a locally employed staff person for the US CDC South African Influenza Program.
The position is based in U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, and reports to the Influenza Program Director.
Duties & Responsibilities
Program Management (70%)
Job holder is an epidemiologist for influenza and other respiratory diseases. The epidemiologist provides technical consultation and support for local and regional public health officials in the control and prevention of influenza epidemics.
In consultation with the Program Director, assists in in developing specific program goals and objectives for influenza, and other respiratory disease initiatives in country by preparing memoranda, policy statements and proposals to introduce new initiatives and to recommend effective operations consistent with overall program objectives in support of the USG program mission in South Africa.
Job holder supports to develop research concepts, protocols, program evaluation strategies, methodologies, and indicators for monitoring for influenza and other respiratory diseases in accordance with International Health Regulations, standard guidelines and protocols.
Participates with partners in the development of work plans for implementation of activities following the awarding of an implementing agreement. Helps to carry out technical reviews, reviews progress during implementation, identifies potential issues and informs supervisor, recommending actions for amelioration.
Supports to identify training needs and participates in the development and implementation of training courses for partner organizations and various target audiences.
Incumbent provides technical assistance to the Government of South Africa and Ministry of Health on the implementation and establishment of high-quality programs, including surveillance and diagnostic networks, at the national, country, and sub-country level, and ensure that all services are based on the latest standards of practice.
Supports to ensure that appropriate data management systems to monitor health objectives and indicators for influenza, and other respiratory disease surveillance and response programs are in place and takes responsibility for the management of these systems.
Makes regular site visits and meets with representatives of each implementing organization for purposes of monitoring surveillance and other program activities, documenting progress and recommending changes needed to strengthen the program.
Provides technical language and direction for influenza, and other respiratory disease proposals that result in a memorandum of agreement, grant, contract and/or cooperative agreement.
Supports with the public health technical aspects in development of the Scope of Work, Funding Opportunity Announcement, Request for Application, or Annual Program Statement.
Functions of the position include providing epidemiological expertise in support of agency’s influenza activities, working with the host country ministry of health or other government ministries and national, regional, and local partners on the development and management of surveillance and diagnostic network to enable sharing of information to characterize risk, prevent disease spread, and enhance control efforts. Incumbent responsibility includes creating assessment tools and epidemiologic surveillance programs related to early and ongoing pandemic influenza detection, and conducting surveillance on acute respiratory infections including pneumonia cases in hospitals. Job holder provides advice on scaling up current influenza surveillance network, e.g., establishing sentinel sites in selected hospitals, develop a system for recording, managing, and analyzing diagnostic and surveillance data, analyze surveillance and research data to describe the epidemiology of influenza. Job holder supports the public health technical aspects of policy development for the control and prevention of influenza and respiratory pathogens, such as vaccination, and represents the agency at technical working groups, conferences and meetings on avian/human influenza, other respiratory diseases, and emerging infectious disease-related issues.
Administrative Management (15%)
Maintains files and records specific to influenza, and other respiratory disease program activities for which incumbent is responsible. Other program files include reports, meeting summaries and minutes, copies of all grants/cooperative agreements/contracts, research determinations, panels, and awards. Whenever possible these records will be filed electronically for recordkeeping purposes.
Job holder will be required to occasionally take a lead role on impromptu minor projects such as called technical committees for a specific purpose, short data collection projects, and/or site visits for a special VIP visit.
Interagency Coordination (15%)
As an epidemiologist for influenza, and other respiratory diseases, job holder represents the Program Director at technical, policy and strategic planning meetings, including meetings with collaborators and donor agencies. Briefs agency officials on the results of such meetings and prepares written reports for submission to other interested parties.
Participation helps to ensure consistency in the implementation of best practices on a national level. Based on information received in the national committees, job holder may recommend revisions to agency program policies and guidelines for influenza/other respiratory disease or emerging infections programs.
Note: This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by incumbent. Incumbent will be required to perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.
Desired Experience & Qualification
Education:
- Doctoral level degree (Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or host country equivalent degree in medicine, public health, or epidemiology is required.
Prior work Experience:
- Three years of mid-to-senior level public health experience in developing, implementing, and evaluating public health programs or other relevant public health programs that involve coordination with an international agency or implementing partner is required.
Job knowledge:
- Technical knowledge of the epidemiology of the range of influenza and other respiratory pathogens and infectious disease programs, policies, regulations is required.
- Must be conversant with survey design and questionnaire development, data management programs and working knowledge of statistical analysis methods.
- Detailed knowledge of the South African health care system and structures including familiarity with Ministry of Health (MOH) policies, program priorities and regulations is required.
- Familiarity with the South Africa immunization programs is highly desirable.
- In-depth specialist knowledge of USG infectious disease public health programs, strategies, methods, processes, and techniques used to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate results of prevention programs is required.
- Good working knowledge of team management techniques to plan, organize and direct multi-disciplinary project teams and activities is required.
- Good working knowledge of overall administrative requirements, budgeting, and fiscal management in support of contracts/cooperative agreements/grants/purchase requisitions is required.
- Good working knowledge of team management techniques to plan, organize and direct multi-disciplinary project teams and activities is required.
Skills and abilities:
- Strong oral and written communications skills are required.
- Ability to lead project teams and workgroups and to develop effective working relationships with national and international working partners is required.
- The incumbent will be expected to exercise considerable ingenuity and tack in applying guidelines to unique and different settings, as the work is highly complex.
- Incumbent will be required to develop innovative methods to collect data more effectively and efficiently using new technology.
- Training and experience with MS Office and working knowledge and application of statistical analysis software such as SAS, STATA or R is required.
Package & Remuneration
- Basic Salary: R 829,377 – R 1,161,126 per annum
- Cash Benefits: R 142,460 – R 170,106 per annum (Miscellaneous Benefit Allowance & 13th cheque)
- Final salary is based upon a variety of factors
Other benefits include the following:
- The U.S. Embassy contributes 70% of employees Medical Aid (Discovery Medical Aid)
- Annual leave is 17 days which increases with years of service
- Employees qualify for SA and USA public holidays.
- Provident Fund – Employer contribution -10.9%
How to Apply
Interested applicants should kindly visit the company website to get more details and submit the application(s).