Epidemiologist - Strategic Use of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Kenya at Palladium International

Project Overview and Role

Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact - the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits.
For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved - and is committed to continuing to improve - economies, societies and most importantly, people's lives.
Palladium is a child-safe organisation, and screens applicants for suitability to work with children. We also provide equal employment to all participants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran or marital status.

The aim of this project is to foster collaboration with the Government of Kenya (GOK) Ministry of Health (MOH), county health departments, and US PEPFAR program partners in the development, refinement, and implementation of HIV surveillance and epidemiology efforts, in order to contribute to program effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability. Activities under this project will be aligned with the surveillance and epidemiology direction of the Kenya National AIDS Strategic Framework, National HIV Surveillance Strategy, and PEPFAR Kenya Country Operational Plans with an emphasis on HIV case surveillance (CBS; i.e., reporting and analysis of cases diagnosed with HIV for prevention, control and action) and recent infection surveillance (i.e., a system to rapidly detect, characterize, and intervene on recent infection among newly diagnosed HIV cases). Successful applicants will demonstrate understanding of the Kenyan HIV epidemiological context and evidence of a history of relevant fieldwork. The recipient(s) will support the GOK and partners to strengthen capacity to design, implement, analyze, disseminate, and use data from epidemiologic studies and surveillance to focus on sustained HIV epidemiologic control including accurately measuring outcomes and impact, while informing the HIV response. The project will emphasize analytical and epidemiological skills, geospatial analyses, costing studies, and strategies for capacity-building at national and sub-national levels.

Duration: 5 years

Responsibilities

The Epidemiologist will technically lead the data and information generation and use processes for the project. At the project level, s/he will be a critical part of the project team leading and managing complex project-level data use initiatives requiring interaction and collaboration with external stakeholders at various levels, including at national and county levels. The main Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Coordinate activities related to public health evaluation. S/he will design evaluation activities to better evaluate the HIV/TB response in Kenya using existing data from individual data systems. S/he will provide direct guidance and technical assistance to Implementing Partners (IPs) and United States Government (USG) staff affiliated with evaluation activities in activities related to the SUSE project. Will coordinate the development of required umbrella protocols for SUSE project.
• Analyze data from existing electronic platforms and produce abstracts, manuscripts, presentations, etc. to be presented at conferences or submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
• Provide Technical Assistance (TA) to inform automation of information products from individual level data systems towards epidemiologically sound outputs. The TA will cover the entire continuum of individual level data management: collection, transmission, collation, analysis and interpretation.
• Work with the Ministry of Health (MOH), county health teams, and other partners on deeper interrogation, analysis and triangulation of existing evaluation, research and program data (electronic or otherwise) to better inform disease control efforts.
• Assessment, supervision, activity participation, and conference attendance as necessary and represent the project at national and international conferences and meetings.

Requirements

• Medical related Degree (Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy) is required. A Master's or a higher degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Field Epidemiology, Social Sciences or related field is also required.
• At least 5 years progressive public health experience and/or research experience within the HIV/TB program.
• Must have a high level of detailed understanding of the structure and functions of Kenya's HIV epidemic response.
• Must have technical knowledge of epidemiology, statistical analysis and public health relevant to the HIV and TB epidemic.
• Must have published widely with at least 3 first-author publications in reputable journals.
• Must have technical experience and knowledge in managing research/evaluation projects and resources.
• Must be able to mentor project teams and workgroups on program evaluation and manuscript and abstract writing.
• Must be able to devise innovative methods to manage both aggregate and individual level data to inform epidemic response.
• Must demonstrate experience in managing large datasets from program/survey/surveillance data.
• Must have training and experience with MS Office, and statistical analysis software such as R, SAS, STATA or SPSS and working knowledge of GIS software.