Technical Officer for Surveillance and Rapid Response at African Union (AU)

Major Duties and Responsibilities

The Technical Officer for Surveillance and Rapid Response shall:

• Provide programmatic and technical assistance to Member States on activities related to surveillance systems strengthening that will assist Member States in the prevention, detection and effective response to public health threats in the
• Assist Member States in implementing training on event-based surveillance and capacity building in areas of COVID-19 case detection, collection and analysis of COVID-19 data
• Collect and analyze surveillance data on COVID-19 (including, case, lab, and vaccination data) and generate timely reports that inform decision making for preventing and responding to public health emergencies
• Coordinate with the Africa CDC Division of Surveillance and Disease Intelligence to provide technical support on all surveillance related activities, including Event-based surveillance and analysis of COVID-19 surveillance data
• Collaborate with the Africa CDC Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response to support response to COVID-19 related events
• Train implementing partners in the utilization of the Africa CDC SLL DHIS2 platform for data capture, reporting and trouble shooting
• Represent Africa CDC in a professional manner, which creates a positive image and enhances the credibility of the
• Perform any other COVID-19 surveillance related activities as requested by the supervisor.

Qualifications and Skills required

• Master’s Degree in Public Health or related fields, and a minimum of 2 years of relevant work experience with special emphasis on public health surveillance and disease intelligence. Completion of a Field Epidemiology Training program would be an added advantage.

Or

• Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical sciences, Clinical Medicine, Public Health or related fields and a minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience. Completion of a Field Epidemiology Training program would be an added advantage.

Required skills and Competencies

Functional skills

• Theoretical and practical knowledge of surveillance, outbreak response and development of guidance documents (Strategic plans, policies, SOPs)
• Working experience in supporting the implementation of public health programmes with emphasis on disease surveillance and intelligence, and response to outbreaks at national or regional levels
• Mastery of public health principles and practice as they relate to the implementation of public health programmes and service delivery
• Skilled at collecting, analyzing and using surveillance data to make technical recommendations for public health action.
• Skills in translating highly technical information into presentations, briefings and reports for both technical and lay audiences
• Possesses excellent organization and project management skills
• Demonstrated ability with regard to computer skills, including excellent word- processing capabilities, proficiency with e-mail and internet applications experience in using office software applications such as MS Power Point, Word and Excel.