Job Opportunity: Technical Advisor - Surveillance position available at JSI RESEARCH & TRAINING INSTITUTE, INC in Addis Ababa. Health Care jobs in Ethiopia are in high demand. Apply now through GeezJobs - Ethiopia's leading job portal.

Position:    Technical Advisor - Surveillance 

Monthly Salary Range: $2,100.00 - 2,941.00                                                                                          

Organization Background

JSI is a global nonprofit dedicated to improving lives through better health and education outcomes for individuals and communities, and to providing an environment where people of passion can pursue this cause. In Ethiopia, JSI has been working to improve health outcomes for more than 30 years, implementing more than 60 projects and working in every region. JSI has historically managed a large portfolio of projects focusing on the quality and equity in access of RMNCAH services, primary health care (PHC), including community health programs, digital health, health information systems (HIS), supply chain management, public health emergency responses, and social and behavior change. 

Project  Overview

The Momentum Integrated Health Resilience project is implemented by a consortium led by IMA World Health, is a global initiative that partners with governments and local stakeholders in fragile states and regions. MIHR’s objective is to save lives through increased access to high-quality MNCH-Nutrition life-saving interventions, strengthening partnerships with local organizations, and improving adaptive management to prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies. MIHR focuses on equipping health institutions and frontline workers with the skills, tools, and resources to sustainably address the leading causes of maternal and child deaths. In Ethiopia, the project has three main objectives: 1) Enhance health facilities' readiness to provide essential quality MCH and nutrition services; 2) Improve access to and utilization of quality MCH and nutrition services through contextualized service delivery models; and 3) Enhance health security by improving emergency preparedness, disease surveillance, and outbreak response.

Position Summary

The Technical Advisor - Surveillance plays a critical leadership role in collaborating to strengthen and manage public health surveillance systems, particularly within the context of emergency preparedness and response. This position is responsible for providing high-level technical expertise, strategic guidance, and operational oversight to strengthen the system to ensure the timely detection, investigation, and reporting of public health threats, outbreaks, and emergencies. The advisor will work across multiple sectors and stakeholders to build a robust, integrated, and resilient surveillance network essential for effective emergency management.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide technical support to the EPHI PHEM department to refine, update, and implement national Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategies and protocols.
• Work with EPHI to enhance the functionality and integration of key surveillance platforms, including electronic systems (e.g., DHIS2/e-IDSR), laboratory data systems, and community-based surveillance mechanisms.
• Establish and monitor routine processes for the timely analysis, interpretation, and visualization of surveillance data, ensuring these insights are immediately disseminated to PHEM leadership and rapid response teams (RRTs) for action.
• Lead periodic reviews and functional audits of the national surveillance system to identify gaps in timeliness, completeness, and representativeness, and develop prioritized corrective action plans.
• Support PHEM in developing and testing surveillance-related components of emergency preparedness plans, including simulation exercises and scenario-based training.
• Strengthen PHEM's capacity for event-based surveillance (EBS) and the use of unconventional data sources to generate rapid epidemic intelligence and flag potential cross-border or emerging threats.
• Provide high-level technical oversight during public health emergencies, ensuring the quality and adherence of case definitions, line lists, and contact tracing surveillance to international and national standards.
• Develop and conduct tailored training and mentorship programs for EPHI/PHEM staff, regional epidemiologists, and surveillance officers on advanced epidemiological methods, data management, outbreak investigation, and effective risk communication.
• Facilitate the creation or refinement of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for surveillance activities, ensuring alignment with global standards and the specific operational realities of the Ethiopian health system.
• Serve as a primary technical contact between the MIHR-E project team and EPHI/PHEM, ensuring project goals are met and technical advice is aligned with national priorities.
• Collaborate on surveillance activities with other international partners, NGOs, and UN agencies working in Ethiopia to ensure non-duplication of efforts and the harmonization of data collection tools and methodologies.

• Master's degree (or equivalent) in Epidemiology, Public Health, Biostatistics, or a closely related field. A medical or clinical background is highly desirable.
• Minimum of 8 years of progressively responsible experience in designing, implementing, and managing disease surveillance programs, preferably within an IDSR framework.
• Proven experience working with national public health institutions (like EPHI/PHEM) on public health emergency management and infectious disease control.
• Experience working on USG funded programs is strongly preferred.
• Excellent technical skills in epidemiological analysis, biostatistics, and data management using software like R, Stata, SPSS, or specialized GIS/data visualization tools.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) in English is mandatory. Demonstrated ability to synthesize and present complex technical data to non-technical audiences.
• Proven ability to establish and maintain strong professional relationships with project team members, donors, government counterparts, and other cooperating agencies.
• Ability to travel to various regions throughout Ethiopia is required to provide technical support and supervision.

JSI/WEI is a child-safe organization, and the safety and well-being of children is a priority of our organization. We have robust recruitment procedures to ensure that all staff are suited to work with the children served by our programs.

JSI/WEI is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer committed to workplace diversity. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants and employees without regard to age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, sexual preference, genetic information, political affiliation, or protected veteran status in any employment decisions. M/F/V/D

How To Apply

Interested applicants who met the above minimum requirements should send and apply at WWW.Ethiojobs.net. Please submit Only your application letter and CV in English detailing your experience , exposure and skills that are relevant to the post. Please do not attach copies of your transcripts, academic degrees or recommendation letters with the application. You will provide them upon request.