Sierra Leone: HealthCo Surveillance Manager

BACKGROUND: The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian agencies, provides relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction support to victims of natural disaster, oppression and violent conflict in 42 countries. The IRC is committed to bold leadership, innovation and creative partnerships. Active in public health, education, livelihoods, women's empowerment, youth development, and protection and promotion of rights, IRC assists people from harm to home. The IRC has been working in Sierra Leone since 1999, and currently programs across three core sectors 1) Health 2) Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE), and 3) Education.

The IRC has been at the forefront of the Ebola response in Sierra Leone, and in August 2014 lead the formation of HealthCo (formerly the Ebola Response Consortium). Made up of 15 international NGOs, HealthCo currently provides support to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) for the Ebola response and recovery periods.HealthCo is currently supporting three key initiatives: 1) support of a national strategy for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) at 1,200 Peripheral Health Units (PHUs) and 22 government hospitals in the country, 2) support for effective surveillance in 9 districts (including the establishment of Community Event Based Surveillance), and 3) water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) improvements in 22 government hospitals and 128 Community Health Centers (CHCs) nationwide.

SCOPE OF WORK: It is expected that the HealthCo Surveillance Manager will be largely field based, advising partners with the implementation operationalization of the following two surveillance programs, with about one-third time spent on wider program management activities:

1. Community Event Based Surveillance (CEBS) – CEBS is an active, village-level surveillance system for Ebola, the objective of which is to rapidly identify suspected EVD cases originating from unknown chains of transmission at the village level. This is achieved through a network of trained Community Health Monitors (CHMs), who detect and report on a standardized list of “trigger events” which indicate potential Ebola transmission. CEBS is currently implemented in 9 districts through 5 partners. To date, a total of 7,686 CHMs have been trained, and CEBS has generated over 19,113 alerts, including approximately 50% of all death alerts in the CEBS supported districts. The HealthCo are currently applying for funds to continue CEBS and support the transition of CEBS to Community-IDSR.

2. Resilient Zero – Throughout the outbreak, HealthCo has provided support at the district level for case investigation, alert centres, burials, swab teams, contact tracing supervisors, and EVD isolation units. HealthCo have recently secured a 2 year grant to continue to provide essential operational support at the district level, to enable prompt and effective detection and response to communicable disease outbreaks including Ebola. This project will be implemented through 6 partners in all districts across Sierra Leone.

This position will require a high degree of flexibility, however, as the exact division of tasks will depend on current programmatic demands and upcoming deadlines and will thus vary from week to week.

Roving Surveillance Support (~70%)

The HealthCo Surveillance Manager will be responsible for providing roving technical support to strengthen the implementation of CEBS, IDSR and other HealthCo-supported surveillance activities (e.g. alert management, case investigation, IDSR support) at district level. Working in close collaboration with HealthCo partner organizations, District Health Management Teams (DHMTs), WHO, CDC, and other district-level surveillance partners, the HealthCo Surveillance Manager will play a key role in both ensuring the technical quality of CEBS and IDSR roll out and in building district capacity in surveillance more broadly so that the current Ebola-focused approach can be efficiently transitioned into the national IDSR system. The position will also advise partners at a national and district level on methods to efficiently manage surveillance teams, aggregate and analyze data, and capitalize on lessons learned for program quality improvement.

While the technical assistance provided by the HealthCo Surveillance Manager will vary by district and partner, the primary areas of involvement will include supporting districts with data management and analysis, conducting regular field monitoring visits to assess performance and offer feedback and recommendations to HealthCo partners and DHMTs on means of improvement, and assisting firsthand in the roll-out of any surveillance trainings where required, including both refresher trainings and trainings related to the transition to IDSR. The HealthCo Surveillance Manager may also be asked to feed into both district and national-level discussions and longer-term strategic planning exercises regarding the transition to IDSR and the integration of community based surveillance within the pre-existing Community Health Worker (CHW) program.

Project Management Support (~30%)

The Surveillance Manager will provide project management support to the HealthCo Surveillance Coordinator, supporting with reviewing and compiling partner reports.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Roving Surveillance Support

• Conduct regular district field monitoring visits to HealthCo partners to assess the functioning of CEBS and IDSR, provide encouragement, and offer feedback on ways to improve performance
• Advise partners at national and district levels to capitalize on lessons learned and make data-driven decision making for program quality improvement
• Asset with the roll out and operationalization of any new pilot activities or innovative programs for collecting, analyzing, and reporting on surveillance data
• Follow up on data collection and reporting to feed in lessons learnt and improve surveillance operating procedures
• Work with the Senior Surveillance Manager for Monitoring and Learning to review district level surveillance alert data on work with HealthCo partner staff to quickly clean and fill in missing data as necessary
• Work closely with HealthCo partners and their DHMTs on the development, planning, and roll-out of any trainings, including both refresher trainings and trainings related to the roll out and operationalization of IDSR
• As requested, contribute to national-level discussions and longer-term strategic planning regarding the future of CEBS and IDSR, including assisting in the development of any new SOPs and training materials
• Attend relevant national and district level technical working groups as a representative of the consortium
• Participate in any national-level “surge” operations as required through providing rapid and exacting technical assistance to HealthCo partners in the core aspects of surveillance, including planning, alert and dispatch systems, case investigation, contact tracing supervision, and data management and analysis
• Other surveillance-related technical tasks as requested

Project Management Support

• Working with the HealthCo Surveillance Coordinator, review partner narrative reports and support donor report writing.
• Other tasks as needed assigned by the HealthCo Surveillance Coordinator.

REQUIREMENTS

• Master’s degree in epidemiology or public health
• At least one year of experience in conducting surveillance activities for a public health agency; knowledge of and experience in community-based surveillance programs an asset
• Demonstrated experience or ability to rapidly learn Ebola surveillance activities
• Previous work on surveillance in a developing country or during an emergency
• Ability to start immediately
• Proven expertise in writing and editing reports.
• Demonstrable high-level performance management and team working skills, with experience in managing multiple donors.

http://chm.tbe.taleo.net/chm03/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=IRC&cws=1&rid=13532