Public Health Operation Center Technical Assistant – Secondment for Zonal Health Department

Medical Teams Calling  

Daring to love like Jesus, we boldly break barriers to health and restore wholeness in a hurting world. 

Medical Teams International holds strict child and vulnerable adult safeguarding principles and a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct related to sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse in the workplace and other places where the organization’s activities are rendered. Parallel to technical competence, recruitment & selection, hiring decisions will give due emphasis to assessing candidates’ eligibility thorough background checks, police clearance, and professional reference check processes.

To strengthen the preparedness, coordination and response capacity of the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) and, at the same time, to provide office-level technical support to the Zonal Health Department’s medical services desk. The TA is seconded to the Zonal Health Department supports services planning, supervision, quality, data use and coordination.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

1. PHEOC Technical support & Operations

• Provide day-to-day technical advice to the Zonal PHEOC on activation, operation and deactivation, applying the national PHEOC framework and the Incident Management System (IMS), including roles, shift schedules and 24/7 duty arrangements.
• Support the development, review and update of PHEOC SOPs, multi-hazard risk assessments, preparedness and contingency plans, and emergency response plans for the zone.
• Support the integration of indicator-based and event-based surveillance, rumour and signal verification, and daily alert triage, ensuring suspected outbreaks are rapidly assessed and escalated.
• Support rapid risk assessment, outbreak investigation and the deployment of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to woredas and follow up on the implementation of response actions.
• Strengthen PHEOC information management through data collection, analysis and visualisation (DHIS2, SMART PHEM, Kobo, Power BI or similar), and produce timely situation reports, epidemiological bulletins and dashboards for decisionmakers.
• Support coordination among the Zonal Health Department, Regional Health Bureau, EPHI, woreda health offices, UN agencies, NGOs and other partners, including partner mapping (4Ws), resource tracking and participation in health cluster and emergency coordination meetings.
• Support tracking and pre-positioning of emergency supplies, sample transport needs and resource mobilisation for response operations.
• Support after-action reviews, intra-action reviews and simulation exercises, and follow up on the implementation of recommendations.

2. Medical Services

• Provide technical support to the Zonal Health Department on the planning, coordination and monitoring of medical services delivered by hospitals and health centres in the zone.
• Support regular supportive supervision and mentoring visits to health facilities and woreda health offices, using standard checklists, and follow up on the findings with the facility and woreda teams.
• Review and analyse service delivery data (HMIS/DHIS2) on outpatient and inpatient services, referrals, maternal and child health, immunization, nutrition and priority diseases, give feedback to woredas and identify performance gaps.
• Support the zonal health care quality and patient safety agenda, including quality improvement activities, infection prevention and control (IPC) monitoring and follow-up on facility action plans.
• Support the functioning of the referral system between health centres and hospitals including coordination with emergency medical and ambulance services.
• Support the zonal pharmaceutical and medical supply functions through review of stock and consumption reports, forecasting inputs and follow-up of stock-outs with the relevant supply agencies.
• Support coordination of maternal, newborn and child health reviews (including MPDSR), GBV service referral pathways and clinical service readiness for outbreaks, working closely with the PHEOC and disease control teams.
• Coordinate with partners supporting medical services in the zone and prepare reports and briefs for the Zonal Health Department head.

3. Capacity Building, Reporting & Additional Activities

• Provide trainings, mentoring and on-the-job coaching to PHEOC staff, RRTs, woreda PHEM focal persons and zonal health office staff on IMS, surveillance, outbreak response, service data analysis and data use for decision-making.
• Support routine data quality reviews, including timeliness, completeness and accuracy of PHEM and HMIS reporting, and recommend corrective actions.
• Track PHEOC and medical service indicators, and contribute to Medical Teams International monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) processes.
• Document best practices and lessons learned, and ensure responses follow Ministry of Health and EPHI guidelines and humanitarian standards, with attention to accountability to affected populations.
• Prepare monthly and quarterly progress reports for Medical Teams International and the Zonal Health Department and contribute to donor reporting as requested.
• Support other Medical Teams International health emergency preparedness and response activities as requested to ensure efficiency and quality.
• Comply with security protocols and maintain a safe working environment during field visits.
• Support safeguarding of program participants and employees through promoting an environment of awareness and upholding the code of conduct provisions of Medical Teams Protection from Sexual Exploitation & Abuse, Child & Vulnerable Adult protection, and harassment-free workplace policies. Incumbents will remain alert and responsive to any child and adult safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills which will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the child and adult safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Safeguarding.

EDUCATION, LICENSES, & CERTIFICATION

• Master’s degree in public health Epidemiology, Field Epidemiology or a related field with a valid, renewed professional licence is required

EXPERIENCE

• At least 3 years of relevant experience, including public health emergency management and outbreak response, monitoring and evaluation, medical service and coordination of health programs with government health offices at zonal level and or above.
• Experience leading or working in a zonal health office, and in conflict-affected or humanitarian settings, is strongly preferred.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Strong knowledge of PHEM national guidelines in Ethiopia
• Knowledge of epidemiology, surveillance, outbreak investigation and risk assessment
• Proficiency in data management and analysis (DHIS2, SMART PHEM, Kobo, Power BI, STATA or similar) and in Microsoft Office on standard or mobile platforms
• Good understanding of the Ethiopian health system, woreda and zonal health office management, and HMIS/DHIS2 reporting
• Fluent spoken and written English and Amharic.
• Strong report writing, presentation and communication skills
• Proven ability to train, mentor and coach government counterparts
• Negotiation, representation and analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to adapt to a changing environment and remain flexible in demanding situations

SKILLS:

• Humanitarian motivation
• Emotionally and spiritually mature
• Team player – practical, with a desire to support field teams and government partners
• Willingness to pitch in and get the job done
• Understanding and sensitivity to cross-cultural issues
• Ability to remain calm under pressure during emergency response
• Able to build new relationships and gain people’s trust quickly
• Integrity in representing Medical Teams
• Willingness to travel to insecure environments

ABILITIES:

• Ability to work cooperatively in a team environment and within government structures
• Ability to prioritize tasks and work under tight deadlines
• Ability to embrace and promote Medical Teams International mission and vision
• Ability to uphold and exemplify the organization’s core values
• Ability to represent the organization in a professional manner to government, donors, partners and the public