Regional Surveillance Coordinator

Internal /External Vacancy Announcement

Organizational overview

The Organization for Social Services, Health and Development (OSSHD), previously known as the Organization for Social Services for AIDS (OSSA), was established in 1990 to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. The organization was established by various organizations, including the Ministry of Health, well-known religious organizations, and some humanitarian organizations operating in Ethiopia at that time.

Since 2016, the organization changed its name and expanded its scope of work to cover a broader range of social, health, humanitarian, emergency and development programs. OSSHD began to focus on diverse programmatic areas such as SRH, Gender, WaSH, Harm reduction, TB, Malaria, MNCH, Immunization, treatment of NTDs, social services for vulnerable groups, emergency and humanitarian programs.

INTRODUCTION

The Health Security Activity (HSA) is a five-year USAID-funded initiative implemented by Project HOPE Ethiopia and consortium members. Covering the Amhara, Afar, and Tigray Regional States, HSA aims to reduce the impact of infectious disease outbreaks by building resilient One Health surveillance, diagnostics, and workforce development capacities. The Regional Surveillance Coordinator plays a crucial role in supporting the implementation of IR1 (Improve Early Disease Detection Capacity) within their designated region, ensuring effective surveillance activities, and strengthening collaboration with regional public and animal health bureaus and other stakeholders.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

POSITION: Regional Surveillance Coordinator

REPORTS TO: Dessie Branch Office Manager/ Senior Project Coordinator at HO

Duty station: Dessie Town

Number of positions: One (1)

Reports to: Dessie Branch Office Manager/ Senior Project Coordinator at HO

Salary : As per the organizational scale

Contract Period: One year and Possibility of Extension based on availability of budget and performance.

JOB SUMMARY

The Regional Surveillance officer will ensure the implementation of all surveillance-related project activities at the regional level, coordinate with regional health, agriculture, and natural resources bureaus, ensure alignment with IR1 objectives, and report directly to the National Surveillance Advisor. This role requires strong technical expertise in disease surveillance, strategic planning, and effective communication to enhance early disease detection capacities in the regional context.

The specific duties to be carried out by the Regional Surveillance Coordinator are:

• Facilitate the development and implementation of surveillance strategies aligned with IR1 objectives.
• Facilitate the development of project annual and sub-annual microplanning, as well as other planning, monitoring and reporting templates.
• Facilitate the development and implementation of Community Based Surveillance (CBS) using standard CBS guidelines.
• Confirm achievement of project outputs, outcomes and impacts against the project baseline data.
• Provide technical guidance to surveillance team members and government at regional, zonal and woreda levels to ensure high-quality surveillance activities.
• Coordinate with regional public, animal and environmental health bureaus to integrate surveillance activities with regional health priorities and strategies.
• Ensure the establishment and effective functioning of multi-sectoral Community-Based Surveillance (CBS) in the HSA implementation woredas.
• Ensure proper training and utilization of digital surveillance tools to facilitate near real-time data collection, sharing, and reporting.
• Develop and facilitate training programs for lower-level surveillance officers and surveillance team members in the implementation woredas.
• Facilitate the development and implementation of integrated surveillance (One Health surveillance) strategies aligned with IR1 objectives.
• Support the establishment and strengthening of regional, zonal and woreda One Health Task Force in the implementing areas.
• Ensure timely and accurate data collection, management, and reporting through digital surveillance tools.
• Analyze surveillance data to identify trends, outbreaks, and areas requiring intervention.
• Prepare and submit periodic comprehensive surveillance reports and project progress updates to the National Surveillance Advisor, and other stakeholders.
• Lead regional and sub-regional project review meetings and facilitate project mid-year and end-line evaluation.
• Maintain data integrity and confidentiality in accordance with CCRDA and USAID guidelines and local regulations.
• Provide technical support on the development and implementation of surveillance protocols and tools.
• Monitor cross-border surveillance efforts in collaboration with neighboring regions, when applicable.
• Support establishment and monitoring of the cross-border committee.
• Facilitate regional and sub-regional identification and early detection of priority vaccine preventable, public health significant and priority zoonotic diseases.
• Support the early detection and management of malaria among populations in project areas.
• Analyze surveillance data to identify trends, outbreaks, and areas requiring intervention.
• Provide technical support on the development and implementation of surveillance protocols and tools.
• Conduct other activities as advised by the National Surveillance Advisor to support project objectives and ensure successful implementation.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS

• Master’s degree in public health, Epidemiology, or a health-related field.
• At least 8 years of progressive experience in disease surveillance within public/animal health program management.
• Excellent leadership and strategic planning abilities.
• Proficient in data analysis and familiar with digital surveillance tools.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, including government officials, community members, and international partners.
• Fluency in English is required; proficiency in Amharic.
• Familiarity with One Health approaches and integration across human, animal, and environmental health sectors.
• Technical expertise in community-based surveillance systems and digital health tools.