Country

South Africa

City

Pretoria

Type

Full Time

Program (Division)

Country Programs - South Africa

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to our mission of saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. We work at the invitation of governments to support them and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems.

CHAI was founded in 2002 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with the goal of dramatically reducing the price of life-saving drugs and increasing access to these medicines in the countries with the highest burden of the disease. Over the following two decades, CHAI has expanded its focus. Today, along with HIV, we work with our partners to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. Our work has also expanded into cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases, and we work to accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines, reduce maternal and child mortality, combat chronic malnutrition, and increase access to assistive technology. We are investing in horizontal approaches to strengthen health systems through programs in human resources for health, digital health, and health financing. With each new and innovative program, our strategy is grounded in maximizing sustainable impact at scale, ensuring that governments lead the solutions, that programs are designed to scale nationally, and learnings are shared globally.

At CHAI, our people are our greatest asset, and none of this work would be possible without their talent, time, dedication, and passion for our mission and values. We are a highly diverse team of enthusiastic individuals across 40 countries with a broad range of skill sets and life experiences. CHAI is deeply grounded in the countries we work in, with the majority of our staff based in program countries. Learn more about our exciting work: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org

CHAI promotes fairness, respect, equity, and dignity in the workplace. CHAI welcomes applications from all qualified individuals and encourages people from historically disadvantaged groups to apply. CHAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing an environment of fairness, and mutual respect where all applicants have access to equal employment opportunities. CHAI values diversity and inclusion and recognizes that our mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experiences, backgrounds, and culture.

Programme Overview

South Africa is a Pandemic Fund grant recipient, supported by the World Bank-hosted financing mechanism established to address structural gaps in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPPR). The national programme is implemented under a One Health framework recognising the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health and is led by the National Department of Health (NDoH), with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as an Implementing Entity and CHAI as a delivery partner.

Position Overview

CHAI South Africa is seeking a senior technical professional to serve as Technical Advisor — Animal Health & One Health Systems within the PPPR programme. This individual will be responsible for anchoring the animal health pillar of the programme spanning zoonotic surveillance integration, veterinary laboratory strengthening, and animal health workforce development. They will also ensure that these components are operationally connected to the broader human and environmental health architecture. The Technical Advisor will be embedded within the CHAI South Africa programme delivery team, reporting to the Programme Manager and working in close collaboration with Department of Agriculture (DoA), NDoH, Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment (DFFE), FAO, UNICEF and WHO.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Lead the development and implementation of a costed, milestone-based work plan for the animal health pillar of the PPPR programme, with annual targets agreed with DoA in alignment to the national One Health strategy.
• Provide technical guidance and develop policy briefs and technical submissions on livestock, wildlife, and zoonotic threats that are formally reviewed by DoA and NDoH and reflected in updated PPPR policy instruments.
• Lead the development of zoonotic prevention, early-detection, and response guidance documents endorsed by DoA, NDoH, and DFFE that specify cross-sectoral triggers and response protocols linking animal, human, and environmental health systems.
• Lead the design and operationalisation of an Integrated Disease Surveillance Response (IDSR) module, under NDoH and NICD guidance, that routinely ingests veterinary and wildlife health data, with documented data flows, reporting cadence, and baseline completeness metrics.
• Provide technical oversight and support to strengthen veterinary laboratory diagnostic capacity and biosafety standards including expanded assay menus, proficiency-testing participation, and verified compliance against agreed biosafety benchmarks.
• Lead the design and implementation of an environmental monitoring protocol for priority zoonotic and transboundary animal diseases, with defined sentinel sites, sampling schedule, and regular surveillance reporting to DoA and NDoH.
• Support the development of an M&E framework for veterinary health activities with agreed indicators, baselines, and reporting templates adopted into programme performance reporting.

Systems Strengthening and Capacity Development

• Lead the revision of national One Health frameworks and guidelines incorporating animal health components, formally endorsed by DoA and NDoH for national rollout.
• Support the development and institutionalisation of a veterinary epidemiology training curriculum and field-based workforce programme hosted by a national training institution and producing an annual pipeline of deployed graduates.
• Design and support the delivery of targeted capacity-building interventions for Animal Health Technicians (AHTs), veterinary professionals, and Agricultural Extension Officers, with post-training evaluation evidencing skills applied in the field.

Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination

• Facilitate the development of joint work plans or MOUs with DoA, FAO, WHO, UNICEF, NDoH, and other partners that define shared deliverables, coordination points, and reporting lines across animal and human health workstreams.
• Contribute technical inputs, including position papers, data inputs, and recommendations at One Health technical working groups, policy forums, and stakeholder consultations, with outcomes reflected in meeting records and follow-on actions.
• Represent CHAI in national and provincial coordination platforms on animal health and pandemic preparedness, ensuring CHAI technical positions are tabled and reflected in platform decisions and communication.

• Advanced degree in veterinary science, veterinary epidemiology, or a related field, with demonstrated orientation toward public health and health security.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in veterinary epidemiology, zoonotic disease management, or One Health programme implementation.
• Familiarity with South African animal health systems, regulatory frameworks, and the institutional landscape across DoA, DFFE, and Agricultural Research Council – Onderstepoort Veterinary Research (ARC-OVR).
• Demonstrated experience providing technical assistance to government counterparts in complex, multi-stakeholder settings.
• Experience designing or strengthening surveillance systems that integrate veterinary and wildlife health data.

Advantages:

• Knowledge of International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 obligations, National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) processes, and global One Health frameworks (WOAH, FAO-WHO Tripartite).
• Experience with transboundary animal diseases, particularly avian influenza, anthrax, rabies, or brucellosis.
• Familiarity with IDSR and DHIS2 systems in the South African context.
• Experience working within donor-funded programmes.
• Proven ability to translate complex technical findings into policy-relevant recommendations for senior government and donor audiences.

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