Officer, Community Based Surveillance

Vacancy No.S18346Category of ContractNationalPosition TypeNationalApplication Deadline20/08/2026Job Posted On06/08/2026Duty StationBunia, Beni/ButemboCountryCONGO, THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THEGradeNational StaffDuty Station StatusN/AAccompanied StatusN/ADuration6 months

Organizational Context

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian network, with 191 member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. IFRC uses the Triple R – response, resilience and respect – to deliver on Strategy 2030. IFRC responds to disasters and crises, ensuring timely, coordinated and locally led humanitarian action. IFRC supports its members in building community resilience in the areas of climate and environment, health and wellbeing, and migration and displacement. IFRC promotes respect for our fundamental principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality, including in our work on values, power and inclusion. The IFRC focuses throughout on our core mandate – our raison d’être – of strategic and operational coordination, humanitarian diplomacy, National Society development, and accountability.

IFRC is led by its Secretary General and has its Headquarters in Geneva and five regional offices in Africa (Nairobi); the Americas (Panama); Asia Pacific (Kuala Lumpur); Europe (Budapest); and MENA (Beirut) as well as representation offices, service centres and delegations across the globe.

The IFRC has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and lack of integrity (including but not limited to financial misconduct). IFRC also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles.

The Ebola outbreak, declared mid‑May 2026, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, with hundreds of suspected cases and hundreds of deaths reported across Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu provinces. It began with clusters of unexplained deaths in early May and is spreading in a context of weak health systems, population movement, insecurity, and community mistrust, which together increase the risk of sustained transmission and cross‑border spread to neighbouring countries such as Uganda and South Sudan. The absence of an approved vaccine or specific treatment for this strain makes the outbreak particularly complex and heightens the urgency of rapid containment.

The IFRC is scaling up a national society‑led response centred on community engagement, surveillance, and infection control, supported by an emergency appeal. Red Cross volunteers are mobilized in affected areas to conduct door‑to‑door awareness, counter misinformation, encourage early care‑seeking, and support safe and dignified burials, key to breaking transmission. At the same time, the IFRC is coordinating closely with governments and partners, strengthening cross-border preparedness, mobilising resources and surge capacity, and supporting logistics, infection prevention control, and community-based surveillance to contain the outbreak and reduce regional spread.

Job Purpose

Under the supervision of the Community Based Surveillance or Health Coordinator, and working in close collaboration with the National Society, its branches and its volunteers, and working in close collaboration with the National Society, its branches and its volunteers, the Community Based Officer (CBS) Officer is responsible for the day-to-day technical support, quality assurance and coordination of community-based surveillance activities in Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu provinces. The role ensures that alerts generated by NS branch volunteers are timely, accurate, properly investigated and fed into the national alert management and response system, and that the National Society's CBS capacity is strengthened throughout the response.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

  • Provide technical support, coaching and on-the-job training to National Society branch staff and community-based surveillance volunteers on EVD signs, symptoms, alert definitions and referral pathways.
  • Work with NS branch management to plan, roll out and monitor CBS activities in assigned communities, ensuring adequate volunteer coverage, motivation and supervision at branch level.
  • Support NS branches and volunteers to organize and lead regular community engagement and awareness sessions, working with local leaders, health authorities and community structures to build trust and encourage timely reporting.
  • Support NS branches to collect, verify, compile and transmit alerts and event-based surveillance data from volunteers to the health zone surveillance focal point / alert management system, using approved tools (paper-based and/or mobile data collection, e.g. ODK/Kobo, as applicable).
  • Support the investigation and follow-up of alerts in coordination with the NS, the surveillance pillar and health authorities, ensuring rapid referral of suspected cases and safe management of deaths in the community.
  • Monitor the performance of the CBS network at branch and volunteer level (alert volume, verification rate, timeliness, false-alarm rate) and identify gaps in geographic, community or volunteer coverage.
  • Ensure two-way communication: relay feedback, risk communication messages and community concerns/rumors between communities, NS branches/volunteers and the response coordination structures.
  • Contribute to integrating other relevant community health issues into the surveillance package (e.g. other epidemic-prone diseases) where appropriate and requested, in coordination with the NS.
  • Represent IFRC and support NS participation in coordination meetings with the Ministry of Health surveillance pillar, WHO, and other partners active in the health zone(s).
  • Maintain accurate records and submit regular (daily/weekly) activity and data quality reports to the IFRC CBS Coordinator, including on NS branch and volunteer performance.
  • Ensure that all surveillance and community engagement activities carried out with the NS, branches and volunteers comply with the Movement's Fundamental Principles, PSEA (Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse), child protection and community accountability standards.
  • Undertake any other duties relevant to the outbreak response as assigned by the supervisor.

Education

Required:

  • University Degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Health information Management or public management of communicable diseases.

Preferred:

  • Bachelor’s degree in human medicine and surgery or veterinary medicine/science.
  • Postgraduate training in public health

Experience

Required:

  • Minimum 3 years related experience, at the national level in quantitative epidemiology and the implementation of public health surveillance, outbreak investigation and response in humanitarian settings.
  • Prior humanitarian working experience at field level with recognized Humanitarian responses or with an organization with expertise in health emergencies response.
  • Experience in surveillance or health system strengthening.
  • Coordination and representation experience in a cross-cultural environment.

Preferred:

  • Previous experience in implementation of Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) is a plus.

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

Required:

  • Demonstrated knowledge, competency and professional skills on the public health aspects of infectious disease control, epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response with particular attention to application of an all-hazard approach in the context of the International Health Regulations(IHR), Global Health Security Agenda(GHSA) and the use of event based and indicator based surveillance, as well as descriptive epidemiology and principles of public health in communicable disease surveillance and response
  • Sound knowledge and skills in database management and statistical analysis, secondary data review, survey designing and implementation, monitoring and evaluation systems design or use, and public health information management.
  • Proven ability to multi-task across various planning and implementation processes within a highly demanding environment
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
  • Ability to work well as part of a multi-disciplinary team
  • Good communication, cultural sensitivity and presentation skills
  • Skills in training and developing staff
  • Demonstrated core proficiency in (a) digital communication & collaboration, (b) basic digital content creation, (c) digital safety & security, (d) data literacy, and (e) problem solving with technology (including responsible use of AI assistants.
  • Understanding of and commitment to IFRC’s mission and values.
  • Fluently spoken and written English and French

Preferred:

  • Good command of another IFRC official language (Spanish or Arabic)

Competencies, Values and Comments

Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability

Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust

Comments: We are recruiting for two local staff positions to be based in Beni/Butembo and in Bunia. Kindly include your preferred locality in your application.

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