Surveillance Assistant

Surveillance assistant

Terms of Reference

Position

Surveillance Assistant

Place of Engagement

The position is based at the National WHO Angola Office in Luanda, Angola. The incumbent may be required to travel through Luanda and other provinces of Angola for engagement if required.

Structural Position

The Surveillance Assistant is responsible and reports to the WHO Laboratory Data Manager Team Lead, who will assign duties as appropriate, under the overall supervision of the WHO Immunization Focal Point. The Data Clerk will cooperate with all personnel working in Luanda and other provinces in close coordination of WHO Surveillance Team, WHO Country Office, appropriate staff of Ministry of Health, WHO and other international partners.

Basic Function of Position

The Employee serves as a Surveillance Assistant in WHO Angola Office in Luanda with the responsibility for the daily surveillance data quality control activities in support of epidemiologic surveillance (verification of information, feedback to field staff, amongst others).

Major Duties and Responsibilities

General duties

Work with the provinces to improve the current 36% to at least 80% specimen transportation (for AFP) timeliness from the field to the laboratory for all Yellow Fever, Measles, AFP, Cholera environmental surveillance and rotavirus sentinel.

• Verification of surveillance data completeness and validity of all case investigation forms received at central level for Yellow Fever, Measles, AFP, environmental surveillance and rotavirus sentinel as per the vetting procedures established.
• Establishment of a complete and up to date list of all biomedical laboratories in Angola by Bairro, Commune, district, province, capacity of the laboratories and ownership (Public/Private) - National laboratory network
• Establishment of an end-to-end specimens tracking system from the health facilities to the National/ International laboratories.
• Ensures that the measures of Biosafety in the laboratory of the INSP are well implemented.
• Establishment and maintenance of a complete contact list of provincial and health facilities surveillance officers.
• Follows up for the corrections and information updates identified with field investigators and notifying facilities, and documents them accordingly.
• Update of AFP, Measles, Neonatal Tetanus and Yellow Fever cases investigated in DHIS2 platform (sisangola.org).

§ Ensures that feedback to field investigators and notifying facilities for all Yellow Fever, Measles and AFP laboratory specimen quality control is done on a permanent basis.

§ Liaises and facilitates coordination of feedback of aggregate results for all Yellow Fever and Measles to the various provinces in Angola on a permanent basis.

§ Maintains the filing of laboratory data feedback documents, according to the National WHO Angola Office filing procedures.

• Finalization and maintenance of specimens’ transportation containers tracking system which includes their reception at national level, decontamination and return to the provinces.
• Establishment and monthly maintenance of provincial specimen collection kits stocks inventory.
• Carries out any other duties that may reasonably be required to ensure the smooth cooperation of the National WHO Angola Office and partners.

Assets

§ Ensures the full follow-up of notification data quality, managing multiple means of communications (e.g., electronic communication, mobile phone, and others as applicable).

• Exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, ability to work independently, and fluency in Portuguese a must.

Position Elements

Supervision Received: Supervision by the WHO Laboratory Data Manager and the WHO Immunization Team Lead. Must be a self-starter and able to set priorities on work schedule.

Available Guidelines: Basic guidelines include training and correspondence. There are also a variety of unwritten policies, precedents and practices.

Exercise of Judgement: Initiative and independent judgement is required by the incumbent in determining what needs to be done and the best working methods. Intensive co-ordination with the various relevant WHO partners is, however, essential. The incumbent should be versatile & flexible so as to quickly adapt to changing situations.

Authority to Make Commitments: As delegated by the supervisors.

Nature, Level and Purpose of Contacts: Required to deal personally with peers and colleagues from the Ministry of Health, National, Provincial and District WHO Angola Country Office colleagues, and other necessary partners.

Working hours and days: Monday to Thursday from 08:00AM to 5:00PM and on Friday from 08:00AM – 1:30PM Total 38 hours per week.

Educational Qualifications

Essential:

• Completion of Secondary School with certificate training in laboratory sciences

Desirable:

• Training in public health

Experience

Essential:

• At least 8 years of work experience in clinical and/or public health laboratory or its equivalence

Desirable:

• Experience with WHO or another UN agency in vaccine preventable diseases surveillance and laboratory specimen processes will be an asset.

Languages

• Essential:
  • Portuguese
• Desirable:
  • Working knowledge of English or French