Epidemiologist

Company Description

Epicentre is an organisation created by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in 1986. We conduct field epidemiology, training, and research activities for MSF interventions. Our activities for populations in precarious situations are led from Uganda, Niger, and France, and through the programs of MSF and others. They mainly concern infectious diseases and undernutrition.

Job Description

You are looking for a meaningful professional experience?

Epicentre is looking for an Epidemiologist to the benefit of the MSF France Operational Center of Paris programs in Liberia. The main purpose of this position is to provide technical support to the field for surveillance, data management, emergency response of MSF programs and operational research, ensuring compliance with the highest scientific, ethical and regulatory standards is maintained in all field related monitoring activities.

Directly under Epicentre Field Epidemiology and Training Department, you will report to the Medical Coordinator, and functionally to Epicentre referent. You will work closely with the MSF-OCP Medical Department and Desk, medical and field coordinators, and health promotion and data management field teams, to ensure smooth integration and coordination of program activities (Health promotion ; Emergency preparedness (EPREP), surveillance and response ; Mental Health Program ...) and potential research.

Located in Monrovia, Liberia, you will be placed under the authority of MSF-OCP Head of mission for administrative, logistics and security matters.

What you will bring : Skills to perform your main activities: 

Technical skills to optimize use of routine data to guide operational priorities:

• Optimize use of routine data to guide operational priorities
  • Review data flow and collection process and support implementation, at Barnersville Health Center (opened Dec 2022)
  • Provide technical support to data entry officer(s)
  • Provide extra support for data set up and processing during peak seasons for key morbidities (i.e. malaria, malnutrition)
  • Collaborate with medical teams to identify key data, ensure its quality, and use it to inform operational decisions – for both routine medical activities & outbreak/other emergency response
  • Guide (but do not replace) medical teams to create & maintain quality reporting; develop tools as necessary (minimize duplication)
  • Conduct trainings as needed to support medical teams to use & interpret data
    • Provide group and individual training to medical teams on key aspects of data management and interpretation to enhance team analysis and response capacity
    • As relevant, provide any necessary trainings/tools/follow up for health promotion team
  • Support Mental Health Program in key programmatic areas: understanding loss to follow up (LTFU)/defaulters; health-seeking behaviour and stigma (via PCSWs) 

 Emergency preparedness (EPREP) & surveillance

• Provide support to coordination for 2024 EPREP strategy
• Provide support to coordination for EPREP pre- and post-election period
• Attend weekly meetings: NPHIL surveillance bulletin meeting (Wed), NEPRC (Fri), EPI technical working group (vaccination) & nutrition cluster meetings, if occuring
• Coordinate with relevant stakeholders (i.e. WHO, CDC, etc)
• Follow up with NPHIL on epi support provided by predecessors &, as prioritized by coordination, support NPHIL to implement key changes to data collection tools, data cleaning practices, analytics and communication of the relevant data, including lab results
• Support surveillance activities at Barnersville Health Center OPD and IPD
• Maintain close collaboration with health promotion team in surveillance of RUTF availability in designated areas (Montserrado County)

Emergency response

General

• • Establish & maintain strong working relationships with key Ministry of Health (MoH) actors [notably National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL)] at national and county level
  • Obtain necessary data from partners to support operational decision-making
  • Liaise routinely with key actors at the MOH and at partner organizations
  • Produce a shareable document of health partner mapping for essential areas : key partners, roles, activities, gaps, historical activities, priorities and planned interventions (i.e. CDC, PIH, Last Mile Health, GIZ, USAID, WHO, etc) ; provide recommendations to coordination on strategic areas for advocacy or intervention
  • Produce weekly situation reports to coordination, technical referent and the cell on relevant outbreaks, diseases of outbreak potential & other emergencies (i.e. malnutrition)
  • Participate in outbreak investigations, or other rapid assessments, and initial response; advise coordination on response strategy
  • Conduct explos to priority areas, as needed (map health actors, assess surveillance, vaccination, response & case management capacities)
  • Support sample collection, transportation and follow-up with National Laboratory
  • Ensure proficient implementation of key linelists by staff & regular analysis and interpretation of data, namely: measles linelist      
  • Direct health promotion teams in community-based outbreak response measures & provide training, data analysis & interpretation (i.e. active case search, health promotion activities, referrals, community death notification, etc.)

Vaccination & EPI

• • With coordination, track EPI & partner planned vaccination campaigns for relevant diseases (i.e. measles) & track anticipated stock-outs and other disruptors of normal EPI activities
  • As requested by coordination, prepare proposals for MSF-supported vaccination or any support to MOH (i.e. coverage surveys, planning, age range targets)
  • With technical referents, advise coordination on strategic approaches to vaccination, and support the communication/advocacy to MOH and other stakeholders

Acute Malnutrition

• • Implement and lead follow up on recommendations of the Rapid Nutrition Survey (Aug/Sept 2023)
  • Propose & implement a light surveillance system for malnutrition in MSF catchment area
  • Monitor the overall  situation of acute malnutrition, and sector response capacity (case management, availability of supplies at OTPS and ITFC) across the counties, focusing particularly on Barnersville Health Center and the surrounding OTPs, plus other strategic areas (i.e. Montserrado, Grand Cape Mount and Bomi Counties)
  • Support the development, implementation and analysis of nutrition and food security surveys and any other response measures, as requested

Measles

• • Obtain, collate, analyze and interpret all available data on measles  (i.e. line lists from Barnersville Health Center, Somalia Drive Health District and Bushrod Health District; MoH), analyze and visualize data to identify population groups (age/sex/geography) with high attack rate and case-fatality-rate
  • Provide technical guidance to MoH, EPI, and NPHIL on planned national vaccination campaign (i.e. priority ages and areas, suggested analyses, cold chain, HR, health promotion, etc.)

Other priority diseases & potential emergencies

• • Monitor other diseases of outbreak potential and operational priority (i.e. cholera, viral hemmorrhagic fevers, pertussis, Yaws, Covid-19); Obtain, analyze and visualize outbreak data; evaluate needs for MSF response
  • Stay up to date on current epidemiology and general IPC measures for key areas
  • Collate and maintain existing historic data, and be aware of historical trends for these key areas

Operational Research

• Support the clinical team to develop concept notes for research proposals
• Provide ad hoc support to ongoing medical and operational research studies, as needed (i.e. for bCPAP, AMR and mental health prevalence studies)  

Team management skills: you will be able to develop training on epidemiology and data management. You will be requested to demonstrate your excellent planning and organizational skills; capacity to coordinate activities with other departments and partners, capacity to integrate into a multi-disciplinary, multi-national, highly motivated, and competent team. Your role will be key in order to ensure both the sizing and the amount of knowledge required, to improve epidemiological team members technical capabilities.

International context: you are willing and able to travel internationally on short notice. You have an excellent level of English (oral, written). As epidemiologist you might contribute to other team activities including training and international missions.

Qualifications

Educational & Experience: You have a Master’s degree or similar high-level certification in Epidemiology, an excellent knowledge of epidemiology related analytical software (e.g. Excel, Epi-info, RedCap, STATA, R, SPSS or SAS; ODK/Kobo Collect) and a good capacity for data management, cleaning and visualization of large datasets in Excel and capacity to train others in these areas.

You have a minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience in field epidemiology, a first experience with MSF/Epicentre is mandatory, and an extensive experience in data management, data analysis, and monitoring & evaluation.

You have demonstrated in your professional background a technical expertise with national infectious disease surveillance systems (DHIS-2 and IDSR), conducting rapid assessments, particularly rapid nutrition assessments, using SMART methodology, and you have experience with vaccination campaigns, or similar mass campaigns.

You are appreciated for your written and verbal communication skills. You have proven ability to work in sensitive environment and be flexible, diplomatic with humble attitude.

Additional Information

What you will get 

A fulltime appointment for 1 year with a potential option to renew & healthcare coverage.

• You will work with a multicultural team in the field of epidemiology research
• You will evolve in the humanitarian environment
• Your contributions and ideas will be valued and highly appreciated
• You will participate in the life of the organization and your missions will evolve as you become involved

Position to start as soon as possible, preferable in October 1st, 2023. The epidemiologist will be based in Monrovia, Liberia.

Salary is dependent on two main factors: domicile and experience on the job.

Candidate’s domicile determines which MSF section will act as employer;

To apply

Please send your application (CV + cover letter) no later than 08/31/2023.

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. In case we have received enough qualified applications, we might unpublished before.