Technical Advisor, Surveillance

About the position MSH seeks a Surveillance Technical Advisor for a potential 5-year Rapid Outbreak and Response (ROR) project funded by the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD) of the U.S. Department of State. The program aims to advance timely, effective responses to infectious disease outbreaks by supporting immediate response actions during the earliest stages of an outbreak when rapid intervention can significantly limit transmission and reduce morbidity and mortality. The program capitalizes on existing country capacities and partnerships to support swift activation of outbreak response activities, complementing national leadership and established response frameworks. Activities support countries to 1) Rapid Activation and Surge Response, 2) Early Detection, Containment, and Mitigation, 3) Coordinated and Operationally Effective Response Support, and 4) System Reinforcement and Transition from emergency surge to recovery. MSH is a global health nonprofit that works with local partners from the Ministry to the community to build strong, resilient, and equitable health systems in more than 150 countries. This position is subject to project award and funding. The job location is flexible to candidates in the U.S. and other countries where MSH can hire. Candidates can be remote or on-site.

Responsibilities

• Provides technical leadership for design, technical assistance, implementation, and monitoring related to surveillance system strengthening activities.
• Ensures the technical integrity and quality of all activities and interventions.
• Supports the integration and strengthening of surveillance with laboratory detection and public health response systems.
• Contributes to project work planning, documentation, reporting, and coordination across MSH teams and partners.
• Contributes to business and resource development activities as requested.
• Leads the design, rollout, and monitoring of indicator-based, event-based, and community-based surveillance strengthening activities.
• Supports MOH and national public health institutes to improve pathogen detection, case reporting, and verification of public health events.
• Strengthens early warning systems, including digital platforms, data flows, interoperability, and real-time analytics.
• Supports development of national protocols, guidelines, and SOPs for surveillance, data quality, and reporting to national and global systems.
• Provides technical direction for integrating surveillance and laboratory systems to improve detection-to-reporting cycles.
• Leads capacity strengthening activities and mentorship for national, regional, and other surveillance and epidemiology teams within the health system.
• Provides ongoing technical support to strengthen data analysis, visualization, and epidemiological interpretation for decision-making.
• Facilitates and improves coordination across MOH, national public health institutes, USG agencies, implementing partners, and government and regional bodies.
• Strengthens systems for timely data and information sharing in line with national policies and USD requirements.
• Contributes to high-quality project documentation, assessments, reports, and learning products.
• Contributes to annual work planning, MERL processes, and performance tracking related to surveillance outputs and outcomes.
• Supports cross-cutting GHS activities, including preparedness, workforce development, outbreak investigations, and rapid response.

Requirements

• MPH, MS, MD, PhD, or other advanced degree in epidemiology, public health surveillance, disease control, or related field.
• Minimum of 8+ years of experience supporting or managing surveillance systems in low- or middle-income countries.
• Demonstrated expertise in disease surveillance, early warning systems, IBS/EBS, data analysis, and data-use systems.
• Experience working with Ministries of Health, government and regional bodies, national public health institutes, USG partners, and multilateral organizations.
• Familiarity with USG supported surveillance platforms and approaches, global reporting systems, and GHS technical areas.
• Strong technical writing, communication, capacity-building, and stakeholder coordination skills.
• Fluency in English is required.

Nice-to-haves

• Proficiency in French is preferred.

Benefits

• Substantial vacation, sick and holiday policies
• Training and development programs
• Competitive insurance coverage for health, vision, dental, life, short-term and long-term disability
• 401k plan
• Flexible Spending Account