Senior Surveillance Advisor

Senior Surveillance Advisor 

Resolve to Save Lives - Embedded at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa

Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is a US-based, global public health organization with a mission to prevent 100 million deaths from heart disease and to make the world safer from epidemics. We are led by Dr Tom Frieden, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 2017, Resolve to Save Lives has partnered with low- and middle-income country governments, multi-lateral agencies, academic and other civil society partners, and communities to build capacity for and support implementation of enabling policies and effective programs to treat and control hypertension, reduce sodium intake, eliminate artificial trans fat, and strengthen systems for epidemic prevention. 

Resolve to Save Lives' Prevent Epidemics program works closely with Ministries of Health and national public health institutes in Africa to strengthen epidemic preparedness capacity, accelerate disease detection and response, and to use data effectively to inform action. We recently began a program for collaborative surveillance in several African countries, building on existing work to strengthen the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) and accelerate detection and response. This new initiative supports countries to align resources, maximize potential impacts for the effective use of data, and strengthen national capacities for implementation and ownership. The initiative also supports country implementation for activities to enhance disease and contextual/risk data through strengthened surveillance and innovations in epidemic intelligence, effective use of existing and emergent data throughout the event lifecycle (from anticipatory action to risk communication during emergencies), and development of data tools and products that support key decision-makers from communities, health sector officials, and policymakers.

Position Summary:  

RTSL is seeking a Senior Surveillance Advisor to be embedded with the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI). This role will focus on helping EPHI to develop collaboration, governance, and understanding for effective disease surveillance at the national, subnational, and community levels.  This position will sit within the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM). As part of their routine duties, the incumbent will also have regular reporting, technical support, and collaboration on outputs with RTSL.  

This is a fixed-term employment position through August 2026, with possibility of extension. 

Core Duties and Responsibilities: 

The Senior Surveillance Advisor will provide high-level strategy advice on the ecosystems of surveillance, including prioritization for the development, integration, and investment of surveillance systems, processes, and surrounding governance.  

Responsibilities span across the data lifecycle but are not limited to the following: 

• Provide strategic support to improve information flow and collaboration across relevant departments of EPHI to enhance public health emergency preparedness, detection, and response.  
• Work closely with directors and decision makers in public health emergency management to identify data needs for decision-making  
• Identify bottlenecks for data sharing, governance, and use relevant to public health emergency preparedness and response and work closely with relevant departments to address challenges. 
• Support coordination and integration across surveillance projects 
• Provide strategic level support for new or existing initiatives to improve data governance and coordination for public health emergency management. 
• Provide support to align plans and activities with national strategies and guidelines 
• Provide technical support for the development of strategic documents and guidelines in relation to improving national surveillance architecture and data governance 
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the EPHI Deputy Director General for PHEM