Technical Advisor I (Outbreak Response Lead)
Job Code: TECH31014
Job Family: Technical
Compensation Band: Band MM
Location, Juba, South Sudan
Reports to: Country Project Director
About STRIDES:
The Strengthening Infectious Disease Detection Systems (STRIDES) activity is a critical addition to the United States Government’s global health security response. The STRIDES multidisciplinary team of experts quickly mobilizes to help partner country governments halt outbreaks before they spread. STRIDES also strengthens disease surveillance, laboratory networks, and reporting systems so countries can effectively prevent, detect and respond to emerging infectious diseases with the potential for outbreak.
Job Summary:
The Outbreak Response Lead provides technical and operational leadership for epidemic-prone disease outbreak preparedness and response under the STRIDES South Sudan program, with a primary current focus on Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) readiness along the South Sudan–DRC border. The role serves as the program’s technical lead for surveillance, laboratory/specimen transport, biosafety and PPE supply chain, and Rapid Response Team (RRT) capacity strengthening, working in close coordination with the National Public Health Institute (NPHI), Ministry of Health (MoH), the U.S. Department of State, and international outbreak response partners.
Accountabilities:
Outbreak Preparedness and Response Leadership
- Provide technical leadership in a specific technical component and/or project wide activity — specifically, outbreak and epidemic-prone disease preparedness and response, including Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) readiness, under the STRIDES South Sudan program.
- Lead the planning, coordination, implementation, and monitoring of outbreak preparedness and response interventions for EVD, VHFs, public health events.
- Coordinate rapid response operations from preparedness through outbreak detection, investigation, containment, and recovery.
- Coordinate development, implementation, and regular review of national and subnational outbreak preparedness and contingency plans.
Coordination and Partner Engagement
- Coordinate outbreak response activities with Ministries of Health, National Public Health Institutes, Public Health Emergency Operations Centers, WHO, UNICEF, CDC, NGOs, UN agencies, and other implementing partners.
- -Lead preparation of outbreak response reports, situation reports (SitReps), donor deliverables, technical briefs, and progress updates.
- Represent the project in Health Cluster meetings, Emergency Coordination meetings, Technical Working Groups, and partner coordination forums.
- Promote coordinated implementation across surveillance, laboratory, Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Case Management, WASH, Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), Logistics, and Points of Entry (PoE) pillars.
- Collaborate closely with STRIDES technical, MEL, operations, and program management teams to ensure integrated implementation and reporting.
- Facilitate cross-border collaboration and information sharing with neighboring countries where applicable.
Surveillance and early warning
- Strengthen coordination between surveillance and response teams to ensure timely detection, verification, investigation, and reporting of public health events.
- Support epidemiological investigations, active case finding, contacts tracing, hotspot mapping, and risk assessments.
- Monitor outbreak trends and response indicators to inform operational decision-making and resource allocation.
- Coordinate with MEL teams to monitor outbreak preparedness and response indicators, document lessons learned, and support adaptive management
- Promote implementation and monitoring of 7-1-7 performance targets and other outbreak preparedness and response benchmarks to strengthen timeliness and effectiveness of outbreak detection and response.
- Review and analyze alerts from health facilities, communities, laboratories, and partners.
- Support implementation of Early Warning Alert and Response Systems (EWARS).
Emergency Preparedness and Response
- Lead preparedness assessments, simulation exercises, table-top exercises, drills, readiness reviews, and intra-action reviews (IARs) after-action reviews (AARs).
- Coordinate with MEL teams to monitor outbreak preparedness and response indicators, document lessons learned, and support adaptive management Support establishment and strengthening of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) at national and subnational levels.
Capacity Strengthening
- Build the capacity of government and partner staff through technical training, mentorship, coaching, and supportive supervision.
- Support development and revision of outbreak response guidelines, SOPs, job aids, and training curricula.
- Promote continuous quality improvement through routine preparedness assessments, simulations, after-action reviews, and implementation of lessons learned. Monitor availability of outbreak response supplies such as PPE, sample collection kits, disinfectants, and medicines and support prepositioning of emergency response materials
- Strengthens Rapid Response Team (RRT) operational capacity — specimen collection, contact tracing, case management, and referral/transport systems — to close field-level gaps identified through after-action reviews and spot reports.
- Supports strengthening of Event-Based and Indicator-Based Surveillance (EBS/IBS) systems, including rollout of electronic reporting tools and specimen referral pathways to the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL).
- Represents STRIDES in USG and interagency outbreak coordination fora (e.g., Embassy-led EVD partner coordination meetings, PHEOC) and produces related risk-mapping, action-tracking, and gap-analysis
- Designs and delivers training and mentorship for RRTs and county-level health staff
- Lead the planning, coordination, and delivery of capacity-building initiatives, including training, technical guidance and mentorship, and simulation exercises, to strengthen the competencies of national and subnational health workers, Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), and implementing partners in outbreak preparedness and response.
- Develop, review, and disseminate technical training materials, standard operating procedures (SOPs), job aids, and operational guidelines, and provide on-the-job coaching to improve adherence to national and international standards for outbreak detection, investigation, and response.
- Conduct regular supportive supervision, performance monitoring, and after-action reviews to identify capacity gaps, monitor implementation of corrective actions, and promote continuous quality improvement in surveillance, emergency preparedness, and outbreak response systems.
Recovery and Post-Outbreak Activities
- Participate in outbreak closure assessments
- Support after-action reviews and debriefings
- Support improvement plans based on lessons learned
Applied Knowledge & Skills:
- Demonstrated knowledge of infectious diseases, outbreak investigation, emergency preparedness and response, Incident Management Systems (IMS), Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR), and International Health Regulations (2005), with the ability to coordinate multisectoral outbreak response activities.
- Excellent coordination, leadership, and stakeholder engagement skills, with proven ability to collaborate effectively with Ministries of Health, National Public Health Institute, UN agencies, donors, implementing partners, and other stakeholders in complex emergency settings.
- Excellent communication, report writing, and capacity-strengthening skills, with demonstrated ability to develop technical guidance, SOPs, preparedness plans, situation reports (SitReps), and deliver training, mentorship, and supportive supervision to strengthen outbreak preparedness and response capacity.
- Demonstrated technical expertise in outbreak/epidemic response, field epidemiology, infection prevention and control (IPC), or laboratory systems strengthening, ideally including Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) or other Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) response.
- Working knowledge of U.S. Government global health security funding mechanisms and reporting requirements.
- Ability to operate effectively in a fluid, high-pressure emergency response environment with incomplete information and rapidly shifting priorities.
Competency
- Epidemiological investigation, disease surveillance, emergency preparedness and response, Incident management, data analysis and reporting, risk communication, coordination and stakeholder engagement, Infection prevention and control (IPC), monitoring and evaluation, leadership and team management
Education:
- Master’s degree in public health, Epidemiology, Global Health, Infectious Disease Control, Health Systems Management, Environmental Health, or a related public health discipline.
- Bachelor’s degree in public health or relevant Health Profession with postgraduate training in Public Health or Epidemiology is an added advantage.
Experience:
- Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience outbreak preparedness and response, emergency management, epidemiology, or Global Health Security programs, with at least 3–5 years in a leadership or coordination role.
- Demonstrated experience leading preparedness and response activities for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (VHFs), and other Public Health Emergencies.
- Proven experience coordinating multisectoral outbreak response activities with Ministries of Health, National Public Health Institutes, Public Health Emergency Operations Centers (PHEOCs), United Nations agencies, donors, and implementing partners.
- Strong experience supporting activation and operation of Incident Management Systems (IMS) and Public Health Emergency Operations Centers (PHEOCs) during public health emergencies.
- Experience evaluating preparedness activities, Emergency Operation plans, assessments, simulation exercises, after-action reviews (AARs), and development of corrective action plans.
- Proven experience developing technical guidelines, SOPs, preparedness plans, donor reports, epidemiological bulletins, situation reports (SitReps), and other technical documentation.
- Demonstrated experience in strengthening capacity through training, mentorship of Outbreak Response Teams/RRTs.
- Experience working in humanitarian, fragile, or resource-limited settings and collaborating with international organizations, government institutions, and donor-funded programs is highly desirable.
- Excellent leadership, coordination, stakeholder engagement, communication, and report-writing skills, with the ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary and multicultural environments.
- Demonstrated experience leading outbreak or public health emergency response programs (e.g., EVD, other Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers, or other epidemic-prone diseases) in a low-resource or humanitarian setting.
- Experience working with national public health institutes, ministries of health, and USG or other bilateral global health security mechanisms preferred.
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Technology to be Used:
- Personal Computer, Microsoft Office 365 (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Skype/TEAMS, e-mail), office telephone, cell phone and printer/copier.
Travel Requirements:
- Willingness and ability to travel to high-risk counties, and health facilities, support Outbreak investigations, preparedness and Response, training and mentorship to Response Teams
- Must be willing and able to travel throughout all states and administrative areas of South Sudan to Outbreak Investigations, preparedness, and emergency response activities without geographical restrictions.
Languages
- Excellent written and spoken English is required; knowledge of Arabic or local South Sudanese languages is an added advantage.
How to Apply:
FHI 360 has a competitive compensation package. Interested candidates may apply by visiting www.fhi360.org/careers and uploading their Curriculum Vitae (CV)/Resume, Copies of Certificates and Names and Addresses of three (3) referees.
FHI 360 is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Closing Date: 15 September 2026. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
The expected hiring salary range for this role is USD 36,000 - 50,000 for annual basic salary. When determining an offer amount, FHI 360 factors in multiple considerations, including but not limited to: relevant years of experience and education possessed by the applicant, internal equity, market pay, and budget. For internal candidates, salary placement will also follow FHI 360’s current promotional increase guidelines
This job posting summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.
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