Community-Based Surveillance and Village Health Team Coordinator

Organizational Context

UNICEF is mandated to advocate for children's rights, meet their basic needs, and expand their opportunities globally. In Angola, despite progress in child survival, significant disparities persist in accessing essential health services. The country faces challenges with child malnutrition, low immunization rates, and recurrent public health emergencies like cholera and measles, straining its health system. Strengthening surveillance, community engagement, and emergency preparedness is crucial for a resilient health system.

Job Purpose

This role supports Angola's public health emergency preparedness, detection, and response capacities, contributing to the Pandemic Fund project and International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) compliance. The UN Volunteer will strengthen community-based surveillance systems and the engagement of Community Health Workers (ADECOS), ensuring effective linkage between communities and the national public health surveillance system. The objective is to establish integrated Early Warning and Early Action Systems (EWEAS) for timely detection and response to outbreaks and other public health threats, ultimately building a more resilient health system capable of safeguarding maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes.

Responsibilities

The Community-Based Surveillance and Village Health Team Coordinator will provide technical and operational support to strengthen Angola's public health emergency preparedness and response. Key responsibilities include strengthening community-based surveillance, early warning, and early action systems by supporting the design and deployment of integrated surveillance systems, community-based and event-based surveillance (EBS), and strengthening linkages between communities and health facilities. The role involves coordinating Community Health Workers, developing standardized surveillance tools, and facilitating the use of community-generated data for risk assessment and response. Capacity building is essential, involving the development and implementation of training plans for health workers and community volunteers on surveillance, outbreak investigation, and emergency preparedness. The coordinator will also monitor implementation progress, document lessons learned, and support reporting to stakeholders, while coordinating with government counterparts and international organizations.

Work Experience

Requires a minimum of three years of progressive experience in public health, disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness and response, community health, or health systems strengthening. Experience with community-based surveillance (CBS), event-based surveillance (EBS), or Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) is essential. Experience working with government health institutions, planning and delivering training, and supporting outbreak investigations or emergency response operations is highly valued. Familiarity with UN agencies or international NGOs is desirable.

Skills

Key competencies include professionalism, integrity, teamwork, respect for diversity, and commitment to continuous learning. Strong planning, organizing, and problem-solving skills are necessary, along with excellent communication and interpersonal abilities. Flexibility to work in potentially challenging environments and a genuine commitment to volunteerism and UNICEF's mission are important. Affinity with UNICEF's mandate and the UN System, self-motivation, and the ability to work under tight deadlines are also required.

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