Epidemiologist
Organizational Context
The World Health Organization's (WHO) Division of Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Care (PPC) aims to advance global health. Within this division, the Department of Malaria & Neglected Tropical Diseases (MNT) focuses on eradicating these diseases through global leadership, research, and evidence-based guidance. The Strategic Information for Impact (SII) unit strengthens health information systems and data utilization for informed decision-making.
Job Purpose
This role supports the Strategic Information for Impact (SII) unit within WHO's Department of Malaria & Neglected Tropical Diseases (MNT). The primary purpose is to generate robust evidence through applied analytics to inform global and regional decisions, guidance, and strategies for malaria and NTDs. The position contributes to the Annual World Malaria Report, focusing on burden of disease estimation and survey analysis, and plays a key role in strengthening malaria and NTD health information systems. The role aims to enable data-driven decision-making at all levels, accelerating disease control, elimination, and eradication efforts by developing and applying analytical methodologies and fostering collaboration with partners.
Responsibilities
Design, plan, and implement applied analytics to generate evidence for global/regional decisions on malaria and NTDs. Contribute to the Annual World Malaria Report by managing and analyzing data, focusing on burden of disease estimation and household surveys. Continuously review and update analytical methodologies, particularly for malaria burden of disease estimation. Prepare analytical outputs for review and publication. Lead the formulation of analytical sections for the World Malaria Report. Participate in developing guidance for using malaria and NTD data for operations, policies, and evaluations. Contribute to sub-national stratification and intervention mix analysis for resource targeting. Provide technical assistance, review progress, and support capacity building. Build and maintain collaborations with partners in malaria and NTD analytics. Contribute to donor reports and resource mobilization for analytical activities. Liaise with other WHO teams to promote data-driven decision-making.
Work Experience
Essential: Minimum 5 years of professional experience in malaria-endemic countries. Experience working with national malaria/NTD programs and familiarity with the Sub-Saharan African policy environment. Proven experience in data collection, management, analysis, and utilization from surveys and routine programs. Demonstrated international exposure. Experience with electronic surveillance platforms (e.g., DHIS2), data collection tools (e.g., ODK), and visualization applications (e.g., Tableau). Desirable: Experience in workshop organization and facilitation, and managing research projects.
Skills
Expert knowledge of statistical and geospatial analysis programs (e.g., R, SAS, Stata, Python, ArcGIS), with expert proficiency in R. Concrete knowledge of malaria epidemiology. Expert knowledge in epidemiology and biostatistics. Demonstrated strong analytical capacity. Expertise in database management and health information systems (e.g., MS Access, Epi Info, DHIS2), with expert proficiency in DHIS2. Capacity to interpret modeling outputs. Ability to use and evaluate AI tools. Strong communication and presentation skills. Ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks effectively.