Field Epidemiologist/Public Health Officer - NOA (multiple Duty Station)

Organizational Context

South Sudan faces a complex emergency with conflict, displacement, and recurrent outbreaks. WHO supports the Ministry of Health and other entities in detecting, assessing, and responding to various health threats, including epidemic-prone diseases. The role is embedded at the county level to enhance public health actions.

Job Purpose

The Field Epidemiologist/Public Health Officer will provide crucial support for preparedness, readiness, and response to Bundibugyo Virus Disease and other public health emergencies within a designated high-risk county. This role is vital for strengthening surveillance systems, improving alert management, conducting rapid investigations, ensuring contact-tracing readiness, and effectively utilizing epidemiological data to inform timely operational actions. The position aims to enhance the capacity of local health departments and partners to manage and mitigate public health threats in a challenging environment.

Responsibilities

Support county-level surveillance, alert management, and event-based surveillance for priority health threats. Ensure adherence to case definitions, alert criteria, and reporting tools by health facilities and partners. Screen, verify, and document alerts, escalating high-risk ones for immediate investigation. Lead or support epidemiological investigations of suspected cases, clusters, and unusual events, producing reports and recommendations. Strengthen indicator-based surveillance, ensuring data quality, completeness, and timeliness. Establish and maintain county databases for alerts, cases, laboratory tracking, and contact tracing. Support the training and operational readiness of contact-tracing teams. Conduct descriptive epidemiological analysis and produce relevant reports. Provide input for risk assessments, incident action plans, and coordination meetings. Train and mentor surveillance personnel and health workers. Monitor surveillance tools and reporting platforms, identifying and addressing gaps. Ensure confidentiality and secure handling of health information. Identify operational bottlenecks and recommend corrective actions. Maintain readiness for immediate deployment.

Work Experience

Essential: At least two years of relevant professional experience in public health surveillance, epidemiology, outbreak investigation, emergency response, or communicable disease control. Experience in alert verification, case investigation, data analysis, and report production. Experience working with health authorities, facilities, communities, and partners at the state or county level. Desirable: Experience with WHO, Ministries of Health, national public health institutes, UN agencies, or humanitarian organizations; experience in fragile or conflict-affected settings; experience with viral hemorrhagic fever preparedness/response, contact tracing, cross-border surveillance, or point-of-entry monitoring; experience with IDSR, EWARS, DHIS2, mobile data collection tools, GIS, or dashboard platforms.

Skills

Strong knowledge of disease surveillance, event-based surveillance, outbreak investigation, contact tracing, and emergency risk assessment. Ability to analyze and interpret epidemiological data and provide recommendations. Skill in preparing clear reports, charts, and maps. Strong planning, coordination, problem-solving, and communication skills. Ability to work independently and collaboratively. Sound judgment and ability to maintain confidentiality. Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook). Experience with electronic data collection and management tools. Knowledge of DHIS2, EWARS, GIS, KoboToolbox, or similar platforms is desirable. Basic knowledge of statistical software (Epi Info, R, Stata, SPSS) is an asset.

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