Lead Poisoning Surveillance Coordinator - Vital Strategies

Vital Strategies is expanding our program that addresses the issue of lead poisoning in low- and middle-income countries. We plan to build upon existing efforts and interest by collaborating with governmental agencies in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to strengthen health systems and build local expertise in childhood lead exposure to enact sound, cost-effective policies to address exposures.

Job Purpose:

The Lead Poisoning Surveillance Coordinator with direction from Vital Strategies’ Program Manager, will closely work with the Ministry of Health to design, support, and monitor nationally representative blood lead surveillance and related activities. This position will also provide programmatic and operational support, maintain partnerships with key stakeholders, and plan and organize workshops.

This position will be seconded into and will receive co-supervision by appropriate personnel in the Ministry of Health (MoH) or relevant health agencies in Accra.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Stakeholder Engagement -

• Serve as a liaison between the Government of Ghana/ MoH and Vital Strategies, facilitating communication and collaboration;
• Work with appropriate authorities and stakeholders across sectors to build and maintain awareness of broader lead-related initiatives;
• Coordinate with all key stakeholders to ensure regular and timely communication and progress of the project.

Technical Support -

• Provide technical support to the health team and other key stakeholders to develop a countrywide blood lead surveillance framework;
• Seek and incorporate technical input from key stakeholders on the surveillance framework and support the standardization of surveillance procedures;
• Assist in developing national-level strategies and action plans for reducing lead poisoning;
• Coordinate and conduct training sessions for health staff, laboratory staff, and field teams on blood lead surveillance procedures.

Program Management and Implementation -

• Monitor and oversee field surveillance teams, track data collection progress, and identify challenges for efficient implementation;
• Conduct field visits for on-ground supervision and to ensure data quality;
• Conduct data analysis and prepare presentations, technical and non-technical reports for routine review and decision-making;
• Coordinate meetings and events (e.g., workshops, webinars);
• Support dissemination of surveillance findings to key stakeholders.

Administrative and Operational -

• Manage program-related operations by assisting with project start-up, logistics, contracting, expense and activity monitoring and reporting, and procurement activities with support from the administrative assistant;
• Assist with other duties assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications:

Education -

• Master’s degree in public health, environmental health science, epidemiology, and health policy.

Skills & Abilities -

• Demonstrated familiarity with public health systems, health programs, and disease surveillance programs;
• Strong interpersonal and team-building skills to foster trust, facilitate collaboration among stakeholders and communicate effectively with interdisciplinary teams;
• Flexibility to collaborate with colleagues across time zones.
• Proven ability to plan, execute, and monitor public health programs at the national level;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to engage diverse audiences. Professional oral and written proficiency in the native language and English;
• Ability to interpret public health data, generate insights, and effectively communicate findings with stakeholders;
• Strong skills in managing multiple tasks and program logistics. Ability to anticipate challenges and develop solutions. Self-motivated, proactive, and able to work independently while coordinating with multiple teams;
• Passion for addressing environmental health challenges and improving community well-being;
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook);
• Demonstrated commitment to contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.

Experience:

Required -

• Six to seven years of relevant experience;
• Two or more years of experience in data management and analysis related to public health or environmental health;
• Experience working with government health departments;
• Experience in conducting training sessions for health and laboratory staff.
• Experience in organizing meetings, workshops, and discussions.

Preferred -

• Experience in conducting and managing surveillance programs at the National level or experience in managing health-related surveys;
• Experience in large health data or data visualization tools is a plus;
• Experience working with statistical software such as R, SAS, SPSS, Stata;
• Experience in using project management platforms such as Monday or Airtable is a plus.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• This is a full time seconded (embedded) position that will be based out of the Ministry of Health (MoH) or relevant health agencies located in Accra, Ghana;
• This vacancy advertisement is open to Ghanaian Nationals and candidates holding a valid work resident permit for Ghana;
• Willingness to work onsite at the MoH in close coordination with the government, and may involve work-from-home;
• The successful candidate will be hired on Vital’s Employer of Record;
• Willing to travel for in-person meetings and field visits in Ghana as needed, and occasionally travel internationally to attend meetings.

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