JOB SUMMARY: The Epidemiologist serves as a senior technical contributor and subject matter expert for the GUARD project, providing targeted epidemiological support to strengthen alert-to-action and outbreak containment capacities across selected priority countries. The role focuses on infectious disease surveillance, high-consequence infectious disease (HCID) readiness, screening and triage, safe isolation, referral pathways, and frontline provider protection during emergency responses.

Working under the direction of the Technical Director, the Epidemiologist will design, adapt, deliver, and mentor on training, practical tool adaptation, delivery, and continuous improvement of technical tools, training, mentoring approaches, and supportive supervision activities. The role works closely with country teams, national and subnational counterparts, and consortium partners to help apply readiness protocols and support rapid, evidence-based, and coordinated outbreak containment within the critical 24–72-hour response window.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function with or without reasonable accommodation.

MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Disease Surveillance and Outbreak Detection

• Support the update, implementation, and strengthening of infectious disease surveillance systems—including event-based, indicator-based, and community-based surveillance—within existing national systems across priority countries.

• Update and standardize case definitions, reporting forms, and data flow mechanisms to ensure timely, accurate, and actionable information sharing between national and subnational levels.

• Update and operationalize screening and triage protocols at points of entry, health facilities, and community settings to enable early detection and rapid case identification.

• Analyze and monitor surveillance data to detect signals, anomalies, and potential outbreaks, supporting timely alert mechanisms within the 24–72-hour response window.

• Map transmission dynamics, identify hotspots, and produce epidemiological intelligence briefs to inform response prioritization and resource allocation.

Outbreak Investigation and Response Support

• Work with national counterparts and GUARD technical teams to support rapid outbreak investigations, including case finding, contact tracing, line listing, and descriptive epidemiological analyses.

• Conduct or contribute to epidemiological assessments and situation analyses during alert and response phases to characterize outbreak magnitude, risk factors, and transmission patterns.

• Update and implement active case finding strategies, including community surveillance networks and enhanced passive surveillance in high-risk settings.

• Update safe isolation protocols, referral pathways, and patient flow mechanisms in collaboration with clinical and operational teams to minimize secondary transmission.

• Support the establishment of isolation centers and treatment facilities by providing epidemiological guidance on layout, cohorting, and risk stratification based on transmission dynamics.

Epidemiological Data Management and Analysis

• Manage, clean, and analyze epidemiological datasets using statistical software (e.g., R, STATA, SPSS, Epi Info) to generate timely and evidence-driven insights.

• Produce epidemiological curves, risk maps, attack rates, case fatality rates, and other key indicators to track outbreak progression and evaluate intervention effectiveness.

• Develop and maintain standardized databases and dashboards for real-time surveillance monitoring and reporting.

• Ensure data quality, integrity, and confidentiality across all surveillance and outbreak datasets in compliance with organizational and donor standards.

• Translate complex epidemiological findings into clear, actionable recommendations for program staff, government partners, and donors.

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and HCID Readiness

• Provide epidemiological technical guidance and input for IPC strategies, ensuring outbreak surveillance data inform the adaptation of IPC guidelines, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and risk assessment tools for health facilities and community settings.

• Support or conduct epidemiological assessments of HCID readiness, identifying surveillance gaps, trigger framework deficiencies, and data flow bottlenecks to enable rapid outbreak detection and response.

• Update/develop epidemiologically informed criteria for safe isolation, referral pathways, and patient flow mechanisms, utilizing transmission dynamics data and risk stratification to minimize nosocomial transmission and protect healthcare workers.

• Support the design, adaptation, and implementation of exposure risk assessment tools and occupational health surveillance systems to monitor healthcare worker infections, analyze IPC-related transmission data, and inform targeted interventions.

• Analyze IPC surveillance indicators (e.g., healthcare worker infection rates, compliance metrics, environmental sampling data) to identify breaches, trends, and outbreak signals requiring escalation.

• Coordinate with WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) and logistics teams to ensure epidemiological risk assessments inform IPC supply planning, infrastructure standards, and facility design.

HCID Readiness and Frontline Provider Protection

• Assess and strengthen national and subnational readiness for high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) through epidemiological gap analyses, surveillance capacity mapping, and trigger framework evaluation.

• Develop/update epidemiological readiness protocols and alert trigger frameworks to enable rapid activation within the 24–72-hour response window.

• Design/update exposure risk assessment tools and occupational health surveillance systems to protect frontline healthcare workers during outbreak responses, ensuring data are analyzed to detect early signals of nosocomial transmission.

• Provide epidemiological guidance on safe burial protocols and dead body management protocols and reduce community transmission risks by coordinating with Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) specialists to ensure community engagement strategies are grounded in epidemiological evidence.

• Coordinate with clinical, logistics, and WASH teams to ensure epidemiological considerations, including transmission dynamics and risk stratification, are integrated into facility design and operational planning.

Training, Mentoring and Capacity Building

• Design, adapt, deliver, and evaluate training materials and capacity-strengthening activities on epidemiological surveillance, outbreak investigation, data management, and response protocols for national and subnational health teams.

• Adapt practical epidemiological and IPC risk assessment tools, job aids, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to local contexts, languages, and health system capacities.

• Provide remote and in-person mentoring and supportive supervision to Ministry of Health staff, surveillance officers, and health facility teams.

• Facilitate cascade training models and competency-based assessments to ensure sustainable capacity building and knowledge retention.

• Support the integration of epidemiological and IPC surveillance principles into pre-service and in-service training curricula for health professionals.

Coordination, Partnership and Reporting

• Liaise with national Ministries of Health, CDC, and other consortium partners to ensure harmonized surveillance strategies and interoperable data systems.

• Represent or support representation of GUARD and International Medical Corps, as assigned, in epidemiological and IPC technical working groups, outbreak coordination meetings, and surveillance networks.

• Ensure alignment with donor priorities, government strategies, and global best practices in all epidemiological and IPC-related activities.

• Prepare high-quality epidemiological reports, situational updates, surveillance bulletins, and donor reports in a timely manner.

• Document lessons learned, best practices, and case studies to inform organizational knowledge management and future programming.

• Provide technical inputs to proposal development, work planning, reporting, and budgeting for epidemiology, surveillance and IPC components of GUARD programming.

Perform other duties as assigned. The duties and responsibilities listed in this document are representative of the nature and level of work assigned and not necessarily comprehensive.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Master’s degree in Epidemiology, Public Health, Biostatistics, or a related health sciences field. A medical degree (MD/MBBS) with postgraduate training in epidemiology is highly desirable. Specialized training in Field Epidemiology (e.g., FETP, FELTP) or equivalent outbreak investigation and surveillance certification. Field experience and formal training in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) for infectious disease outbreaks (e.g., CDC or other internationally accepted IPC training, or equivalent) is strongly preferred.

• Experience: Minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in epidemiology, infectious disease surveillance, and outbreak response in humanitarian, emergency, or development contexts. Proven track record in designing and managing surveillance systems, conducting outbreak investigations, and producing epidemiological analyses for high-consequence infectious diseases (e.g., Ebola, Marburg, COVID-19, cholera). Demonstrated experience delivering epidemiological training, mentoring health staff, and providing supportive supervision in low-resource or conflict-affected settings. Prior experience working with international NGOs, UN agencies, or Ministries of Health in multiple countries or regions. Experience in rapid response deployment and ability to mobilize within 24–72 hours is strongly preferred.

• Epidemiological Expertise: Strong technical knowledge of infectious disease epidemiology, surveillance methodologies, outbreak investigation frameworks, and descriptive and analytical epidemiology.

• Data Analysis: Proficiency in statistical analysis using R, STATA, SPSS, Epi Info, or similar tools; ability to manage datasets and produce clear, high-quality epidemiological outputs.

• Surveillance Systems: Strong understanding of event-based, indicator-based, and community-based surveillance; familiarity with DHIS2, ODK, and other health information platforms.

• Training and Facilitation: Excellent adult learning and facilitation skills; experience with participatory training methodologies and remote mentoring platforms.

• Communication: Outstanding verbal and written communication skills in English; ability to present complex epidemiological data to diverse audiences. Proficiency in French, Spanish, Arabic, or Portuguese is an asset.

• Technical Delivery: Ability to manage multiple technical priorities, meet deadlines, and produce high-quality epidemiological outputs in fast-evolving emergency contexts.

• Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse technical, operational, government, and partner teams across multiple geographic locations and organizational contexts.

• Problem-Solving: Strong critical thinking and adaptive management skills; ability to innovate and make evidence-based decisions in resource-constrained environments.

• Working Conditions: This position requires up to 40% international travel to selected priority countries, often on short notice and in response to emerging outbreaks. Deployments may involve travel to remote, insecure, or austere environments with limited infrastructure. The incumbent must be medically clear for travel, willing to work extended hours during emergency responses, and able to adapt to rapidly changing security and operational contexts. International Medical Corps is committed to the safety and security of all staff and maintains rigorous duty of care protocols.