1. Accountabilities

• Carrying out key epidemiological activities in outbreak investigation (description including time, place, people with emphasis on mapping when it is needed) and advising on the operational response 
• Implementing and maintaining a surveillance system to monitor epidemiological trends of relevant outbreak-prone diseases. Guiding activities of medical staff for surveillance and/or active case finding, including ensuring understanding of the need for consistent case definitions and data recording (briefing of all new staff)
• Monitoring and Implementing initial Assessment (for emergency situation), rapid health assessments and (baseline or follow-up) surveys. Where standard protocols are not available or appropriate, developing a protocol seeking extensive feedback and pilot testing of tools to ensure the objectives will be met robustly with support of HQ epidemiologist
• Preparing and adapting routine documentation (survey forms, training materials, letters of request/notification, locally appropriate consent forms etc.) with support of HQ epidemiologist. Preparing an appropriate sampling frame and sample selection guidelines with support of HQ epidemiologist
• Planning and supervising the associated HR processes of the staff under his/her responsibility (recruitment, training/induction, evaluation, potential detection, development and communication) and ensuring that staff exhibits required skills after training and pilot test
• Conceive, design, implement and disseminate operational research projects and assessments, as needed
• Support the evaluation of programmatic activities at project level, as needed
• Managing data systems and ensuring accurate, high quality databases; analyzing results and preparing regular written reports on progress and findings for medical coordinator/HQ and when appropriate to external collaborators/networks (MoH, other NGOs, etc.)

Providing training sessions to medical teams on relevant aspects of epidemiology to enhance team response capacity

1. MSF Section/Context Specific Accountabilities

Overview

The Sudan mission currently supports two primary project areas: Gedaref and Omdurman. In Gedaref, activities have focused on refugee and host populations, with a recent transition from a hospital-based model (including Tenedba) towards more targeted support to high-burden facilities, particularly for neglected tropical diseases.

In Omdurman, the project has anchor projects in nutrition (an ITFC in Al Buluk hospital) and potentially an SRH activity in partnership with a local organisation.

Both projects remain agile and emergency response and preparedness is a main pillar in both projects. Across both projects, there is an increasing emphasis on strengthening surveillance systems, early warning capacity, and outbreak preparedness, in line with the mission’s strategic priority to improve responsiveness to acute shocks while maintaining a lean and adaptable presence.

General outline:

• Main responsibility is scanning and analysis of outbreak prone diseases and ensuring high quality data collection and analysis processes in place for possible outbreak prone diseases, emergencies and possible responses. 
• Provide technical support for rapid assessment, risk mapping and development of preparedness/contingency plan at projects. 
• Maintain database of reported outbreaks and public health incidents, at the project level, and document all steps taken in the verification and response process.
• Support the production of the weekly epidemiological update through reviewing and summarizing the weekly epidemiological situation at project level.
• Train and supervise mission data supervisor and data encoders on data entry, crosscheck data to ensure accuracy of the data entered.
• Prepare tables and interpretation of surveillance data monthly as part of their monthly medical report (MMR) contribution

1. Surveillance 

• Supervise surveillance data collection procedures and conduct periodic data quality checks, as needed. 
• Monitor, evaluate, improve the performance of surveillance processes and platforms, and contribute to the formulation of surveillance guidelines, SOPs and training materials.
• Advise and provide timely reports to the project medical teams about potential or active epidemic trends and disease patterns, their characteristics, developments, possible causation, and control procedures.
• Establish early warning systems for epidemic prone diseases for early detection, verification, and response to public health events, as needed.
• Collaborate with epidemiologists from other MSF sections in Sudan to share and receive epidemiologic updates, and monitor and report on intersectional data tools including nutrition surveillance, measles dashboard, and any others.

2. Operational assessments/research

• Design, implement, analysis, and dissemination of operational research/assessment projects related to surveillance and medical programmatic effectiveness in collaboration with coordination and HQ epidemiologists.
• Conduct in-depth analysis of routine medical data to guide decision making.
• Conduct surveys (nutrition, mortality, morbidity, KAP, LQAS etc.), as requested by the mission or assist the project teams in doing so.

3. Training/mentoring

• Provide training of medical data processing and medical teams on surveillance-related topics and data management issues, as needed

4. Emergency Intervention / Implementation

• Conduct and lead outbreak investigations whenever there is an alert for outbreak. 
• Ensure daily/weekly data follow-up and analysis during outbreak and outbreak intervention.
• Conduct routine data analysis and provide routine update/SitRep during emergency response. 
• Participate in exploration activities and join a multidisciplinary team to conduct rapid health and nutrition assessment. 

5.Reporting and planning

• Contribute analysis and interpretation of surveillance/outbreak and research data to MMRs.
• Ensure appropriate and timely data analysis on potential emergency of outbreak diseases in the projects based on need (depending on the availability of data collected via partner/projects).
• Contribute to regular Mid-Year Revision (MYR) and Annual Planning (AP) discussions.
• Together with medical coordinator, MTL, and medical team, liaise with the partners and WHO/MoH towards epidemiological finding and trend analysis of potential outbreak emergency.

6. Lobby, Advocacy and Networking

• Regular participation in the meetings organized by community, WHO, and MOH at project and federal level when necessary. 

Support other related activities as needed by the projects.

1. Requirements

1. Education

• Essential, medical or para-medical related diploma.

1. Essential, degree (or masters) in Epidemiology or Public Health with training in statistics and epidemiology.

1. Experience

• Essential, working experience of at least one year in epidemiology-related jobs.
• Desirable, working experience with MSF or other NGOs.

Desirable, Field Epidemiology Training Programme (FETP) diploma.

1. Languages

1. Knowledge

• Essential, knowledge of Excel for data management and analysis
• Desirable, knowledge of DHIS2 or other electronic health data system.

1. Desirable, use of epidemiology related analytical software (Epi-info, R, etc)
2.  

1. Competencies

• Results and Quality Orientation L2
• Teamwork and Cooperation L2
• Behavioural Flexibility L2
• Commitment to MSF Principles L2 
• Stress Management L3.