Senior Systems and Technology Officer at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a specialized technical institution of the African Union established to support public health initiatives of Member States and strengthen the capacity of their public health institutions to detect, prevent, control and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Systems and Technology Officer - Saving Lives and Livelihoods Programme

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (HQ)
Grade: AUP3 Step 1
Supervisor: Programme Manager – Saving Lives and Livelihoods

Background Information

• The African Union, established as a unique Pan African continental body, is charged with spearheading Africa’s rapid integration and sustainable development by promoting unity, solidarity, cohesion and cooperation among the peoples of Africa and African States as well as developing a new partnership worldwide. Its Headquarters is located in Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia.
• The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) was officially launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on January 31, 2017. The Africa CDC is Africa’s first continent-wide public health agency and envisions a safer, healthier, integrated and stronger Africa, where Member States are capable of effectively responding to outbreaks of infectious diseases and other public health threats.
• The agency mission is to strengthen Africa’s public health institutions’ capabilities to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease outbreaks and other health burdens through an integrated network of continent-wide preparedness and response, surveillance, laboratory, and research programmes.
• Africa CDC has been at the forefront of the continent’s fight against the pandemic. The agency has set a goal to vaccinate 60 percent the continent’s population before the end of 2024.
• To achieve this ambitious and critical goal, the Africa CDC and the Mastercard Foundation are launching “Saving Lives and Livelihoods,” “partnership for COVID-19 Vaccination in Africa.” The planned Saving Lives and Livelihoods partnership is a unique initiative due to its scope and scale, the critical topics it focuses on, as well as the way it will be governed.

Job Description Summary

• The Senior Systems and Technology officer will be responsible for development and maintenance of digital and IT tools necessary in the vaccine rollout programme.
• These will include digital systems that will enable monitoring, tracking and other digital tools necessary for the vaccine delivery effort.
• He/she will also be expected to provide technical assistance to regional teams and implementing partners on digital systems.

Major Duties and Responsibilities
The Senior Systems and Technology Officer shall:

• Lead the design and deployment of digital systems and tools for performance management and impact assessment throughout the journey of vaccine delivery;
• Providing technical assistance and support in the prototyping, testing, piloting, roll-out, administration and maintenance of digital tools and systems at Africa CDC;
• Keep track of key developments in the digital space especially in relation to public health to continually identify new ideas, tools and trends that could provide opportunities within African CDC and member states;
• Ensure all digital programs have clearly defined metrics to evaluate success and continuous, measurable improvement;
• Identify areas for improvement in the existing Africa CDC digital tools such as the COVID-19 vaccination status dashboard;
• Develop technical specification and evaluation criteria for procurement of ICT software and hardware;
• Set-up a data analytics function which will create value by identifying and exploiting trends, preferences, and other information;
• Ensure high quality of the user experience across all digital channels;
• Manage relationship with IT Divisions to ensure implementation of an end-user engagement with digital tools;
• Represent Africa CDC in a professional manner that creates a positive image and enhances the credibility of the organization; and
• Perform any other duties as requested by the Programme Manager.

Qualifications and Work Experience Required

• Master’s Degree and above in IT, Computer Science, Information Systems, and related fields. The candidate needs to have at least 7 years of experience, of which 3 years are at supervisory level. Or
• Bachelor’s Degree and above in IT, Computer Science, Information Systems, and related fields. The candidate needs to have at least 10 years of experience, of which 3 years are at supervisory level.

Required Skills and Competencies:
Functional Skills:

• Ability to build a coherent digital strategy and successfully deliver a pipeline of value-creating innovation.
• Experience in developing state of the art digital tools for public health organizations and health initiative implementation
• Ability to develop new creative concepts and then take them from discovery phase through to delivery
• Experience in organizing and delivering training courses within governmental organisations would be an advantage.
• Strong technological knowledge, covering API architecture, analytics, Power BI, and MS-Project

Personal Abilities:

• Awareness of technological trends and application of necessary technology to daily work, when necessary
• High level of personal maturity
• Good standing and assertiveness, with excellent team work attitude and proven ability to influence and coordinate team beyond his/her own department
• Ability to work under pressure, with minimal supervision
• Ability to work and thrive in a culturally diverse team
• Strong communication skills in dealing with country officials, public sector and private sector partners and teams
• Adaptive, patient, resourceful, resilient, and flexible.
• Experience in building and managing successful teams that work well together, particularly cross-functionally
• Ability to deal with decision making processes in complex organizations

Language Requirements:

• Applicants must be proficient in at least one of the African Union working languages (English, French, Arabic or Portuguese).
• Knowledge of two or more of African Union working languages would be an added advantage.

Tenure of Appointment

• The appointment will be made on a fixed term contract for a period of three years, of which the first three months will be considered as a probationary period.
• Thereafter, the contract will be renewed annually subject to satisfactory performance and fund availability.

Gender Mainstreaming

• The AU Commission is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Remuneration
Indicative basic salary of US$37,453 (AUP3Step 1) per annum plus other related entitlements e.g. Post adjustment of US$17,228.38 (46% of basic salary per annum), Housing allowance of US$22,932 per annum, Thus a total of US$77,613.38 per annum plus Gratuity of 15% of Gross salary per annum.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply

Application Deadline  10th July, 2022.

Note

• To apply for this post, Click on the “Apply” button, complete our online application form, and submit your CV and cover letter in two different documents, which should be prepared before applying as they will be considered in the application process.
• The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit.
• The document should be saved in MS Word in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (mmyy) e.g., "Pat-Jones-CV-062022-AFENET" or "Pat-Jones-CoverLetter-062022-AFENET".

Queries:

• If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email at: afenet-[email protected] in the first instance