Blog

The Institute of Human Virology (IHVN) is a leading and reputable non-governmental organization addressing infectious and non-infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis(TB) and cancer through the provision of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, capacity building, research, and care and support services. IHVN is in partnership with local and international organizations and the different tiers of the government of Nigeria at national, state and local levels. The Institute’s vision is to be a leader in providing quality health services, capacity building and research in West Africa and beyond.

The International Research Centre of Excellence (IRCE) was established by Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) to create an enabling environment which facilitates research activities that bridge international and Nigerian researchers. IRCE promotes public, private partnership for quality health services, capacity building and research in West Africa.
IRCE has a number of grants and projects running and the INFORM Africa (Role of Data Streams In Informing Infection Dynamics in Africa) project is one of such projects that brings together a multi sectoral and multidisciplinary group of investigators with complementary expertise in data science and other relevant disciplines, to collectively work on using retrospective public health and routine clinical data on SARS-CoV-2 and HIV;  exploring the relationships using national datasets in Nigeria and South Africa.

INFORM Africa is part of a Consortium of projects under the Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa (DSI-Africa) Initiative. DSI-Africa Initiative aims to leverage data science technologies to transform biomedical and behavioural research and develop solutions that would lead to improved health for individuals and populations.

The INFORM Africa project will run for 5 years from 2020 – 2025.

Position (Designation):	Program Officer/ Communications Specialist
Reports To:	Research Hub Manager
Job Location:	Abuja, International Research Centre of Excellence, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN Campus), Abuja, Nigeria

Opening Date:10^th December 2022
Closing Date:  31^st January 2023

Summary/Overview:

We are looking to hire a dedicated communications officer to join our research hub at INFORM Africa. The communications officer will develop and maintain our website, support our internal and external communications strategy, write and disseminate publicity material, respond to inquiries from the public &  media, and coordinate promotional events and activities of the INFORM Africa projects.
To succeed as a communications officer, you should be able to think creatively, and have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

A bachelor’s degree with experience as a communications officer or equivalent experience in a similar role is strongly desired. This position will support the Administrative core of INFORM Africa and will involve working closely with the Research Hub Manager.

Job Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with management to develop and implement an effective communication strategy
• Write, edit, and distribute content, including publications, press releases, website content, annual reports, speeches, and other marketing material that communicates the organization’s activities, products and/or services
• Respond to media inquiries, arrange interviews, and act as a spokesperson for the organization (when authorized)
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with journalists and maintain a media database and the project website
• Seek opportunities to enhance the reputation of the brand, and coordinate publicity events as required
• Maintain records of media coverage and collate analytics and metrics
• Proficiency in design and publishing software
• Manage conflict as it arises and escalate to the research hub manager
• Report challenges to the Research Hub Manager, where necessary

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Strong networking and representational skills
• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills in English
• Self-motivated with a strong ability to identify and develop relevant areas of work
• Able to communicate complex issues in a concise, accessible, and engaging manner
• Ability to meet deadlines with strong attention to consistency, detail, and quality
• Conversant with the use of Microsoft Office Applications – MS Excel, Word, and PowerPoint

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications or sciences
• Minimum of 2 years’ relevant experience in a communications/ science communication role
• Evidence of active social media presence
• Knowledge of desktop publishing software (e.g., InDesign/Photoshop).
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal skills
• Good time management and organizational skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, content management systems, and social media platforms
• Previous experience working in a role that was heavy on communication strategies and website maintenance will be preferred.
• Master’s or higher degree in is an added advantage

Method of Application:

Interested and qualified candidates should send a detailed resume and a one-page cover letter as one MS Word document explaining suitability for the position to Deputy Director, Human Resources through this email address: [email protected] All applications must explicitly state the position applied for in the subject of the email. Candidates are advised to provide three professional referees with email addresses and phone numbers. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

The Institute of Human Virology (IHVN) is a leading and reputable non-governmental organization addressing infectious and non-infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and cancer through the provision of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, capacity building, research, and care and support services. IHVN is in partnership with local and international organizations and the different tiers of the government of Nigeria at national, state and local levels. The Institute’s vision is to be a leader in providing quality health services, capacity building and research in West Africa and beyond.

This cross cutting disease surveillance network consist of 3 separates parts which will include 3 surveillance activities; (i) acute febrile illness (AFI) surveillance (ii) Serologic surveillance using viral load (VL) remnant specimens from people living with HIV (PLHIV) (iii)serologic surveillance using stored antenatal care (ANC) stored dried blood spots (DBS). The Acute Febrile illness (AFI) project is a hospital based prospective active surveillance project to be implemented in 6 tertiary facilities in Nigeria across 6 states including FCT. The results of this project will provide data to support more reliable estimates of the burden of disease, and updated evidence-based algorithms for the management of febrile illness; generate valuable surveillance data which will inform programmatic planning for effective prevention and control of infectious diseases.

POSITION	Senior Program Officer, Global health Security (Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) Surveillance project)
SCHEDULED WORK TIME	Monday – Friday (Flexibility, willing to travel and work weekends)
LOCATION	IHVN
REPORTS TO	Project Director SECURE-Nigeria & Principal Investigator SECURE-Nigeria

Opening Date: 8/12/2022

Closing Date: 22/12/2022

Position Overview

The incumbent will serve as the project manager for the cross cutting disease sentinel surveillance project. This position is responsible for the management of SECURE-Nigeria newly established project on crosscutting communicable disease sentinel surveillance network which includes Acute Febrile illness (AFI) sentinel surveillance and serology surveillance. The Project manager will work closely with the NCDC surveillance team and provide leadership and strategic direction for this project, coordination and use of diagnostic test to better identify the cause of fever and epidemic-causing pathogens from remnant viral load and ANC samples. 

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical and operational support, training, as needed to implement sentinel surveillance for AFI and serological surveillance using remnant viral load and ANC samples.
• Support the capacity of NCDC to implement sentinel surveillance for epidemic prone diseases.
• Develop close working relationships with Acute Febrile illness & serologic surveillance investigators and key opinion leaders in the field.
• Support data analysis from ongoing sentinel data
• Play a leadership role in the scientific team as the AFI and serologic surveillance expert, and a key coordination role amongst NCDC and IHVN team.
• Support AFI sentinel surveillance and serologic surveillance across all 6 sentinel sites
• Ensure that activities and diagnostic conducted are of the highest quality, in accordance with global norms for diagnostic tests.
• Manage and Supervise sentinel surveillance project staff
• Managing a team of scientists and project managers each sentinel site to execute against established programme goals
• Report to the stakeholders on progress of individual projects and budgets on a regular basis and present interim reviews for stakeholders review.
• Prepare reports and presentations to the CDC

Minimum Requirements:

Essential

• Advanced Clinical degree (MD, MBBS, BMChB, BPh, DM, RN or equivalent degree) with at least 5 years’ experience in disease surveillance.
• An advanced degree in epidemiology, Public health or related background is needed.
• A thorough understanding of IDSR guideline and relevant infectious disease epidemiology and public health issues.
• Strong scientific background with a track record of published studies.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Strong project management skills;

Desirable

• Proficiency in the use of data analytical software.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.

Method of Application

• Interested and qualified candidates should send a detailed resume and a one page cover letter as one MS Word document explaining suitability for the position to Deputy Director, Human Resources through this email address: [email protected]
• Application must explicitly state the position applied for in the subject of the email. Candidates are advised to provide three professional referees with email addresses and phone numbers. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Please do not apply if you do not meet the essential requirement for this position

The Institute of Human Virology (IHVN) is a leading and reputable non-governmental organization addressing infectious and non-infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and cancer through the provision of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, capacity building, research, and care and support services. IHVN is in partnership with local and international organizations and the different tiers of the government of Nigeria at national, state and local levels. The Institute’s vision is to be a leader in providing quality health services, capacity building and research in West Africa and beyond.

Through funding from US-CDC, IHVN is implementing the Strengthening Global Health Security Agenda in Nigeria Project SECURE-Nigeria. This project provides technical support to Government of Nigeria agencies including NCDC and NPHCDA to strengthen surveillance activities as part of IHR 2005. Under this cooperative agreement through various component funding, SECURE –Nigeria is implementing several surveillance project including i) Establishing Sentinel surveillance for Acute Febrile illness ii) Strengthening surveillance systems for adverse event monitoring following COVID-19 vaccines rollout iii) SARS-CoV 2 Serological Surveillance using remnant samples  iv) Strengthening routine IDSR reporting and data management v) Capacity building for Epidemiology and Data analysis vi) Infection prevention and Control Practices etc. other IHR related support.

Position	Surveillance and Epidemiology Lead
Work Time	Monday – Friday (Flexibility, willing to travel and work weekends)
Location	IHVN Abuja
Reports To	Project Director SECURE-Nigeria & Principal Investigator SECURE-Nigeria

Opening Date: 6^th December 2022
Closing Date:   16^th December 2022

Position Overview

The incumbent will provide technical leadership and lead in the following activities within SECURE Nigeria i) Acute Febrile illness (AFI) sentinel surveillance ii) Adverse event following immunization (AEFI) surveillance iii) Development of priority disease strategic plan for NCDC iv) Surveillance data quality management system at NCDC v) Assessment of the capacity for e Laboratory IDSR and Logistic management system at the national public health institute.vi) Hand Hygiene program implementation. The surveillance and Epidemiology lead will work closely with other members of the team, NCDC and NPHCDA to achieve project deliverables.

 Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical and operational leadership as needed to implement surveillance for Acute febrile illness (AFI), Adverse event following immunization (AEFI) surveillance and other surveillance activities within the SECURE-Nigeria project
• Develop close working relationships with NCDC and priority disease technical working groups (TWG) to support outbreak response activities
• Develop protocol and provide technical leadership in the evaluation of public health functions and process as required
• Support disease technical working group
• Develop and implement strategies to strengthen surveillance operations of the GoN
• Facilitate the management, development and monitoring of work plans and budgets; ensures appropriate levels of technical assistance for interventions
• Supervise technical, operational, and managerial aspects of SECURE-Nigeria project as a senior member of the team
• Assist the project director to ensure effective management, and accountability of the SECURE-Nigeria project, through providing technical leadership to diverse teams to deliver on project’s deliverables and mandate
• Provide technical support to the team in the areas of infectious disease and event surveillance, infection prevention and control and epidemiological research
• Coordinate the development of strategies, SOPs, standards, and guidelines for public health surveillance

Minimum Requirements:

Essentials:

• Advanced Clinical Degree (MD, MBBS, BMChB, BPh, DM, RN or equivalent degree) with at least 7years’ experience in disease surveillance
• An advanced degree in epidemiology, Public health or related background is needed
• A thorough understanding of IDSR guideline and relevant infectious disease epidemiology and public health issues
• Strong scientific background with a track record of published studies
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• Strong project management skills

Desirable:

• Proficiency in the use of data analytical software.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.

Method of Application:

Interested and qualified candidates should send a detailed resume and a one page cover letter as one MS Word document explaining suitability for the position to Deputy Director, Human Resources through this email address: [email protected]
Application must explicitly state the position applied for in the subject of the email. Candidates are advised to provide three professional referees with email addresses and phone numbers. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.