GRADE: GS 6 Step 1

BACKGROUND
The Global Commission for the Certification of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis certified the eradication of type 2 poliovirus in 2015. In 2016 the trivalent oral polio vaccine was withdrawn from all routine immunization programmes globally and replaced by the bivalent vaccine. The risk of spread of wild polio viruses (WPVs) from endemic countries and vaccine derived polio viruses (VDPVs) which can arise in different context remains a threat. Currently the type 2 component of the oral polio vaccine accounts for the majority of circulating vaccine derived polio virus (cVDPVs) cases and vaccine associated paralytic poliomyelitis (VAPP) cases. In November 2015 the World Health Assembly (WHA) declared the ongoing spread of WPVs and cVDPVs as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) and is reportable under the International Health Regulations (2005).

Zambia continues to employ all the global strategies for enhanced routine immunizations, active acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance, national immunization days (NIDs) and mop-up campaigns for polio eradication. In 2018 the country initiated environmental surveillance (ES) for polio to complement AFP surveillance. Currently, there are 16 ES sites countrywide in Zambia in total comprising 11 old and five new sites situated in seven provinces namely Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, North-Western, and Southern.

However, there have been recent setbacks in the country’s efforts towards polio eradication with detection of WPV1 in Malawi and Mozambique in 2021. The response involved implementation of five bOPV rounds initially in 30 districts and later nationwide. Further, there were seven cVDPVs detected in 2023 that necessitated response with four rounds of nOPV2 SIA campaigns initially in four provinces and later in the rest of the six provinces. During 2024, there was one outbreak of VDPV detected in Ndola and one round of nOPV2 SIA campaign was implemented in response towards the end of July 2024.

WHO in collaboration with other GPEI partners is supporting the Ministry of Health to respond to the cVDPVs and other polio outbreak events detected in-country. A major component of the response is to conduct bOPV/ nOPV2 supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) and updating of the Polio database with regards to AFP and ES activities implementation. Consequently, the WHO Country Office (WCO) seeks to recruit a Data Management Assistant at a grade of G6 on short term basis to support the planning, implementation, and evaluation of polio vaccination campaigns as well as updating of the Polio database.

Purpose
Under the overall supervision of the WHO Representative and general oversight of the EPI unit, the Surge Data Management Assistant will provide technical guidance to national and sub national authorities towards the successful implementation of mass vaccination campaigns and Polio surveillance activities.

Specific requirements

Minimum requirements
Certificate or Diploma in data management or public health data management; knowledge of infectious diseases and immunization.

Added advantage: Additional higher qualifications in data management, epidemiology, public health will be an added advantage.

Experience and skills

• Have at least 2 years’ work experience in EPI or related functions
• Experience in Public Health in relation to the implementation of mass vaccination campaigns / surveillance
• Sound knowledge of WHO standards and policies on Immunisation, IDSR and IHR (2005)
• Good knowledge and understanding of the functionality of EPI and surveillance systems at national, sub-national, local and community levels of the health systems in Zambia
• Strong scientific writing and development of reports
•  Experience verifying, managing, analyzing, and presenting data
• Proficiency in all MS Office applications including spreadsheets
• Proficiency in use of at least one statistical data analysis software e.g. Power BI, STATA, Epi Info, SAS
• Experience working successfully in similar position as outlined in the scope of work
• Excellent written and communication skills in English is required

Justification
There is a need to support preparation, implementation, and documentation for data management of Polio SIAs and Surveillance. Further, the Polio programme has struggled to update the weekly Polio data base in the absence of a data management specialist well vested with Epi Info and other data applications used by AFRO for weekly reporting.

Scope
To provide Polio SIAs data management related procedures during the response to WPV1 and cVDPVs. The Data Management Assistant will:

1. Coordinate the daily Polio SIAs data management activities
2. Debrief and detail the field teams on the data management related activities.
3.  Ensure daily logistics for data management related procedures
4. Support the field teams in trouble shooting challenges related to data management.
5. Documentation of all data management related activities
6. Support data analysis and report writing
7. Weekly reporting on Polio in the AFRO database
8. Liaise with the National Polio Laboratory on updating of AFP and ES results in the database
9.  Provide field consultants with updated lists of AFP cases due for 60 Day Follow Ups and update the database accordingly
10. Support any other assignments as delegated by the GPEI Coordinator

Required Qualities

• Ability to work collaboratively with multiple partners and teams at national, regional, district and community levels.
• Good team player
• Strong interpersonal, communication, leadership, collaborative, and good listening skills
• Ability to work independently with minimum supervision
• Willingness to accept different opinions and feedback
• Ability to complete tasks in a timely manner

Duration of Assignment

• The estimated duration of the short-term recruitment of 4 months from September 2024 to December 2024.

Deliverables:

• Technical reports
• Updated Polio Database

Payment terms:

• 100 percent of monthly payment.