Senior Technical Officer – Public Health Institutes and Capacity Building (AfCDC) at the African Union (AU) – 5 Openings

Job Title: Senior Technical Officer – Public Health Institutes and Capacity Building (AfCDC)

Purpose of Job

• In the execution of its strategic work plan, RCCs will support the Africa CDC. 
• The collaboration and support of the centers is to ultimately bring into reality, an “Africa CDC without walls.” In doing so, RCCs will support Africa CDC in aiding the African continent at the point of need, rather than from a centralized, distant location, by working closely with Member States to support the development of public health systems in countries. 
• There are five RCCs, one for each of the geopolitical regions of the continent. The NPHIs within the RCCs serve as the core structures and operational units of Africa CDC’s coordination framework. 
• Strengthening the functionality of these NPHIs will enhance Africa CDC’s overall capacity as a leading public health institution, enabling it to effectively collaborate with partners and respond to health threats across Africa.

Main Functions

• The Senior NPHI and capacity building Technical Officer will provide technical assistance in the implementation of NPHI programme in the RCC. S/he will be responsible for working closely with Member States’ NPHIs, the Regional Coordinating Centres and the NPHI Division Head.
• Work closely with the Principal Technical Officer for National Public Health Institutes at HQ to strengthen NPHIs in Member States.
• Perform any other assignments given by the Regional Director, PHI Center Director and Head of Division for NPHI.

Specific Responsibilities

• Support the activities of the Center for Public Health Institutions (PHI), with a primary focus on strengthening National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) in Member States in the region.
• Participate in capacity assessments and mentorship programs for NPHIs to enhance their operational capacity in the region.
• Work closely with Member States’ NPHIs and other Regional Coordinating Centers (RCCs) to coordinate and monitor NPHI activities and capacity-building initiatives across the region.
• Provide technical and administrative support to the Center for PHI in all RCC-related activities.
• Facilitate networking and foster peer-to-peer experience sharing among NPHIs, encouraging knowledge exchange and collaboration in the region.
• Prepare and develop reports, budgets, and work plans related to RCC operations and the Division’s activities.
• Offer technical support in the development of resource mobilization strategies, ensuring alignment with regional stakeholders.
• Manage and supervise the performance of staff under their guidance, including conducting performance evaluations, and supporting professional development.
• Conduct complex analyses and provide timely, accurate reports for RCC and Africa CDC’s internal use.
• Prepare budgets in accordance with relevant frameworks and support the promotion of RCC activities, including the creation of informational materials such as leaflets, guidelines, and fact sheets.
• Actively contribute to the development of regional strategies, policies, programs, and plans to strengthen public health systems

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• Master’s Degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Systems Management or a related health field from an accredited academic institution with at least 7 years of relevant professional experience in supporting the implementation of public health programmes with emphasis on setting up National Public Health Institutes, Health workforce development, public health research, or other related activities Or
• University Degree in the above fields with 10 years of relevant professional experience in Public Health, Health Systems Management, or related fields. 
• Demonstrable technical expertise and experience in supporting and/or managing complex, public health programmes with special emphasis on public health research and the workforce. 
• Practical experience in setting up new institutions preferably for the health sector.
• Demonstrable experience and in-depth knowledge of operations of the Africa CDC, Regional Collaborating Centers, and National Public Health Institutes.
• Hands-on experience in launching and managing NPHIs or comparable public health programmes across the continent, with a solid grasp of health systems and the operational landscape of Ministries of Health in Member States.

Required Skills:

• Demonstrable familiarity with accepted tools, techniques, policies, rules and regulation of African Union and Africa CDC ways of working 
• Excellent skills and abilities applied to translating technical information into presentations, briefings and reports. 
• Demonstrable proficiency in using Microsoft word, Excel, Power Point,
• A demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards and a diverse workplace
• Fluent in at least one of the AU official languages. For North Africa RCC, Arabic and for Central Africa RCC, French are mandatory requirements.
• Demonstrable technical expertise and experience in supporting and/or managing complex, public health programmes with special emphasis on public health institutes. 
• Skills in programme monitoring and evaluation are an asset. 
• Demonstrable analytical skills as needed to respond to a myriad of programme management support issues. 
• Demonstrable skills to conceptualize, plan, develop, implement, and evaluate resource management support requirements. 
• Demonstrable familiarity with accepted tools, techniques and the Africa CDC framework for workforce development is an asset. 
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills and a proven ability to deliver under tight deadlines and under pressure. 
• Excellent skills and abilities applied to translating technical information into presentations, briefings and reports and funding proposals for both technical and lay audiences; 
• Knowledge of oral communication techniques and skill in presentation delivery, programme consultation, and credible verbal response to inquiries. 
• Knowledge of interpersonal relationship practices and skills to meet and deal with people of diverse backgrounds. 
• Demonstrable proficiency in MS Word, MS Excel, Power Point, data visualization and statistical packages as well as data analysis skills are mandatory. 

Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic Insight
• Developing Others
• Change Management….
• Managing Risk.

Core Competencies:

• Building Relationship.
• Foster Accountability Culture
• Learning Orientation
• Communicating with Influence.

Functional Competencies:

• Job Knowledge and information sharing:
• Drive for Result.
• Conceptual Thinking
• Continuous Improvement Orientation.

Tenure of Appointment:

• The Appointment will be made on a fixed term contract for a period of one (1) year, of which the first three (3) months will be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract may be renewed for a similar period subject to funding availability, satisfactory performance and agreed deliverables. 

Gender Mainstreaming:

• Africa CDC is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Languages:

• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, and Spanish) is mandatory and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage

Remuneration

Application Instructions:

The application deadline is on 27th May, 2025, 11h59 p.m. EAT. Therefore, qualified and interested candidates can “CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT APPLICATION” It is important to visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply successfully for this vacancy.

Official Job Website: https://au.int/

Note

• Only candidates who meet all job requirements and are selected for interviews will be contacted. 
• Consideration will be given only to those candidates who have submitted a fully completed online application with a curriculum vitae (CV), an African passport, and the required academic qualifications, such as Diplomas, Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees and any relevant certificate in line with the area of expertise.
• The African Union is an equal opportunity employer, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. 
• Candidates from less represented countries within the African Union are strongly encouraged to apply for positions that fit their profiles.
• These countries include Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Sahrawi D.R., Sao Tome and Principe., Seychelles, Somalia and Tunisia.