Summary
Date Posted: Friday, January 06, 2023 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Reports to: Manager-Zambia National Public Health Reference Laboratory Location: Zambia National Public Health Reference Laboratory

Job Purpose
The Genomic Sequencing Technical Officer for Pathogen Genomic Sequencing will be responsible for providing technical expertise and guidance for the implementation of pathogen genomics activities at the Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI). The officer will be key to support timely response to outbreaks/epidemics and improved surveillance and tracking of variants of pathogens of public health significance. The technical officer will be based at the Zambia National Public Health Reference Laboratory (ZNPHRL). The position is supported under a cooperative agreement between ZNPHI.

Responsibilities/Principal Accountabilities
• Provide technical oversight for the effective implementation of the pathogen genomics programme at ZNPHRL to support efficient response to public health emergencies.
• Lead technical aspects of wet lab activities for genomic sequencing of pathogens of public health significance.
• Supports the function of the public health laboratory network including coordinating sample referrals as well as quality assurance systems for genomic surveillance.
• Provide technical assistance to sub national level facilities for strengthening the use of pathogen genomics for routine infectious disease surveillance
• Develop, maintain and extend methodologies, techniques, scripts, and related visualisation/data exploration tools related to the collection and validation of molecular surveillance data.
• Evaluate and implement software, data resources, databases, protocols and methods to aid in the analysis of genomic and genetics procedures and data outputs.
• Manage the running of bioinformatics analysis pipelines, monitor their use and enable results to be derived that can be interpreted and disseminated.
• Develop and manage ZNPHI databases for Genome Sequencing, molecular typing and other related data.
• Contribute to the analysis and interpretation of molecular typing and genomic sequencing data in the context of detecting, assessing, monitoring and communicating public health threats.
• Provide consultation and communication in data analysis, data mining, statistics, genomics and other areas of bioinformatics, to the ZNPHI/ZNPHRL and its stakeholders.
• Collaborate in developing Bioinformatics and computational biology capabilities within ZNPHRL and Zambia.
• Participate in and contribute to ZNPHI/ZNPHRL meetings, workshops and seminars. Serve as member of the Zambia Genomics Sequencing Consortium (ZGSC)
• Publish where appropriate.
• Contribute to training, scientific mentoring and supervision of staff and students where appropriate. Support to other activities of ZNPHI/ZNPHRL as required, within his/her field of competence.
• Draft periodic reports and publications for dissemination of genomic surveillance information Perform any other duties as requested by the Technical Assistance Lead

Qualifications
• Grade Twelve (12) School Certificate with Five (5) Credits or better including Mathematics and English
• Bachelor's degree in molecular epidemiology, biomedical sciences, genomics, genetics, bioinformatics, or other related science-based fields. At least 8 years work experience in public health laboratory setting
• A Master's Degree in a science-based field will be an added advantage.
• Experience and skills
• Familiarity with the application of statistical techniques to biological data.
• A basic knowledge of molecular biology, genetics, model organisms and immunology. A broad comprehension of high throughput genomic technologies.
• A working knowledge of how to design and build data resources, and their use. Knowledge of WHO and other sequence database (e.g., GISAID) community standards for metadata and sequence quality and procedures for data submission
• Candidates need to have at least 5 years of supervisory and managerial experience. Proven ability in computer programming.
• Works with minimal supervision, organising and prioritising own workload.
• Excellent communication skills within a research environment, building highly effective working relationships with team and clients.
• Excellent scientific analysis skills.

Job Experience: No Requirements

Work Hours: 8

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Job application procedure
All interested persons meeting the above qualifications and experience should send their written applications to the undersigned with certified copies of their National Registration Card, academic and professional qualifications and a detailed Curriculum Vitae with three references including their contact numbers.
Applicants are advised to clearly indicate the positions they are applying for on the envelope or subject area in the case of electronic applications email to info@moh.gov.zm. 
The closing date for receipt of applications is Wednesday, 18 January, 2023. Only short- listed candidates will be contacted.
The Permanent Secretary-(Technical Services) Ministry of Health
Ndeke House
P.O. Box 30205
LUSAKA



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