Senior Technical Advisor, Cancer Registries, Africa Region Full-Time

Are you seeking an opportunity to bring your professional expertise to a global organization focused on re-imagining public health?

Vital Strategies is an international public health organization. Our programs strengthen public health systems and address the world’s leading causes of illness, injury and death. We currently work in 73 countries, supporting data-driven decision making in government, advancing evidence-based public health policies, and mounting strategic communication campaigns. Vital Strategies’ priorities are driven by the greatest potential to improve and save lives. They include non-communicable disease prevention, tobacco control, road safety, obesity prevention, overdose prevention, environmental health, vital statistics systems building and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment research. Our programs are primarily concentrated in low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific; the Overdose Prevention Program is our first initiative in the U.S. Please visit our website at www.vitalstrategies.org to find out more about our work.

Vital Strategies is committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) organization. We believe our programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences, whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and workforce more inclusive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or creed, gender, national origin, ancestry, actual or perceived age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, marital status, sexual orientation, predisposing genetic characteristics, alienage or citizenship status, gender (including gender identity or expression), partnership status, arrest or conviction record, status as a victim of domestic violence, status as a victim of sex offense or stalking, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws.

Read about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Vital Strategies: https://www.vitalstrategies.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-at-vital-strategies.

Job Purpose

The Senior Technical Advisor, Africa Region will provide leadership and technical support to eastern, western, and southern Africa in the development and implementation of programs to improve population-based cancer registration. The Senior Technical Advisor will lead technical assistance provision in several countries in Africa and work with the IARC-GICR Collaborating Centers (IARC: International Agency for Research on Cancer; GICR: Global Initiative for Cancer Registries), including, but not limited to planning and implementation of work plans and managing Country Coordinators.

This is a full-time position that can be based in either Mozambique or any other eastern, western, or southern African countries. Vital Strategies offers highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this position in Mozambique is 4,100,000 MZN to 4,900,000 MZN. Vital may consider outstanding candidates in other regions. The salary range may be adjusted based on country market conditions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Technical Support: population-based cancer registration

• Assist with engagement with multiple ministries and agencies involved in cancer registration;
• Support necessary conversations among country stakeholders regarding population-based cancer registration and cancer surveillance data;
• Support the review and refinement of processes related to the flow of cancer case data and information;
• Support strengthening and/or expansion of population-based cancer registries within each country;
• Support implementation of priority recommendations from international experts, including the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the African Cancer Registry Network and other partners;
• Support countries to adopt, own and use population-based cancer registry performance measurement and costing analysis (alongside guidance from experts as needed);
• Advise on ongoing performance measurement at country level;
• Contribute to global technical resources, including peer review publications and global goods;
• Represent the Vital Strategies Cancer Registry Program in international working groups, committees, and at conferences.

Direct country support tasks

• Establish relationships and collaborate with senior government officials to develop budgeted and country-owned work plans;
• Lead development of workplans and budgets and monitor spend down;
• Manage the implementation of activities in a way that promotes country ownership and leadership, leads to the institutionalization and sustainability of population-based cancer registration improvements, and builds local capacity;
• Work with the Program Associate and other Vital D4H grants and program staff to coordinate operational, logistics, and financial support to the implementation of activities in the assigned countries;
• Manage Country Coordinator and Country Assistant teams to facilitate in-country implementation of activities;
• Monitor progress of the implementation of country level activities and track impact against key project milestones and deliverables (ex. institutionalization of interventions);
• Ad hoc requests as needed.

Qualifications

Education and Degree

• Master’s degree or higher in cancer epidemiology or related field preferred.

Skills and Abilities

• Ability to manage projects;
• Ability to work independently and self-directed;
• Ability to work cross-culturally with diverse stakeholders at the country level;
• Fluency in either French or the Portuguese languages;
• Patient and adaptable to rapidly changing environments;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Exhibited ability to provide leadership and coordination to an inter-agency collaboration representing diverse perspectives;
• Experience with CanReg5 software or other software programs (e.g., R, STATA, SAS).

Experience

Required

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in epidemiology/statistics/other relevant field;
• At least 3 years of experience working in cancer registration/surveillance/statistics OR a degree in cancer epidemiology or related field;
• Prior international experience working with ministries of health in low-income countries on population-based cancer registration or relevant area.

Preferred

• Direct experience working with or in population-based cancer registries;
• Experience with health information systems and/or health economics;
• Prior experience working with ministries of health in Africa.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• Ability to travel 25% of time.