01 April 2014

Deputy Director, Epidemiology & Surveillance Job

Location: Seattle, WA, US
Division: Global Health Program
Department: Vaccine Development

Foundation Overview
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people-especially those with the fewest resources-have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

Group Summary
Our Global Health Program (GHP) harnesses advances in science and technology to save lives in poor countries. We focus on the health problems that have a major impact in developing countries but get too little attention and funding. Where proven tools exist, we support sustainable ways to improve their delivery. Where they don't, we invest in research and development of new interventions, such as vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics. Our work in infectious diseases focuses on strategies to fight and prevent HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, neglected and other infectious diseases, enteric and diarrheal diseases and pneumonia. These strategies are supported by functional teams that focus on Discovery and Translational Sciences, Vaccine Development, and Integrated Development.

Responsibilities
The Deputy Director of Epidemiology and Surveillance is a newly created role and will be responsible for building and executing the foundation's surveillance strategy across multiple disease areas, with an initial focus on severe disease and mortality associated with pneumonia, enteric diseases, and fever/malaria in children less than 5 years old and etiologies of neonatal mortality. The vision for this strategy is a global network of surveillance sites that operate in a highly integrated and coordinated way, enhancing the quality, consistency and timeliness of disease burden data. This effort is intended to provide data on disease burden and evolving epidemiology to local and regional country officials as well as to the foundation Program Strategy Teams (PSTs) to support decision-making for interventions and investments.

The Deputy Director of Epidemiology and Surveillance will lead a small team as well as a cross-functional working group that includes representatives from each of the PSTs across Global Health and Global Development, and will provide technical support and leadership for work-streams that report into the larger working group focused on: 1) standardization of data collection and diagnostic assays across sites; 2) Data quality; 3) Data management including transfer and storage; 4) Optimal operating models; and 5) The role of the foundation system within the global network of surveillance and epidemiologic systems.

Key responsibilities:
- Work with the PST Directors and Program Officers (POs) to identify the foundation needs for surveillance and epidemiologic evaluations, clarify the needs that can be addressed by the surveillance network and ensure the necessary activities are completed to provide the requested data.
- Work with POs, external advisors and consultants to identify sites for the surveillance network building on pilot sites and sites with broad experience in surveillance and epidemiologic evaluations. Work with the POs and consultants to visit and operationalize sites including developing methods for standardization across the network with regard to data collection and diagnostic assays.
- Lead the cross-cutting surveillance (CCS) working group within the foundation including finalizing strategy and adjusting as needed (at least annually) based on information received from pilot sites/projects and sites brought on early in the process. Stay abreast of new technologies (e.g., diagnostic assays) and introduce them into the network when available.
- Serve as an advisor and technical leader for the work-streams supporting the CCS working group including work streams for data standardization, assay standardization, data management/storage/transfer, operational models, and partnerships.
- Proactively communicate the role of the foundation's CCS network in the global ecosystem of surveillance and epidemiologic evaluations.
- Represent the foundation on other pressing epidemiologic and/or surveillance projects (e.g., antimicrobial resistance) working with WHO, CDC, and other governmental and academic partners as appropriate.
- Review, make recommendation on, and manage surveillance/epidemiologic grants.
- Manage the budget for the CCS network.

Qualifications
- MD, MD/MPH, PhD, or related experience, specializing in epidemiology and/or surveillance of infectious diseases with a strong preference for experience with pneumonia, enteric diseases, and malaria. The ideal candidate will be a respected member of the surveillance and epidemiology communities
- 15+ years of experience with surveillance systems and in epidemiologic studies in developing countries in Africa and Asia (experience in India strongly preferred), including the set-up of surveillance sites, preferred
- Broad knowledge of diagnostic assays for pneumonia, enteric diseases, and fever/malaria including knowledge of qualification, validation, and transfer of assays across sites. Also needs to have knowledge of and stay abreast of technologic advances in the diagnostic space
- The ability to lead cross-functional strategic initiatives internally, while also managing critical sets of relationships externally.
- High detail orientation and affinity for data, with the ability to artfully manage tactical execution.
- Intellectual quickness, curiosity, discipline, resourcefulness and resilience
- Ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, enthusiasm, and diplomacy both individually and as part of a team effort
- Demonstrated passion for the foundation's values with commitment to deliver results against the foundation's mission
- Sense of humor
- Ability to travel ~30% domestically and internationally

Scope of work will require residency or relocation to the Seattle, Washington area.

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be contingent upon successful completion of a comprehensive background check. 

Apply now!

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