AFP Surveillance Lead
- Company
Clinton Health Access Initiative
- Location
New Delhi
- Employment Type
Full-Time
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Functional Category
Programme Management & Implementation
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Experience
10 - 11 years
- Date Posted
11-Nov-2025
About Clinton Health Access Initiative
CHAI's mission is to save lives and improve health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries by enabling the government and private sector to strengthen and sustain quality health systems. Today, CHAI operates in 36 countries across the world and more than 80 countries have access to CHAI-negotiated price reductions, vaccines, medical devices, and diagnostics. Current programs at CHAI include HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, Maternal, Newborn and Reproductive Health, Diarrhea and Pneumonia, Nutrition, Vaccines, Health Financing, Health Workforce, and Cancer. CHAI also has a number of experts working across the organization to help shape global markets, to negotiate lower prices for drugs and health tools, provide clinical support and knowledge, and utilize the latest and best data and analytics to shape decision-making.
Overview of the Role
The AFP surveillance lead will be responsible for providing technical oversight for acute flaccid paralysis surveillance, close monitoring of completeness of case investigation, sample adequacy, and adherence to global standards, provides tangible suggestions to resolve implementation bottlenecks without compromising on best-in-class standards, communication with nodal agencies such as NTAGI, certification commissions etc. Driving interventions and dedicated efforts for safeguarding India’s polio-free certification and mitigating risks from wild or vaccine-derived poliovirus importations. Ensuring timely delivery of technical outputs corresponding to the program and synchronicity of interventions with existing standards from a technical and feasibility lens. We seek a highly motivated and entrepreneurial individual with outstanding technical, analytical, and program implementation skills. The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills, be able to function independently in a dynamic environment, be self-motivated, thrive in challenging situations, and have a strong commitment to excellence.
Job Description
• Ensuring adherence to the international standards for AFP surveillance, currently being maintained under the existing system, post transition.
• Close monitoring of AFP surveillance indicators and timely identification of bottlenecks/risks in adherence to appropriate standards.
• Conduct trend analysis, identify high risk areas, and generate periodic feedback to all relevant stakeholders including immunization teams and surveillance units.
• Review completeness and timeliness of weekly and monthly reports including zero reports compliance and provide feedback for corrective actions at appropriate levels.
• Support in development of implementation guidelines and strategic frameworks and ensuring synchronicity with international benchmarks.
• Facilitate the development of capacity building modules for AFP surveillance and other allied IEC collaterals for change management.
• Provide strategic insight into workflow adaptations required for transition to the new systems and develop detailed SoPs and frameworks for the same.
• Support in development of bespoke tech-enabled solutions to improve the existing VPD workflows.
• Cultivate and develop deep engagement and collaborate with health leadership across the Central Surveillance Unit (CSU) and State Surveillance Units (SSUs) to jointly develop and implement pathways for a comprehensive and sensitive AFP surveillance system through the public health infrastructure.
• Build and maintain trust-based relationships with relevant government stakeholders, development partners, and other stakeholders.
• Lead subject matter development among program leadership ensuring thorough grasp of key program principles.
• Develop a reading culture and challenge program teams to spotlight their work during internal and external WJCF engagements.
• Lead knowledge management and sharing of best practices at national and global convenings.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive stakeholder matrix for the portfolio of programs supported ensuring stakeholder needs are identified, negotiation avenues and mapped and healthy relationships are maintained.
• Guide program team in navigating complex stakeholder relationships and favourably influence decision making in a professional and collaborative manner.
• Represent the PMU at technical forums for AFP surveillance and foster productive partnerships for collaboration with medical institutions, professional medical bodies, government agencies, development partners
• Participate in sub-national visits for collaboration with State health leadership for building alignment of priorities for AFP surveillance, identify programmatic gaps on ground, and ensure adherence to interventions deployed in a sustainable manner
• Synthesize and document key learnings, and support dissemination to key stakeholders through reports, briefs, presentation decks and other collaterals as needed.
• Support with other responsibilities as requested by the program leadership
Required & Preferred Qualifications
Skill
• Demonstrated experience in AFP surveillance at national or state level is a must
• Proven record of developing and maintaining strong and effective partnerships and shaping policy and project decisions with senior government and donor officials.
• Experience in leading teams in similar assignments i.e. providing high end technical support in public health directly to department will be a plus.
• Strong written and oral communication skills including development of analyses/ presentations for varied project audience/stakeholders
• Proven track record of working in challenging multi-stakeholder environments & ability to build relationships with a range of stakeholders and drive immediate results
• Entrepreneurial mind-set, including ability to work independently, self-motivated, and propose and implement new initiatives.
• Prior expertise in domains of surveillance data management, disease epidemiology, laboratory coordination, outbreak investigation is preferred
• Basic levels of proficiency in data analytics utilising the MS Office suite (Excel and PowerPoint) are strongly preferred
• Willingness to travel frequently across the country.
• Fluency in English and Hindi
Education
MBBS and MD or post-graduate degree in public health, public policy, management or development.
Experience
Minimum 10 years of professional experience in demanding, results-oriented environments in public health with senior managerial or leadership positions.