About Us
International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc. (IBTCI), a U.S. based international development consulting company established in 1987, has worked in over 100 countries and implemented over 300 projects. IBTCI serves government agencies, private sector companies, and several donor agencies. IBTCI specializes in monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) and institutional support across many areas and sectors including, but not limited to, conflict and crisis, democracy and governance, agriculture, economic growth, food security, education, environment, and global health.
Job Title: Senior Advisor – Infectious Diseases (Global Health Security and AMR) – Virologist
Department/Location: USAID/India, Delhi
Reports To: ISPI Project Manager
Type: Regular Full-Time (1 year contract, plus possible 1 year extension)
Classification: Senior Level Advisor
Clearance Required: Facilities Access (applied for on hiring)
Overview:
International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc. (IBTCI), a U.S. based international development consulting company established in 1987, has worked in over one hundred countries and implemented over three hundred projects. IBTCI serves government agencies, private sector companies and several donor agencies. IBTCI specializes in institutional support and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) across many sectors including, but not limited to, conflict and crisis, democracy and governance, economic growth, education, environment, and global health.
The Global Health Training, Advisory and Support Contract (GHTASC) delivers effective global health programming to advance the mission of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Global Health (GH) through institutional support and workforce development services from junior, mid-level, senior and expert advisory and administrative professionals.
Responsibilities
Position Summary
As demonstrated during COVID-19, India’s ability to prepare for and respond to the emergent pandemic was challenged by the country’s immense size and population, disparate Ministries overseeing different aspects of response, and the massive scale-up of testing and response. Although India has made significant strides to prepare for the next pandemic, significant coordination, training, and systems development need to occur to make India’s health system more resilient to better identify and contain future emergent diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Mission will develop activities in consultations with the various ministries of the Government of India as – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and other relevant stakeholders. The Government of India (GoI), Public International Organization (PIO), and donor organizations were all instrumental in defining the COVID-19 response and have been empowered by the government to coordinate various aspects of the GoI pandemic preparedness plan moving forward.
The Advisor – Infectious Diseases (Global Health Security and AMR) will work to improve and expand GHS, pandemic preparedness and AMR, prevention and response in India. S/he will be the lead technical expert in the area of Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs) and AMR in the cooperating country India with extensive experience working with national stakeholders including government, professional associations, and the private sector. S/he will facilitate communication and ensure collaborative working relationships with high-level decision makers, as well as technical staff, in multiple government agencies, USAID Missions, USAID/Washington counterparts, with other United States Government (USG) partners including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of State, and other USG agencies, as well as other key stakeholders, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). S/he will also provide strategic and technical leadership in the design and implementation of USAID GHS activities.
Essential Duties/Tasks and Responsibilities:
- As a USAID’s technical expert and support GHS lead on GHS, pandemic preparedness, EIDs and AMR, providing high level technical guidance to the Mission, the National Government, and other development partners on infectious disease preparedness, prevention, detection, and response capacities in India including zoonotic diseases, One Health approaches, and GHS.
- Support the GHS lead in the design of strategies, project mechanisms and activities for improved preparedness, prevention, detection and response for GHS, pandemic preparedness, EIDs and AMR. In addition, in close coordination with other Mission offices, support the design and procurement of bilateral mechanisms to support implementation in collaboration with the government and other stakeholders in India.
- Provide high-level advocacy and technical dialogue with host government ministries to ensure effective USAID support to the implementation of pandemic preparedness, EIDs and AMR activities, including advocacy to promote a One Health approach to addressing pandemic threats and AMR.
- Keep abreast of new developments and emerging issues that affect pandemic preparedness, EIDs and AMR via literature review, conference/meeting attendance, as well as participation and facilitation at workshops, and training events. Advise accordingly on how these policies and strategies can most effectively be incorporated to enhance USAID’s approaches.
- In collaboration with Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning colleagues, contribute to the development of innovative monitoring and evaluation approaches and tools to support measuring the impact and outcomes of pandemic preparedness, EIDs and AMR activities.
- Provide leadership in the preparation of key annual and mid-term planning and reporting documents including the Operational Plans, Congressional Budget Justifications, Progress Reports and other ad hoc requests for information.
- Lead the work-planning process in consultation with the other sections of the Health Office and other offices of the USAID India to ensure synergies with different investments and activities contribute towards the capacity gains in identified International Health Regulation (IHR)/ Joint External Evaluation (JEE 3.0) technical areas and indicators.
- Other duties as assigned.
Deliverables: Activity status report to GH-TAMS and USAID (monthly).
Qualifications
Minimum Requirements:
- Extensive experience in working with national stakeholders in India, including government agencies, professional associations, and the private sector.
- Strong understanding of One Health approaches, zoonotic diseases, and Global Health Security (GHS) principles and practices.
- In-depth knowledge of policies, strategies, and best practices related to pandemic preparedness, detection, and response.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively engage with high-level decision-makers, technical staff, and stakeholders from various government agencies and international organizations.
- Experience in preparing key annual and mid-term planning and reporting documents, including Operational Plans, Congressional Budget Justifications, Progress Reports, and other ad hoc requests for information.
- Oral and written fluency in English required, fluency in another language preferred.
Education: Master’s Degree with 10 years, Bachelor’s with 12 years, Associate’s degree with 14 years or High School with 16 years of relevant education and experience in Public Health, Epidemiology, Infectious Diseases, or a related discipline.
Working Environment: Work is typically performed in an office environment.
Physical Requirements: This is largely a sedentary position that requires the ability to speak, hear, see, and lift small objects up to 20 lbs.
Supervisory Responsibility: This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.
Travel: International travel may be required and may include travel to fragile and/or conflict-prone zones.
Work Authorization: Candidate must be authorized to work in India.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
About the Organization:
IBTCI has been in business since 1987. We specialize in Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL), Institutional Support (IS), Financial & Risk Management (FRM), Supply Chain Management & Procurement (SCMP); Social & Behavior Change (SBC) and Capacity Building. We provide these services across many sectors including, but not limited to, agriculture, resilience & food security, conflict & crisis, democracy & governance, economic growth & trade, education & human capacity development, energy & infrastructure, environment & climate change, global health & WASH and humanitarian and disaster assistance. At IBTCI, our colleagues are encouraged to collaborate and be part of the solution while getting the tools and guidance needed to grow and support our clients’ missions.
IBTCI is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identification, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran, or any other classification protected by applicable anti-discrimination laws. We prohibit and do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment. VEVRAA Federal Contractor.
If you are an applicant with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability, or unable to use the online application system and need an alternative method for applying, you may contact the Talent Acquisition team at TalentAcquisition@ibtci.com (Do not send your resume to this account, for consideration please apply in our career page, https://careers.ibtci.com/jobs).