Project Overview 

Data.FI is a global project funded by the U.S. Department of State to strengthen health information systems, health financing, and improve the use of data for decision-making. In Kenya, Data.FI supports the Ministry of Health (MoH), Digital Health Agency (DHA), the Kenya National Public Health Institute (KNPHI), the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), and other state agencies to enhance health security, malaria surveillance, digital health governance, and data use for rapid decision-making. This role operates within the transition toward GovernmenttoGovernment (G2G) assistance and will closely coordinate with U.S. Government interagency partners, including the U.S. Department of State Office of Foreign Assistance (OFA) and CDC, to ensure sustainable, countryowned systems that align with national priorities. 

Position Overview 

The Health Security Lead is a senior technical role providing strategic direction, expert guidance, and handson support to strengthen casebased and eventbased surveillance as a core pillar of Kenya’s health security architecture. Working with MoH (KNPHI, DHA, NMCP), county governments, and U.S. Government partners (including OFA and CDC), the role will: 

• Advance digitalization and interoperability of surveillance platforms to operationalize the 7-1-7 target (7 days to detect, 1 day to notify, 7 days to respond) for other epidemicprone threats. 
• Lead the analytics function (descriptive, geospatial, predictive) to drive earlier detection, faster notification, and timelier response. 
• Ensure alignment to IHR (2005), IDSR, One Health, and Kenya’s digital health policies, with implementation framed as governmentled and governmentowned.

Key Responsibilities 
Strategic Leadership & Health Security Alignment 

• Provide strategic leadership for surveillance strengthening within Kenya’s broader Health Security agenda, aligned to MoH priorities, IHR (2005), IDSR, and national digital health policies/standards. 
• Serve as technical advisor to the Data.FI ,  MoH and the OFA/Embassy Health Office on malaria surveillance, integrated disease surveillance, outbreak detection, and response. 
• Codesign with MoH a pragmatic roadmap to institutionalize the 7-1-7 target as a performance metric for malaria (and applicable crosscutting threats), including embedding 7-1-7 indicators in routine reviews, AARs/IARs/EARs, and county action plans. 
• Support the transition to G2G modalities, emphasizing capacity transfer, sustainability, accountability, and use of government systems. 

Surveillance Strengthening & Digital Health Integration 

• Provide highlevel technical assistance to NMCP, KNPHI, DHA, and counties to strengthen malaria control, and integration with KHIS2; align workflows from case detection to case investigation, foci classification, and response. 
• Advance digitalization of surveillance: optimize electronic casebased reporting, configure alert thresholds, digitize SOPs/job aids, and streamline event management ensuring 7-1-7 time stamps are captured endtoend (detect → notify → respond). 
• Strengthen interoperability across platforms (e.g., KHIS2/DHIS2, EMRs, lab information systems, HIE), using open standards (FHIR/HL7) and MoH architecture guidelines working through DHA governance processes. 
• Incorporate entomological, climatological, and environmental data (e.g., rainfall, temperature, vector density) into malaria risk stratification and early warning dashboards to guide preemptive targeting and resource prepositioning. 
• Where relevant to zoonotic and vectorborne risks, support One Health linkages (e.g., KABS, wildlife/environmental signals) to improve situational awareness for malariaadjacent or cocirculating threats. 

Outbreak Detection, Investigation & Response (717 Operationalization) 

• Provide expert technical guidance to national and county rapid response teams for outbreaks (e.g., seasonal surges, complex emergencies), ensuring standardized protocols for detection, notification, investigation, and initial response. 
• Embed 7-1-7 performance analytics into outbreak reviews to identify bottlenecks (e.g., delayed lab confirmation, late notification, lag in vector control deployment) and drive targeted system fixes with responsible owners and timelines. 
• Support development/update of national guidelines, SOPs, alert management protocols, and district/county playbooks for infectious disease outbreak preparedness and response harmonized with IDSR and KNPHI guidance. 

Analytics & Data Use for Action 

• Lead the analytics function for surveillance and health security: design and maintain automated data pipelines, quality checks, and integrated dashboards (descriptive, geospatial, and predictive). 
• Apply timeseries, anomaly detection, and basic machine learning methods (where feasible and appropriate) to generate early signals for malaria upsurges, stratify risk, and prioritize response. 
• Produce 7-1-7 scorecards for malaria at national and county levels; track timeliness from detection to response; and translate insights into actionable recommendations for managers. 
• Build clear data to decision workflows so insights trigger predefined actions (investigation, RDT resupply, IRS/LLIN targeting, community mobilization), with feedback loops to measure impact. 

Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning (MEL) & Knowledge Management 

• Support MEL Lead to define and track surveillance specific KPIs for malaria (including 7-1-7 metrics) and integrate them into project and G2G MEL frameworks. 
• Participate in learning cycles capturing best practices in health security digitalization, interoperability, and rapid response disseminating lessons through MoHled technical working groups and communities of practice. 

Capacity Building & Partner Collaboration 

• Design and deliver targeted capacity building (national and county) on eIDSR, data analysis for action, 7-1-7 operationalization, and use of digital tools/dashboards. 
• Maintain strong, trust based relationships with NMCP, KNPHI, DHA, county health teams, CDC, OFA/Embassy Health Office, and other partners supporting MoH leadership of coordination platforms and technical working groups. 

Qualifications and Experience 

Education 

• Master’s degree or higher in Epidemiology, Public Health or related field. A medical degree (MBChB/MD) or Veterinary Medicine with advanced public health training is highly desirable. 

Professional Experience 

• 8–10+ years of progressively responsible experience in public health surveillance and outbreak response, with substantial malaria surveillance experience (casebased surveillance, outbreak investigation, entomological/ environmental data use) in subSaharan Africa. 
• Demonstrated experience strengthening IDSR and digital surveillance within government systems (national and subnational), including handson work with KHIS2/DHIS2, EMRs, and/or laboratory systems. 
• Demonstrated experience leading PHEOC or analogous public health response structures in Kenya. 
• Proven track record in operationalizing 7-1-7 (or analogous timeliness metrics), including facilitating AARs/IARs/EARs to identify and fix bottlenecks. 
• Experience with interoperability and digital health architecture under government governance (e.g., FHIR/HL7, HIE patterns) preferred. 
• One Health and multisectoral collaboration experience (linkages with animal/environmental sectors) is an advantage. 
• Experience in the Kenyan health context is a strong asset; experience working with U.S. Governmentfunded programs is desirable. 

Technical and Professional Skills 

• Strong applied epidemiology and analytics skills (study design, data management, statistical analysis, interpretation). 
• Proficiency with data tools such as R or Python (analytics/forecasting), SQL (data engineering), and Power BI/Metabase/Superset (dashboards); experience with GIS (QGIS/ArcGIS) for risk mapping. 
  Familiarity with IHR (2005), IDSR, GHSA/health security frameworks, and national digital health standards and governance. 
• Demonstrated ability to translate analytics into operational decisions, with clear accountability and followthrough. 
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and communication skills capable of liaising diplomatically with senior government officials and international partners in a governmentled context. 

Language and Travel 

• Fluency in written and spoken English required, Kiswahili an advantage. 
• Willingness and ability to travel within Kenya (up to 25–30%) to support countylevel activities.