Job Title: Senior Technical Officer Data Science & Analytics(AfCDC)
Job Description:
Organization Information
Job Grade: P3
Number of Positions : 1
Number of Direct Reports: 0
Number of Indirect Reports: 0
Contract Type: Appointment for Limited Duration (ALD)
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Reports to: Head of Division, Surveillance and Disease Intelligence
Purpose of Job
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a specialized technical institution of the African Union established to support public health initiatives of Africa Union Member States (AU MS) and strengthen the capacity of their public health institutions to detect, prevent, control, and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats. Africa CDC supports AU MS in providing coordinated and integrated solutions to the inadequacies in their public health infrastructure, human resource capacity, disease surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, and preparedness and response to health emergencies and disasters.
Main Functions
The Senior Technical Officer (STO), Data Science & Analytics will serve as the senior technical authority responsible for designing, leading, and governing enterprise level data science, analytics, and forecasting capabilities. This role will provide strategic and technical leadership across the full data lifecycle, from data architecture to advanced analytics; ensuring the organization leverages high‑quality insights to inform decision‑making, optimize operations, and support long‑term strategic goals.
The Senior Technical Officer will act as the subject‑matter expert, guiding technical teams, advising leadership, and championing best‑practice standards in data analytics, predictive modelling, and data infrastructure.
Specific Responsibilities
The Senior Technical Officer Data Science & Analytics shall:
- Lead the development and execution of the organization’s data science and analytics strategy.
- Serve as the principal advisor on analytical methodologies, data governance, and emerging technologies.
- Drive innovation by evaluating and implementing advanced statistical, machine learning, and AI techniques.
- Provide thought leadership on analytics maturity, capability development, and long-term data architecture evolution.
- Lead the design, development, and ongoing maintenance of the continent’s central data repository, ensuring secure, scalable data pipelines, high data quality, and seamless integration of regional and continental systems.
- Establish and enforce comprehensive data governance and quality standards, overseeing data integrity, metadata management, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement across all participating countries and technical teams.
- Monitor repository performance, optimize storage and processing frameworks, and ensure high availability, disaster recovery, and compliance with continental data protection regulations.
- Collaborate with the data analysts to resolve data integrity issues and continuously improve the repository’s reliability and analytical readiness.
- Oversee the design and deployment of predictive models, time series forecasts, optimization frameworks, and simulation tools.
- Guide technical teams in rigorous statistical analysis, model validation, and continuous model performance monitoring.
- Ensure compliance with organizational policies, regulatory requirements, and data privacy standards.
- Oversee major analytics projects, ensuring methodological rigor, compliance with data standards, and effective guidance of technical teams.
- Engage and secure new technical assistance and funding partners for the Data Science and Analytics unit.
- Represent the unit and share its vision and position at continental and global meetings, and conferences.
- Support any other duties assigned by the head of division.
Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience
Master’s degree in data science, Computer Science, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Applied Mathematics, Public Health Informatics, or related field with 7 years of professional experience, 3years at supervisory level.
OR
Bachelor’s degree in data science, Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field with 10 years of professional experience, 3 years at a supervisory level.
Required Skills
- Demonstrable experience in data science, analytics, epidemiological modelling, or public health intelligence.
- Practical experience designing and implementing large-scale analytical systems and solutions.
- Experience working with public health surveillance data in African settings is highly desirable.
- Prior leadership experience managing technical teams or complex data projects.
- Outstanding research skills including the ability to analyse, synthesize and
summarize complex information. - Proficient in Microsoft Office computer applications; and advanced proficiency in Python, R, SQL, machine learning frameworks, and cloud technologies.
- Knowledge of epidemiological methods, statistical modelling, and data visualization.
- Experience with geospatial systems (GIS), real-time data pipelines, and API integrations.
Personal Abilities
Functional Skills
- Ability to deliver under tight deadlines and work well under pressure.
- Analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Good interpersonal skills.
- Ability to operate in a multicultural environment.
- High level of autonomy at work, yet with profound team spirit.
- Adaptive, patient, resilient and flexible.
- Proactive and solution oriented.
TENURE OF APPOINTMENT:
The Appointment will be for a period of Eleven (11) Months, of which the first three (3) months will be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract may be renewed subject to funding availability, satisfactory performance and agreed deliverables.
GENDER MAINSTREAMING:
Africa CDC is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.