National Consultant – Climate-Informed Disease Surveillance

Terms of Reference

The Task Force for Global Health (TFGH), Climate-Informed Disease Surveillance Project

TFGH National Consultant – Climate-Informed Disease Surveillance

Country: Rwanda

Part-Time Position (Approximately 10 days per month)

1. Background information

The Task Force for Global Health (TFGH), with technical leadership from Malaria No More (MNM) and in collaboration with TDR/WHO, is implementing a multi-country project funded by The Global Fund’s Climate and Health Strategic Initiative. The project aims to strengthen national capacity to integrate climate and environmental data into disease surveillance systems and establish operational, decision-ready Climate-Informed Early Warning Systems (CI-EWS) for climate-sensitive diseases in Zambia, the Central African Republic (CAR), Niger, and Rwanda.

To ensure effective, country-owned implementation, TFGH will recruit a part-time National Consultant who is a national of the project country or an individual currently residing in and legally authorized to work in the country. The consultant will be embedded within the Ministry of Health or a national public health institution and support planning, coordination, implementation, and documentation of CI-EWS activities, bridging technical design with policy, operational, and digital system integration.

2. Purpose of the Assignment

The part-time TFGH National Consultant will serve as the in-country focal point for TFGH, MNM, TDR, and the Ministry of Health. The consultant will support multisectoral coordination, technical implementation, logistics, reporting, and documentation of CI-EWS in Rwanda, with a focus on translating climate intelligence into actionable public health decisions and system-level integration. 

The consultant will work an estimated 10 days per month (final allocation to be determined), offering flexible, part-time support aligned with project phases, partner engagement needs, and national workplans, while ensuring continuity across technical, institutional, and digital workstreams.

3. Key Responsibilities

3.1.  Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as the primary in-country focal point for TFGH, MNM, and TDR.
• Coordinate multisectoral stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health (Disease Surveillance), National Public Health Institute, National Meteorological and Hydrological Agency, Ministry of Environment/Climate, PHEOC, Disaster Management Agency, and relevant UN/partner agencies.
• Facilitate the establishment and functioning of technical working groups for CI-EWS, ensuring a clear governance structure, roles, and decision-making pathways.
• Organize and support all national and subnational planning meetings, co-design workshops, system design workshops, simulation exercises, and training, with emphasis on operational usability and system interoperability.
• Ensure cross-sector alignment with national strategies (e.g., NAPHS, NAPS, GF grants, One Health platform), and digital health and climate policies.
• Liaise regularly with the Global Fund Country Team to ensure alignment with grant portfolios and timelines, and support integration of CI-EWS within broader health financing and investment frameworks.

3.2. Support with Technical Activities  

Phase 1: Scoping and Baseline Assessment

• Support data ecosystem assessments (health, climate, environment), including digital infrastructure, data governance, interoperability, and data quality gaps
• Coordinate stakeholder mapping and maturity assessments
• Assist in identifying priority climate-sensitive diseases and relevant climate variables, using epidemiological and climate risk frameworks.
• Facilitate inception workshops and bilateral consultations

Phase 2: System Design and Development

• Support the co-design of the Ci-EWS workflows, SOPs, data pipelines, and dashboards, ensuring alignment with national HIS architectures (e.g., DHIS2, eIDSR)
• Facilitate development and signing of cross-sectoral data-sharing agreements (MoUs, DUAs), including legal, ethical, and data governance considerations
• Assist in gathering technical inputs for prototype development and user testing, including feedback loops from end-users and decision-makers.

Phase 3: Capacity Building and Institutionalization

• Coordinate the planning and rollout of Training of Trainers, simulation exercises, and national training plans, with emphasis on institutional adoption rather than standalone training events.
• Support development, translation, and adaptation of training materials, SOPs, decision matrices, and job aids, tailored to operational and policy contexts.
• Work with national counterparts to define institutional roles and operating procedures, including sustainability and accountability mechanisms.

Phase 4: Sustainability and Scale-Up

• Support development of sustainability and maintenance plans, investment cases, and costing analyses, including integration into national budgeting and financing frameworks.
• Participate in planning the integration of CI-EWS into national HIS platforms and digital health ecosystems.
• Assist in documenting policy integration, institutionalization pathways, and scale-up roadmaps, including linkages to national climate adaptation and health system strengthening agendas.

3.3. Monitoring, Reporting, and Knowledge Management

• Monitor implementation of country workplan activities and milestones, using results-based and system-performance indicators.
• Track progress toward deliverables such as data sharing agreements, SOPs, micro plans, and training outputs
• Ensure timely submission of activity reports, periodic progress reports, and monthly invoices 
• Maintain a centralized country-level knowledge repository for all project documents (SOPs, reports, meeting notes, tools, agendas, data-sharing drafts, etc.) with structured digital archiving and version control.
• Document lessons learned, best practices, case studies, and examples of CI-EWS use in decision-making, with emphasis on policy and operational impact.
• Support national partners in preparing inputs for Global Fund reporting cycles.

4. Deliverables

• Monthly activity and progress reports aligned with TFGH reporting timelines
• Updated, country-specific CI-EWS workplan and milestones
• Documentation of stakeholder meetings, workshop reports, and technical meetings
• Signed or progress-tracked MoUs/DUAs and related legal instruments
• Knowledge management repository established and regularly updated
• Training coordination reports and attendance lists
• Monthly invoices and financial disbursement documentation
• Contributions to quarterly and semester reporting to the Global Fund
• Contribution to national roadmaps, SOPs, and sustainability plans
• Technical briefs translating climate data into public health decision insights
• Documentation of digital integration and interoperability solutions implemented

5. Reporting Lines

• Direct Supervisor: TFGH Associate Director, CI-EWS Project
• Functional Coordination: TFGH Project Director, MNM Technical Teams, Global Fund Country Team, Ministry of Health, and other key national stakeholders

6. Qualifications and Experience

Required

• Master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, environmental health, health information systems, climate or meteorological sciences, or related field
• Minimum 5–7 years of experience in public health surveillance, health information systems, climate and health, preparedness, or similar technical areas
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multisectoral or inter-agency initiatives
• Strong project management, analytical, and documentation skills
• Experience working with government institutions and national-level stakeholders
• Knowledge of disease surveillance systems (e.g., DHIS2, eIDSR), climate data, or early warning systems
• Demonstrated ability to work at the interface of data, policy, and digital systems

Preferred

• Experience with Global Fund grants or other donor-funded programs
• Background in predictive analytics, modelling, GIS, or DHIS2 implementation
• Experience with gender equity and climate-resilient health programming
• Experience supporting national technical working groups or emergency operations
• Experience with digital health, data integration, interoperability standards, or AI-enabled analytics

Nationality/Work Authorization Requirements

• This position is open to nationals of Rwanda or individuals currently living in and legally authorized to work in Rwanda
• TFGH will not provide relocation support or sponsorship for work authorization or visas.

7.     Competency

• Strong stakeholder engagement and consensus-building skills
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and coordination abilities
• Strong writing, reporting, and documentation skills
• Problem-solving and adaptive planning in dynamic environments
• Technical understanding of climate-informed disease surveillance
• Familiarity with policy alignment, multisectoral collaboration, and data governance
• Commitment to gender equity, climate-resilience, and ethical data use
• Systems thinking and ability to translate complex technical concepts into operational and policy-relevant insights

8. Duration and Duty Station

• Duration: From signing the contract to December 31, 2026
• Level of Effort: Part-time (approximately 10 days/month)
• Duty Station: Ministry of Health or designated national institution in Rwanda
• National travel may be required; limited regional travel may occur

9. Announcement closing date – Feb 8^th, 5:00 PM EST.

10. How to Apply

Please send your CV and cover letter (indicating the country you are applying for) to:

Mr Asalif Demissie Belayneh, Associate Director, CI-EWS Project: abelayneh@taskforce.org. 

Subject Line: Application – TFGH National Consultant CI-EWS – Rwanda