Lead – Diagnostics Highway- Integrated Innovation Highway (IIH) Project, Ethiopia

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PATH is a global nonprofit dedicated to achieving health equity. With more than 40 years of experience forging multisector partnerships and with expertise in science, economics, technology, advocacy, and dozens of other specialties, PATH develops and scales up innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing health challenges.

In Ethiopia, PATH works closely with the Federal Ministry of Health, Regional Health Bureaus, health facilities, communities, local organizations, and development partners to strengthen health systems and expand access to high-quality, equitable health services.

Project Overview

The Integrated Innovation Highway (IIH) is a Gates Foundation-funded initiative supporting the Government of Ethiopia and the Ministry of Health to establish a government-owned platform that systematically identifies health system needs, prioritizes innovations, assesses evidence and readiness, and supports the introduction, transition, and scale-up of innovations within the Ethiopian health system.

The IIH promotes an integrated approach across six innovation highways: medical devices; diagnostics; therapeutics, family planning, and nutrition products; vaccines; technology, including digital health, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology; and bundled and systems innovations.

The project focuses on the AI-enabled point-of-care ultrasound (AI-POCUS) under the Medical Device Highway and near-point-of-care TB PlusLife and Ebola diagnostics under the Diagnostics Highway. These innovations will be assessed and implemented in alignment with government priorities, applicable national protocols, regulatory requirements, and approved implementation plans. This role will lead Diagnostics highway (TB PlusLife and Ebola)

Position Summary

Lead – Diagnostics Highway will provide technical leadership and operational coordination for the assessment, introduction, implementation, and transition-to-scale of priority diagnostic innovations under the IIH. The role will support government-led pathways for integrating appropriate diagnostic technologies into Ethiopia's health system while strengthening diagnostic networks, laboratory quality systems, workforce capacity, supply continuity, and public health emergency preparedness.

The position will focus initially on near-point-of-care TB PlusLife and Ebola diagnostics, working closely with the Ministry of Health, EPHI, the National TB Program, RHBs, RPHIs, laboratories, health facilities, AHRI, and technical partners. The role will coordinate diagnostic readiness assessments, implementation planning, testing workflows, specimen referral and transport, quality assurance, biosafety, infection prevention and control, data reporting, and linkage of results to clinical care or public health action.

The Diagnostics Lead will also work closely with Regional Technical Advisors and the national IIH team to generate implementation evidence, address operational bottlenecks, inform adaptive management, and support government ownership and sustainable scale-up of effective diagnostic innovations.

Duty station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, seconded to the Ministry of Health (MoH), with regular travel to Regional Health Bureaus (RHBs), Regional Public Health Institutes (RPHIs) in Oromia, Sidama, and Somali regions.

Reports to: IIH Project Director

Technical coordination: Medical Device Highway Lead; AI and Digital Health Lead; Innovation Highway Hubs Coordinator; MEAL and Research Manager; Regional Technical Advisors.

Key Responsibilities

Diagnostics Highway Technical Leadership and Planning

• Provide technical leadership for planning and implementing the Diagnostics Highway in alignment with IIH objectives, MOH priorities, national diagnostic strategies, and approved project work plans.
• Support government-led processes for identifying, prioritizing, assessing, introducing, and scaling diagnostic innovations based on public health need, evidence, feasibility, readiness, equity, and sustainability.
• Translate national diagnostic priorities into implementation plans, technical deliverables, milestones, and measurable performance indicators.
• Coordinate with the IIH Project Director and other technical leads to integrate diagnostics with medical devices, AI and digital health, innovation hubs, and monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning activities.
• Contribute to technical governance and review meetings by presenting implementation progress, evidence, emerging risks, lessons learned, and recommendations.
• Ensure that diagnostic innovation activities complement existing government programs and investments and avoid unnecessary duplication.

Diagnostic Readiness Assessment and Introduction

• Lead technical coordination of regional and facility-level readiness assessments for TB PlusLife and Regional public Health institutes for Ebola diagnostics in accordance with approved implementation plans.
• Assess readiness across diagnostic algorithms, testing workflows, infrastructure, equipment, workforce competencies, biosafety and biosecurity, infection prevention and control, quality assurance, supply availability, connectivity, data systems, and equipment maintenance.
• Work with MOH and EPHI and regional PHIs and implementation sites to identify readiness gaps, prioritize corrective actions, and monitor progress before and during deployment.
• Support the development and adaptation of implementation guidance, standard operating procedures, job aids, training materials, and facility-level workflows in accordance with approved national protocols.
• Coordinate with relevant regulatory and technical institutions to address applicable approvals, standards, validation or verification requirements, and other implementation prerequisites.
• Support site prioritization based on disease burden, public health risk, service-delivery gaps, operational readiness, equity, feasibility, and alignment with government priorities.

TB PlusLife and Near-Point-of-Care Diagnostic Implementation

• Coordinate technical implementation support for TB PlusLife and other approved near-point-of-care diagnostic innovations at designated sites.
• Maintain close technical coordination with EPHI and the National TB Program to support alignment with national TB diagnostic priorities, testing algorithms, clinical pathways, and programmatic requirements.
• Work with the Ministry of Health, RHBs, RPHIs, laboratories, health facilities, and partners to strengthen access to testing, timely result delivery, reporting, and linkage to appropriate treatment and follow-up.
• Support planning for device placement, installation, commissioning, user training, consumables, equipment maintenance, and technical troubleshooting.
• Monitor operational performance, including equipment functionality, testing volumes, turnaround times, result quality, reporting completeness, and linkage to care, as applicable.
• Identify implementation barriers and coordinate corrective actions with responsible government institutions, facilities, suppliers, and technical partners.
• Promote complementarity between new diagnostic technologies and existing diagnostic networks, including appropriate referral to higher-level or reference laboratories where required.

Ebola Diagnostics and Public Health Emergency Preparedness

• Coordinate technical support for introducing approved Ebola diagnostic approaches in collaboration with EPHI, the Ministry of Health, RHBs, and RPHIs.
• Support national and regional readiness assessments and preparedness planning for outbreak detection and response, including testing workflows, specimen collection and handling, referral and transport, biosafety, infection prevention and control, and result reporting.
• Support strengthening diagnostic preparedness at priority surveillance locations, including designated points of entry and other sites identified in approved implementation plans.
• Work with public health authorities to ensure appropriate linkage of diagnostic results to surveillance, case investigation, notification, risk assessment, and response actions.
• Support capacity strengthening for laboratory, surveillance, and public health personnel in collaboration with designated technical institutions.
• Contribute to simulation exercises and other preparedness activities planned under the project, including identification of operational gaps, documentation of findings, and follow-up on corrective actions.
• Document diagnostic readiness gaps, response-time constraints, and implementation lessons to inform emergency preparedness and future scale-up.

Diagnostic Networks, Quality Assurance, and Supply Continuity

• Support the design and strengthening of diagnostic networks, including specimen referral and transport, result return, escalation pathways, and linkages between peripheral facilities and reference laboratories.
• Coordinate with relevant government institutions and partners to strengthen quality management, internal quality control, external quality assessment, proficiency testing where applicable, and adherence to approved testing procedures.
• Support planning for reliable supplies of test kits, reagents, consumables, and other essential materials, including forecasting, distribution, inventory monitoring, and continuity planning.
• Coordinate with responsible institutions and service providers on equipment installation, maintenance, calibration or verification where applicable, and technical support arrangements.
• Promote compliance with biosafety, biosecurity, infection prevention and control, waste management, and applicable laboratory standards.
• Identify risks to diagnostic service continuity and support practical mitigation plans with clear institutional responsibilities.

Government Engagement and Stakeholder Coordination

• Serve as a key technical liaison between EPHI, the National TB Program, the Ministry of Health, and relevant regional and implementing institutions for Diagnostics Highway activities.
• Maintain productive working relationships with RHBs, RPHIs, laboratories, health facilities, universities, regulatory institutions, technology providers, implementing partners, and development partners.
• Support government-led planning, technical coordination, implementation reviews, and decision-making related to diagnostic innovation.
• Coordinate with Regional Technical Advisors to align national technical guidance with regional implementation realities and facility-level requirements.
• Facilitate collaboration among diagnostic technology providers, laboratory and clinical experts, public health authorities, and implementation partners to resolve technical and operational dependencies.
• Support alignment with existing government programs and partner investments to strengthen complementarity and minimize duplication.
• Represent the Diagnostics Highway in relevant technical working groups, coordination forums, and review meetings as assigned.

Monitoring, Evidence Generation, and Adaptive Management

• Work with the MEAL and Research Manager to define and monitor indicators for readiness, deployment, equipment functionality, testing volume, turnaround time, quality, reporting, linkage to treatment or public health action, and service continuity.
• Review and synthesize national and regional implementation data to identify performance trends, operational bottlenecks, evidence gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
• Support approved implementation research, operational assessments, case studies, technical briefs, and documentation of lessons learned.
• Use evidence and feedback from laboratories, facilities, government counterparts, and technical partners to recommend practical adjustments to implementation approaches.
• Contribute verified results, technical analyses, and implementation updates to project progress reports, donor updates, and technical review meetings.
• Support responsible data management and appropriate safeguards for confidentiality, security, and permitted use of diagnostic and surveillance information.

Transition-to-Scale and Sustainability

• Support development of transition-to-scale pathways for priority diagnostic innovations, including requirements for government ownership, financing, procurement, workforce capacity, quality systems, supplies, maintenance, and integration into routine diagnostic networks.
• Work with government counterparts to identify opportunities to embed effective approaches into national and regional plans, budgets, standards, diagnostic algorithms, and routine service-delivery systems.
• Assess sustainability risks and support clear transition arrangements among government institutions, laboratories, facilities, suppliers, and partners.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen domestic institutional capacity and reduce reliance on time-limited project support.
• Document evidence, resource requirements, implementation costs where available, and operational considerations to inform decisions on expansion and sustainable scale-up.

Project Reporting, Compliance, and Risk Management

• Prepare timely technical updates, implementation plans, field reports, and other documentation required by the IIH Project Director.
• Track deliverables, milestones, dependencies, and technical risks, and recommend corrective actions when implementation is delayed or performance is below expectations.
• Ensure that activities comply with PATH policies, donor requirements, applicable government regulations, ethical standards, and approved technical protocols.
• Identify and escalate risks related to diagnostic quality, biosafety, biosecurity, infection prevention and control, patient confidentiality, data protection, safeguarding, operations, and reputation in accordance with PATH procedures.
• Maintain accurate technical documentation and support transparent reporting of progress, challenges, corrective actions, and results.
• Undertake other relevant duties consistent with the scope of the position, as assigned by the IIH Project Director.

Qualifications and Experience

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Medical Laboratory Science, Clinical Laboratory Science, Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences, Public Health, or a related field.
• At least seven years of progressively responsible experience in diagnostic services, laboratory systems strengthening, public health laboratory programs, diagnostic technology implementation, or related public health work.
• Demonstrated experience working with the national TB program and/or TB diagnostic services, including experience with Global Fund-supported TB activities where applicable.
• Demonstrated experience working with EPHI and/or other relevant national public health institutions.
• Experience supporting the introduction, implementation, quality assurance, or scale-up of diagnostic technologies or laboratory services.
• Experience working with government health institutions, preferably the Ministry of Health, EPHI, RHBs, RPHIs, laboratories, and health facilities in Ethiopia.
• Experience in technical planning, readiness assessments, stakeholder coordination, workforce development, and implementation monitoring.
• Strong understanding of diagnostic pathways, laboratory networks, quality management systems, specimen referral, and public health surveillance.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, report-writing, facilitation, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Proficiency in standard office applications and digital tools for data management, reporting, and project coordination.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary teams and engage effectively with government stakeholders.
• Willingness and ability to travel regularly to regional and implementation sites.

Preferred Qualifications and Experience

• Master's degree in Medical Laboratory Science, Microbiology, Public Health, Laboratory Management, Epidemiology, or a related discipline.
• Experience with TB diagnostics, near-point-of-care testing, molecular diagnostics, Ebola or other high-consequence pathogen diagnostics, or outbreak laboratory preparedness.
• Experience supporting donor-funded public health or health systems programs, preferably those supported by the Gates Foundation or other major international donors.
• Experience in diagnostic network optimization, implementation research, evidence-informed decision-making, and transition-to-scale strategies.
• Familiarity with laboratory information systems, digital reporting, data privacy, and integration of diagnostic results into surveillance or clinical information systems.
• Experience supporting simulation exercises, emergency preparedness assessments, or public health response coordination.