Senior Technical Advisor -Laboratory Services

Company Description

Job Description
Job title:                                       Senior Technical Advisor – Laboratory Services
Location:                                      Dar es Salaam
Job grade:                                    Seven ( 7)
Reporting to:                              Associate Director – HSS and Sustainability
Roles Summary

The Senior Technical Advisor – Laboratory services provides strategic and technical leadership to strengthen the quality, accessibility, efficiency, and sustainability of laboratory services within the HIV/TB program. The position will provide technical assistance to regional, council, and facility teams to improve laboratory systems, including HIV viral load, EID, HIV testing, TB diagnostics, HIV-DR, HPV DNA, Sample referral and transportation, quality assurance, and laboratory data management.

The Senior Technical Advisor, Laboratory Services will be a dotted-line manager for the Project Office Laboratory Coordinators and will directly provide technical support to all supported regions.

The Technical Advisor will work closely with the Ministry of Health, Regional and Council Health Management Teams, laboratories, implementing partners, and other stakeholders to ensure alignment with national guidelines and standards. The role will emphasize capacity building, mentorship, quality improvement, data use, and integration of laboratory activities into routine government systems, regional plans, and CCHPs.

Main Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership for laboratory services

• Provide strategic and technical guidance on laboratory services for HIV, TB, HPV DNA, and other priority conditions.
• Support implementation of national laboratory policies, guidelines, standards, and SOPs.
• Ensure laboratory interventions are aligned with MOH and other relevant government priorities.
• Provide technical support to regions, councils, and health facilities to strengthen laboratory systems.

Strengthen HIV/TB laboratory services

• Support quality HIV viral load (HVL), early infant diagnosis (EID), HIV testing, TB diagnostic, HPV DNA, HIV-DR testing, and other relevant laboratory services.
• Strengthen systems for sample collection, packaging, transportation, testing, result return, and client follow-up.
• Identify and address gaps affecting viral load coverage, turnaround time, sample rejection, and result utilization.
• Support appropriate use of TB diagnostic platforms, including GeneXpert/TrueNat for  MTB/RIF and other approved technologies
• Support and monitor implementation of laboratory quality management systems in accordance with ISO 15189:2022.
• Strengthen internal quality control, external quality assessment/proficiency testing, and corrective and preventive actions.
• Conduct or support laboratory assessments, mentorship, supportive supervision, and quality improvement initiatives.
• Scale up and monitor utilization of Point –of- Care technologies for VL, EID, and others as per MOH rollout plan

Laboratory data and performance monitoring

• Monitor laboratory indicators and identify performance gaps.
• Support analysis and interpretation of laboratory data to inform program decisions.
• Strengthen linkage between laboratory information systems and HIV/TB program databases.
• Ensure laboratory results are accurately captured, reported, and used for clinical decision-making.
• Support data quality assessments and resolution of data discrepancies.
• Support the team to monitor HIV drug resistance, HPV DNA testing, POC testing, TB LAM, and others

• Assess and improve sample referral networks and transportation systems.
• Support facilities to maintain appropriate sample collection, storage, packaging, and transportation practices.
• Monitor availability of laboratory commodities, reagents, consumables, and supplies.
• Work with relevant government structures and partners to address stock-outs and supply-chain challenges.
• Develop and deliver laboratory-related training, orientation, and mentorship for laboratory staff and other healthcare providers.
• Build the capacity of regional, council, and facility teams to independently monitor and improve laboratory services.

• Support development of job aids, SOPs, training materials, and mentorship tools.
• Promote peer learning and dissemination of best practices.

Support integration and sustainability

• Support integration of laboratory activities into regional plans, CCHPs, facility plans, and routine government systems.
• Strengthen the capacity of R/CHMTs and facility teams to take ownership of laboratory quality and performance monitoring.
• Contribute to transition and sustainability plans, including government ownership of laboratory systems and processes.
• Minimize dependence on project-specific parallel laboratory systems.

Coordination and stakeholder engagement