TERMS OF REFERENCE
Public Health Specialist
Position :Public Health Specialist
Number of positions :02
Duty station :New Delhi, with travel to project locations as required
Duration :12 months; anticipated 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027 (fixed-term consultancy)
Organization: Society for Health Allied Research and Education, Hyderabad (SHARE INDIA)
About SHARE INDIA
Society for Health Allied Research and Education, Hyderabad (SHARE INDIA) was formed and registered in 1986 as a research society and is recognized as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO) by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. SHARE INDIA works to strengthen health systems, improve access to quality health services, and build capacity for public health innovation and research. Its portfolio includes technical assistance to government institutions, workforce development, implementation support, and public health research undertaken with national and international partners.
About the BOLSTER Surveillance Project
Under the BOLSTER Surveillance Project, supported through collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), SHARE INDIA works with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), and other government partners to strengthen laboratory-based surveillance, diagnostic services, and outbreak detection and response. The project provides technical assistance to identified public health laboratories and supports development and adaptation of guidelines, standard operating procedures, technical tools, and training materials; laboratory quality systems; specimen referral; diagnostic readiness; data quality and reporting; workforce capacity-building; mentoring; and implementation support. Activities are undertaken in accordance with priorities identified jointly with relevant government stakeholders.
Purpose of the Position
The Public Health Specialists will provide cross-cutting technical, documentation, coordination, and implementation support across the laboratory-strengthening workstreams. A central focus will be the production of high-quality guidelines, SOPs, technical briefs, training presentations, workshop products, reports, and scientific articles/manuscripts that translate evidence and stakeholder decisions into clear, usable public health products.
Scope of Work and Key Responsibilities
• Conduct structured desk reviews using authoritative national guidance, peer-reviewed literature, program documents, and relevant international standards.
• Synthesize evidence into concise background notes, evidence briefs, technical rationales, gap analyses, recommendations, and decision-support documents.
• Draft, edit, and quality-assure guidelines, SOPs, operational frameworks, workflows, checklists, tools, training modules, job aids, and implementation plans.
• Develop professional PowerPoint presentations, facilitator guides, participant materials, case exercises, pre/post assessments, and other training resources for technical consultations and trainings.
• Support preparation of scientific articles, manuscripts, abstracts, project summaries, success stories, and knowledge products, including reference management and response to technical review comments.
• Plan and coordinate consultations, workshops, trainings, assessments, and mentoring activities; prepare agendas, background materials, invitations, briefing notes, minutes, proceedings, and action trackers.
• Liaise with CDC, MoHFW/NCDC/IDSP, identified public health laboratories, subject-matter experts, and project partners to obtain inputs and maintain timely follow-up.
• Support development and tracking of work plans, activity schedules, deliverables, risks, milestones, and monitoring indicators across assigned workstreams.
• Maintain a well-organized technical repository with version control, references, approvals, and communication records.
• Undertake site visits, support trainings and assessments, prepare periodic progress reports, and perform other technically relevant duties assigned by the project leadership.
Qualifications and Experience
Essential
• Postgraduate qualification in Public Health, Epidemiology, Community Medicine, Health Administration, Health Systems, or a closely related field from a recognized institution; candidates with MBBS/BDS or a relevant life-science background plus MPH/equivalent qualification are eligible.
Desirable
• Experience in laboratory-based surveillance, infectious disease programs, outbreak preparedness/response, laboratory systems, or quality improvement.
• Prior engagement with government health agencies, public health laboratories, academic institutions, or international development/public health partners.
• Familiarity with literature databases and reference-management tools such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote.
Required Skills and Competencies
• Exceptional technical writing, editing, proofreading, synthesis, and presentation-development skills.
• Ability to reason from evidence, distinguish requirements from recommendations, and produce clear documents for technical and senior audiences.
• Strong planning, coordination, interpersonal, and stakeholder-management skills, with discretion in handling official information.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and working proficiency in Excel; ability to use collaborative document-review tools.
• Excellent written and spoken English; working knowledge of Hindi is desirable; ability to manage concurrent assignments and tight deadlines.
Reporting, Coordination and Travel
Each selected consultant will report to the Program Lead/Project Director, SHARE INDIA, with technical coordination with CDC. Regular progress updates and timely submission of agreed outputs will be required. The consultant will coordinate with relevant project, government, laboratory, and technical counterparts as applicable. Travel within India may be required for consultations, assessments, trainings, mentoring visits, and implementation reviews.
Contract Period and Remuneration
This is a full-time, fixed-term consultancy engagement for an anticipated period of 12 months, up to 30 September 2027. Continuation throughout the stated period will be subject to satisfactory performance, project requirements, and availability of funds. The engagement does not imply automatic renewal beyond the stated end date.
Last date for receipt of applications: September 22, 2026.
Remuneration will be competitive and commensurate with the selected candidate's qualifications, relevant experience, and last drawn remuneration, in accordance with SHARE INDIA policies.
How to Apply
Interested candidates should send an updated curriculum vitae and a concise cover letter explaining their suitability for the position to hr@shareindia.org. The email subject line should use “Application for Public Health Specialist”. The application deadline and any additional submission requirements will be as specified in the vacancy announcement. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Additional Note
SHARE INDIA is an equal opportunity organization. Selection will be based on merit and suitability for the assignment. Canvassing in any form may result in disqualification.