City Lead- Patna– Surveillance

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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 heath challenges. 

About the Project

India’s urban population is growing rapidly, and by 2050 it will reach 877 million - nearly two-thirds of the country’s population. The concentration of people in urban settings, coupled with environmental pressures and evolving disease patterns, demands robust surveillance systems capable of early detection and rapid response. PATH is working to strengthen urban disease surveillance and build preparedness against future disease threats in Patna and Nagpur. Under this goal, PATH will support these intervention cities with strengthened surveillance infrastructure, enhanced data quality and reporting, and improved multisectoral coordination across human, animal, and environmental health domains.

About the Position

PATH is seeking to recruit a City Lead - Surveillance for Patna to provide overall leadership of the surveillance strengthening programme at the city level. The City Lead will bring deep expertise in surveillance operations and will be responsible for urban surveillance planning, implementation, and monitoring across intervention facilities and geographies within Patna. This position requires strong stakeholder engagement with the Municipal Surveillance Unit (MSU), District Surveillance Unit (DSU), City Programme Management Unit (CPMU), Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), and other key departments. The City Lead will serve as the primary point of contact for all surveillance activities in Patna and will act as the bridge that moves the One Health concept from theory to operation, ensuring meaningful coordination across human, animal, and environmental health domains on the ground. The City Lead will be accountable for delivering city-level outputs, milestones, and KPIs as defined in the approved activity plan, ensuring timely and quality implementation of all surveillance strengthening interventions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the planning, implementation, and monitoring of urban surveillance strengthening activities in Patna, ensuring alignment with state and national surveillance priorities.

• Manage day-to-day stakeholder engagement and coordination with MSU, DSU, CPMU, ULBs, and other relevant departments to ensure integrated programme delivery.

• Conduct and guide situational analysis of the existing urban surveillance system, identifying strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement in surveillance coverage, reporting timeliness, and data quality.

• Ensure implementation of all city-level activities as per approved timelines and budgets under the project activity plan.

• Develop city-specific surveillance strengthening strategies and action plans in alignment with the national roadmap and in coordination with the national surveillance team.

• Provide strategic oversight and decision-making support to ensure effective programme delivery, including course corrections based on monitoring data and field insights.

• Achieve targeted improvements in IHIP reporting completeness, timeliness, and data use across facilities through supportive supervision, mentoring, and structured monitoring mechanisms.

• Institutionalise data-to-action mechanisms by ensuring surveillance data is routinely used for weekly response planning, early warning identification, and targeted interventions.

• Facilitate and coordinate outbreak preparedness and response activities, including the operationalisation of rapid response teams, investigation protocols, and after-action reviews.

• Plan and coordinate simulation exercises, mock drills, and tabletop scenarios to proactively test the city’s surveillance and outbreak response systems before real-world events occur.

• Explore and advance integration of surveillance data with city-level digital platforms, including Smart City and Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) systems, to enable cross-platform data flow and visualisation.

• Foster meaningful private sector engagement by working with private hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and clinics to strengthen case reporting, laboratory linkages, and outbreak notification in the urban context.

• Plan and facilitate upskilling and technical handholding initiatives on IHIP operations, surveillance data management, outbreak investigation, and related topics for city and facility-level health functionaries.

• Support the integration of diagnostic workflow strengthening within the urban surveillance system, including specimen referral mapping and laboratory coordination.

• Identify and foster partnerships with development partners, academic institutions, and civil society organisations in Patna for strengthening urban surveillance. This includes exploring collaborations with institutions such as the Bihar Animal Sciences University (BASU), among others, to strengthen the animal health arm of One Health surveillance.

• Prepare regular progress reports, situational updates, and presentations on surveillance activities for the national team, donors, and government counterparts.

• Coordinate with other city-level project teams to ensure synergies across urban health programme components.

• Institutionalise surveillance processes within MSU/DSU/ULB systems to ensure sustainability beyond the project period.

• Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor for the smooth functioning of the programme and achievement of project goals.

Required Experience and Qualifications

• MBBS/ BDS/ BAMS/ BHMS/ BVSc with a master’s in public health (MPH), Epidemiology, or a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health (DPH) / Health Management.

• 5-7 years of progressive experience in disease surveillance, epidemiology, or public health programme implementation, with demonstrable experience of working at the city or district level. Experience of working in Bihar or comparable urban settings is strongly preferred.

• Direct experience of leading or coordinating with government surveillance systems - including IDSP/IHIP, State Surveillance Units (SSU), District Surveillance Units (DSU), or Municipal Surveillance Units (MSU).

• Familiarity with the Indian public health system, key stakeholders, and relevant government policies and strategies, particularly the National Health Mission, NUHM, Ayushman Bharat, and Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.

• Exposure to NHM financial and planning guidelines (including the Programme Implementation Plan / PIP process) will be a strong advantage.

• Experience in stakeholder management and coordination with ULBs, municipal health departments, and multisectoral partners.

• Past experience with INGOs, or equivalent agencies on surveillance, outbreak response, or health systems strengthening will be preferred.

Functional Competencies

• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic and operational leadership to city-level teams and stakeholders.

• Strong technical knowledge of disease surveillance systems, IHIP operations, and outbreak investigation.

• Proficiency in data analysis, data visualisation, and epidemiological tools

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Hindi.

• Direct experience of independently liaising with government health functionaries, district and city-level administrators, and development partners.

• Strong coordination and stakeholder management skills across multiple departments and partner organisations.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).

• Ability to travel within the city and Delhi as required (up to 30-40% of the time).