Introduction

The Fleming Fund (FF) is a U.K. Department of Health and Social Care programme to help low and middle-income countries fight Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). AMR poses a severe global threat, expected to cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050. With potential costs reaching $100 trillion, its impact on the global economy is significant. Fleming Fund Grants aim to tackle the AMR challenge in developing countries including Pakistan. The grants are funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care and managed by Mott MacDonald for the country, regional and fellowship grants. Pakistan has received Fleming Fund support since 2019 in the form of two Country Grants, 9 Fellowships, and central and local procurement of equipment, reagents, and consumables. Between 2017 and the end of phase-1 of the program in March 2023, the program has provided financial support to grantees to establish and support local development of national AMR surveillance systems.

In partnership with the Fleming Fund, DAI's programme in Pakistan collaborates with the Pakistani government to strengthen systems using a “One Health” (OH) approach – a multisectoral approach to complex health problems that reaches across human health, animal health, and environment sectors. As global leaders in One Health, the DAI team helps incorporate One Health across programme interventions. DAI is helping Pakistan become a leader in combating antimicrobial resistance, and a model for better management of antimicrobials in human and animal populations. DAI and its consortium partners have successfully secured an additional round, Phase 2, of the Fleming Fund Country Grant in Pakistan which spans from January 2024 to December 2025. The Phase 2 of the FFCG programme focuses on achieving four intermediate outcomes: 1) Production of quality AMR/U/C and burden of disease data; 2) Conducting quality data analysis; 3) Sharing quality data analysis with decision-makers; and 4) Contributing to sustainable investments at both the country and global levels to counter AMR.

Position Summary:

Fleming Fund CG requires a senior microbiology expert for Sindh and Balochistan provinces to implement the activities pertaining to human health sector under the work area 1.03 of the Fleming Fund country grant Pakistan Phase 2 workplan.

Major Responsibilities:

• Engage with Lab staff and hospital administration to discuss the baseline assessment conducted against LSHTM Core Standards.
• Work with Lab Staff and Hospital Administration to develop a roadmap for the lab to progress toward the Core Level.
• Provide implementation guidelines to aid physicians in determining appropriate patient microbiology samples based on clinical presentations (Syndromic-based testing).
• Conduct strong advocacy with the hospital administration to ensure the implementation of unique alphanumeric patient identifiers to accurately link laboratory results to the corresponding patient per core policies with laboratory staff.
• Advocate and liaison with the clinicians to promote the submission of complete and proper test request forms containing patient demographic and clinical details.
• Conduct on-spot orientation for all relevant laboratory staff on AMR surveillance-specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) regarding laboratory standards.
• Deliver on-spot training and continued mentoring of relevant laboratory staff on isolate storage (biorepository), inventory management, packaging, and transport.
• Provide technical guidance/support to the labs in processing and reporting External Quality Assurance samples.
• Provide technical assistance to develop/review/update the core components of laboratory guidelines.
• Regularly coordinate the transport of isolates to the AMR reference/coordinating laboratory for biobanking and provide troubleshooting support wherever required.
• Facilitate sharing AMR data with a national central database or equivalent and local/international stakeholders, as well as provide support to WHONET STTA wherever required.
• Identify gaps in laboratory procedures and develop strategies for improvement.
• Develop training needs assessment for selected hospitals specifically to LSHTM core standards to be shared with the country office for training material development.
• Monitor the progress of the Lab against the agreed plan on a quarterly basis.
• Provide quarterly reports and join in-person meetings on the status and ongoing activities regarding core standards for all laboratories assigned.
• Provide support to civil engineer and country office regarding laboratory renovation if applicable.
• Travel to the other sites as and when required and coordinate with the hospital administration for any necessary approvals.
• Assist in identifying the procurement needs of the labs and document proper receipts of the items.
• Arrange on-spot orientation sessions and/or dedicated sessions for laboratory staff/physicians based on project guidelines.
• Attend in-person and virtual meetings arranged by country/regional office wherever and whenever required and provide verbal and/or presentation format feedback whenever needed.
• Any other activity assigned by the supervisor.

Requirements (Education, Experience, Skills, Languages etc.):

• Masters/FCPS in Clinical Microbiology and Laboratory training program or Medical Lab Technology. Specialisation in hands-on clinical microbiology is essential.
• Minimum three years of proven experience as a senior microbiologist or microbiology laboratory specialist in a diagnostic laboratory.
• Experience with ISO 15189 accreditation, antibiogram development, processing EQA samples, and hospital antimicrobial stewardship committees will be advantageous.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to develop an effective relationship with the hospital administration and laboratory staff.
• Preference will be given to candidates having experience at laboratories under consideration for the upcoming project.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Preference will be given to speakers fluent in the assigned area's local language.