Laboratory Officer – AMR Surveillance

About the role

Amref Health Africa – Tanzania is seeking a Laboratory Officer to provide technical leadership and implementation support for laboratory and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance activities. The role will work with nine Fleming Fund‑supported sentinel laboratories to strengthen bacteriology, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and data quality for national and global reporting.

Key responsibilities

• Conduct rapid laboratory readiness assessments and capacity verification for nine AMR sentinel laboratories.
• Provide structured technical mentorship, supportive supervision, and on‑site coaching on bacteriology, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), quality management systems, biosafety, biosecurity, specimen handling, and laboratory information management.
• Support enrollment, maintenance, and participation in External Quality Assessment (EQA) and proficiency testing programmes, and oversee corrective and preventive actions.
• Promote compliance with national policies, SOPs, and international standards such as ISO 15189, CLSI, and EUCAST.
• Implement continuous quality improvement initiatives to enhance diagnostic accuracy and reliability of AMR surveillance data.
• Ensure timely, accurate reporting of AMR data to national platforms and the WHO GLASS system.
• Collaborate with clinicians, pharmacists, and surveillance teams to analyse, interpret, and disseminate AMR findings and antibiograms.

Required profile

Required skills

• Bacteriology
• Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST)
• Quality Management Systems
• Internal Quality Control
• Biosafety and Biosecurity
• Specimen Collection and Management
• Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS)
• Data Quality Management
• External Quality Assessment (EQA) and Proficiency Testing
• ISO 15189 standards
• Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines
• EUCAST guidelines