Director (Head), Communicable Diseases Programmes

-Family Group: Administration

As the Director (Head), Communicable Diseases Programmes (CDP) of the Communicable Diseases Agency Planning Office (CDA PO) set up by the Ministry of Health (MOH), you will support the Head, CDA PO in the establishment of the Communicable Diseases Agency.

The CDA is a new government agency that is being established by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to oversee Singapore’s communicable disease preparedness, prevention and control, surveillance, risk assessment and outbreak response. The CDA PO’s role is to plan and execute the setup of the CDA, which will consolidate and build on the public health functions under MOH, the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, and the Health Promotion Board.

You will play a key role to oversee and lead the consolidation and transformation of communicable disease programmes with senior stakeholders, initiate and set goals for communicable disease programmes according to CDA’s strategic objectives and priorities, and provide leadership and expertise in infectious diseases surveillance, preparedness and response.

These include the following:

- Oversee the review and evaluation of existing national control programmes for major communicable diseases and work with relevant departments and agencies to update and enhance the effectiveness of the programmes.
- Oversee the consolidation and transformation of communicable disease programmes into a revised structure to reduce duplication and enhance efficiency and synergies across the various disease programmes.
- Drive and coordinate multiple work streams, including engagement and collaboration with senior stakeholders, for the development and implementation of communicable disease programmes in CDA.
- Study successful disease control programmes in other countries and adapt them to Singapore where applicable.
- Oversee the surveillance, epidemiological assessment, outbreak investigation and control measures for all notifiable communicable diseases and syndromes, including policies pertaining to disease control under the Infectious Diseases Act, inter-agency coordination and collaboration on One Health and border health control.
- Participate in inter-agency task forces for the control of specific diseases.
- Provide professional advice to public on matters related to public health and epidemiology.
- Provide expert inputs to ministry, agencies, regional organisations, and various committees.
- Contribute to the publication of outbreak reports and other relevant articles on disease control.
- Provide leadership for field epidemiology and disease control, and ensure efficient administration of professional, staff and resource matters.
- Oversee the epidemiology training among MOH, NCID, and CDAPO staff, and other stakeholders where relevant, to build capacity and strengthen expertise in disease control.
- Provide professional policy inputs on public health measures for the prevention of introduction of communicable diseases into Singapore, with reference to the International Health Regulations.
- Serve as focal point on disease control in various regional and international fora.

You will be working in a fast-paced and highly volatile environment that will require you to manage multiple stakeholders and priorities concurrently for a smooth transition to the CDA.

**Requirements**:

- Either (i) medical degree with completed public health specialty training OR (ii) non-medical degree with postgraduate qualification in Public Health or Epidemiology or equivalent
- At least 10 years in medicine or public health, of which at least 3 years should be in communicable disease prevention and control at national level
- Strong analytical, critical thinking and problem solving skills with ability to package information
- Good understanding of outbreak findings
- Excellent organizational, stakeholder management, leadership and interpersonal skills
- Committed to his/her work and willingness to work under pressure