Africa CDC Laboratory Leadership Fellowship (LLF) Track

A 12-month Laboratory Leadership Fellowship within the Africa CDC's African Epidemic Service (AES) Program aimed at building mid-level laboratory leadership capacity across African Union Member States. The programme combines in-person workshops, virtual learning, mentorship, outbreak response assignments and a capstone project to strengthen national and regional laboratory systems.

Responsibilities

• Complete a 12-month structured programme combining in-person workshops (three months), virtual learning, mentorship, and applied learning at a host site in an African Union Member State
• Progressively develop and demonstrate competencies across eight leadership domains
• Complete assigned learning modules and participate in virtual sessions and in-person workshops
• Apply acquired leadership, management and technical skills in real-world laboratory and public health settings during a nine-month applied learning period hosted by an AU Member State
• Participate in practical outbreak response assignments and mentorship activities
• Develop and complete a capstone project that contributes to strengthening national and regional laboratory systems
• Balance theoretical learning with hands-on practice and integrate skills into daily responsibilities to support national/regional laboratory capacity building

Requirements

• Be a citizen of an African Union Member State
• At the time of application, be employed in an African country and have written permission from a government institution to attend the one year training, with guarantee to return to employment post training
• Be a youth as defined by the African Union, i.e., an individual under the age of 35
• Have a Bachelor's or Master's degree in laboratory sciences or laboratory-related fields from an accredited university
• A minimum of 5 years’ relevant work experience for bachelor’s degree holders after graduation in an African country
• A minimum of 3 years’ relevant work experience for master’s degree holders after graduation in an African country
• Have served in a mid- to senior-level laboratory leadership or management position in human, animal, or environmental health at national level
• Prior training in laboratory quality management systems
• Proficiency in at least one of the African Union’s official languages (English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, or Kiswahili) is required; knowledge of an additional AU official language is an asset
• Note: Advanced FETP Fellows and Graduates are not eligible to apply
• Completed applications with all supporting documents should be uploaded to the online portal; incomplete applications will not be considered
• A national passport from an African Union Member State must be provided
• An official letter of support with permission from a government institution to attend the one-year training programme with the right to return post training must be provided
• Letters of recommendation from two reputable professional referees must be provided
• Official scanned copies of the certificates and transcripts of acquired degrees (bachelor’s and master’s degree) must be provided
• Evidence of additional relevant qualifications in Quality Management Systems must be provided
• Brief curriculum vitae using the AU template (2 pages maximum) must be provided
• Motivation statement (maximum 500 words), outlining why this program would be a good fit, how it will support professional development, and the expected impact on public health challenges in the applicant's home country must be provided
• Africa CDC provides all learning and development materials and covers all costs associated with the fellowship, including travel-related costs, stipends, hardware, software and health insurance

Skills

• Laboratory Leadership
• Laboratory Services Management
• Laboratory Quality Management System
• Outbreak Response
• Mentorship
• Public Health
• Laboratory Sciences
• Project Management
• Training Delivery
• Curriculum Design
• Data Analysis
• Report Writing
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Virtual Learning
• Workshop Facilitation

Languages

English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, Kiswahili