Early Detection & Cancer Prevention Programs Expert

About the role

The Key Expert will provide technical assistance to the Syrian Ministry of Health for designing, strengthening and implementing evidence‑based cancer prevention and early‑detection programmes. The role supports institutional capacity, governance and evidence‑based decision‑making in a post‑conflict health system.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and revise national cancer screening guidelines and clinical decision pathways in line with WHO and IARC recommendations.
• Design community awareness and risk‑communication strategies to promote early care‑seeking, especially in low‑literacy or disrupted settings.
• Create training curricula and competency‑based packages for primary and secondary health workers on clinical breast examination, visual inspection methods and referral triage.
• Pilot screening programmes and establish functional referral linkages between primary care and diagnostic/treatment facilities.

Required profile

• Master’s degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Preventive Medicine or related field, or a medical degree with specialization in Oncology or Family Medicine.
• Minimum 7 years of professional experience in NCD prevention, with demonstrable experience in cancer early‑detection and screening programmes.
• Experience working in post‑conflict, fragile or early‑recovery health systems is a strong asset.
• Professional proficiency in English; fluency in Arabic is highly desirable.

Required skills

• Facilitation of technical working groups and multi‑stakeholder consultations.
• Translation of epidemiological evidence into operational screening algorithms, referral criteria and monitoring indicators.
• Knowledge of health‑promotion and behaviour‑change communication approaches relevant to cancer prevention.