This role is focused on strengthening our public health laboratory network's preparedness and response capabilities. The role serves as the cornerstone for ensuring our key public health laboratories and high-containment facilities maintain optimal readiness and can effectively respond to public health emergencies.
Assistant Director (Laboratory Network, Strategy and Coordination)
Communicable Diseases Agency
Fixed Terms
Closing in 6 day(s)
What the role is
What you will be working on
Laboratory Capacity Assessment and Planning
- Conduct comprehensive readiness assessments of key public health laboratories, evaluating their capabilities, infrastructure, and resource requirements whilst developing improvement strategies
- Lead preparedness and response planning efforts, including the development and maintenance of laboratory emergency response plans and standard operating procedures
Partnership and Coordination
- Identify and maintain relationships with standby laboratory partners, regularly reviewing their operational status and capabilities to ensure rapid mobilisation during emergencies
- Coordinate specialised training programmes for public health laboratory staff, focusing on new methodologies or techniques for improved pathogen detection
Emergency Preparedness
- Develop and implement contingency plans for various emergency scenarios, including participation in simulation exercises and drills
- Create forward surge capacity plans, ensuring laboratories can scale operations during emergencies whilst maintaining quality standards
Monitoring and Evaluation
- Lead intra-action review (IAR) or after-action reviews (AAR) and improvement assessments following laboratory responses to public health events
- Develop and implement monitoring frameworks to track laboratory performance and readiness levels
Strategic Development
- Conduct horizon scanning to identify emerging technologies, research developments, and global initiatives that could enhance laboratory capabilities
- Establish and maintain relationships with key public health laboratories, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing
Operational Support
- Provide technical and operational support during surge periods, ensuring laboratories maintain efficient operations under increased demand
Coordinate resource allocation and deployment during emergency responses
What we are looking for
We are looking for someone who combines technical expertise with strategic thinking and excellent coordination abilities, capable of strengthening our laboratory preparedness and response capabilities while managing diverse stakeholder relationships. The ideal candidate is passionate about public health laboratory strengthening and committed to building robust preparedness systems. The role focuses on ensuring operational readiness, building surge capacity, and maintaining robust response systems across the laboratory network.
As part of the shortlisting process for this role, candidates may be required to complete medical declaration and/or undergo further assessment.
About Communicable Diseases Agency
The Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) was established in 2025 as a statutory board under Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) to serve as the central authority for public health policymaking to manage and control the threat of communicable diseases. This is aimed at strengthening Singapore's public health capabilities built during the COVID-19 response to ensure a unified command and coordinated approach across all situations, from routine disease control to future outbreaks.
CDA safeguards the nation from communicable diseases through disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, vaccination programs, public education, and global health collaboration. Beyond domestic activities, the CDA aims to expand Singapore’s global outreach and foster collaboration with international partners.