Senior Research Associate - PRIME Study
Company: Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)
Location: Lilongwe, Other / Non-US, Malawi
Posted on: March 20, 2014
Job Description:
The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI formerly the Clinton
HIV/AIDS Initiative) under the leadership of former President
William Jefferson Clinton III, has worked since 2002 to reduce the
pricing of HIV/AIDS medicines and tests, and to work with
governments around the world to further turn the tide on the
disease by building the systems needed to deliver care and
treatment. In 2006, CHAI signed an MOU with the Malawi government to
strengthen health systems in the most challenged districts, provide
national support to HIV/AIDS drug pricing and programmatic work,
support the pilot and scale-up of prevention of mother-to-child
transmission of HIV (PMTCT) initiatives, expand access to ART for
children, strengthen Malawis lab system, and scale up an integrated
nutrition program for children. CHAIs support to Malawi has
expanded to include Human Resources for Health, Vaccines, and
Health Financing. CHAIs eMTCT Program combines approaches that address both
facility and community-level barriers to access, retention and
adherence to integrated ART/PMTCT/MNCH services for HIV-positive
mothers and their infants. CHAI, the Malawi College of Medicine,
and the World Health Organization, have collaboratively implemented
the PRIME Study, a robust cluster randomized control trial, in an
effort to compare the impact and cost-effectiveness of using
mother-infant-pair (MIP) clinics in improving retention of
mother-infant pairs on PMTCT care and their quality of care. The
PRIME Study will create new scientific knowledge, hypothesizing
positive associations between MIP clinics and improved uptake of
high-quality care, by providing integrated HIV and MNCH services
under one roof, including education, counselling and psychosocial
support for HIV positive mothers. Additionally, the Studys mHealth
component seeks to test the effectiveness of improved SMS
communication to increase retention in MIP services. This program
is seeking an operationally-focused and research-oriented
individual to oversee implementation of the research design and
enable the research findings to inform the national eMTCT
strategy. Based in Mangochi, the Senior Research Associate, in
collaboration with the College of Medicine and the District Health
Management Teams (DHMTs) in Mangochi and Salima districts will: * Oversee all aspects of the field offices operation of the
PRIME study; * Monitor the ongoing implementation of Mother-Infant-Pair
clinics and follow-up mechanisms at selected health facilities,
ensuring full implementation at a level that the MOH may be able to
sustain; * Undertake all implementation activities in the work plan
consistent with study protocols, internal review boards, and
national guidelines; * Ensure implementation of, and adherence to, the study
protocol; * Work closely with the M&E Officer to ensure the
operational research component of the study is carried out
successfully, including data management and processes, data entry
and storage, case report form management, tracking of human
participants, data audits, and good clinical practice; * Author or contribute to both scientific and lay reports and
papers; * Support Study Manager to coordinate efforts between the
College of Medicine (research institution and PI), the respective
districts and the Ministry of Health (MOH); * Report to and support Study Manager and CHAI Lilongwe
Financial office in management of financial and administrative
matters; * Coordinate all training and mentorship activities; * Lead a team of nine research staff, playing a key management
role in maintaining morale and assisting to resolve staff
disputes; * Represent CHAI at stakeholder and district meetings; * Liaise with CHAI Applied Analytics and other Global Teams and
host CHAI visitors to the Mangochi office; * Provide information, reports, presentations, and any other
activities at the behest of CHAI management, donors, and partners,
and; * Contribute to the growth of additional mHealth implementation
and scale-up activities with other CHAI Malawi teams. * A minimum of 4 years of experience in private or public sector
enterprise and experience with research trials; * A masters degree preferably in Public/Community Health,
Nursing, Informatics, Statistics, or Environmental
Health/Science; * Experience with quantitative and qualitative study design,
implementation, and analysis and knowledge of research ethics and
Good Clinical Practice; * Experience in conceiving, planning and executing programs or
projects with verifiable results and little external support; * Experience managing demanding work plans and tight budgets and
leading teams; * Experience developing training materials and/or reports for
broad consumption; * Ability to negotiate and achieve consensus with key
stakeholders; * Ability to solve challenging problems without extensive
structural or operational support; * Ability to adapt to fast-paced and changing environments, both
internally and externally; * Excellent business-oriented verbal, visual and written
communication skills; * Previous experience working in a developing country with an
ability to function at a high level in rural settings with limited
infrastructure and services; * Willingness to spend significant time in the field and
traveling between Mangochi, Salima and Lilongwe districts; * Strong analytical skills and technical proficiency with Excel
and PowerPoint; * Experience working directly with community stakeholders;
and * English language fluency, both written and verbal required.
Fluency in Chichewa, both written and verbal preferred. Apply Here: http://www.Click2Apply.net/nzmts4v
Keywords: Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Boston , Senior Research Associate - PRIME Study, Other , Lilongwe, Other / Non-US, Malawi, Massachusetts