Ethics & Review Committee (ERC) Officer at Mount Kenya University

Qualification

Education, Skills and Experience

Must have:

• Master's Degree in a relevant field (e.g., Bioethics, Public Health, Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, Law, or related discipline)
• At least three (3) years of relevant experience in research administration, regulatory affairs, or a research-related field.

Key responsibilities also include

Reporting to: Director, Research & Development

Duties and responsibilities:

• Serve as Secretary to the MKU-ISERC: prepare agendas, take minutes, follow up on resolutions and committee decisions.
• Receive, register, log and acknowledge receipt of all submitted research proposals and ethical review applications from MKU researchers, students, affiliates and external parties.
• Conduct completeness and compliance checks on submitted applications before tabling them to the full Committee, including verifying that all NACOSTI licensing requirements are met.
• Issue, track and file all ERC correspondence, acknowledgements, requests for additional information, approvals, conditional approvals, rejections and appeal outcomes.
• Monitor post-approval compliance: track progress reports, adverse event notifications, close-out reports and spot checks on approved research projects.
• Maintain and regularly update the institutional researcher database, including MKU staff, postgraduate students, affiliated researchers and independent applicants, and submit quarterly and annual reports to NACOSTI.
• Support research and ethics office capacity-building activities for ISERC members, reviewers, researchers and staff on research ethics, integrity and NACOSTI compliance requirements.
• Prepare and submit periodic institutional reports to NACOSTI including the mandatory annual report (Financial Year) by 31st July each year, progress reports and compliance returns, as required under the accreditation terms (Accreditation No. NACOSTI/NSEC/AC/01513, valid 25 Feb 2025 – 24 Feb 2028).
• Support the development, maintenance and review of ERC Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), policies, and ethical review frameworks in line with NACOSTI guidelines, national law and international best practices.
• Maintain confidentiality, traceability and conflict-of-interest safeguards in all ERC operations and serve as the independent administrative interface between researchers and Committee members.
• Undertake any other relevant duties as may be delegated by the ISERC Chairperson and Director of Research & Development.