Field Supervisor at Kenya Medical Research - KEMRI

Vacancy: CGHR /174/02/21

J/G KMR 8

Location: Field Based throughout 8 counties in Western Kenya (Bungoma, Busia, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kisumu, Migori, Siaya, and Vihiga)

Reporting to: Field Coordinator

Job Summary: The Regional Field Supervisor (Feasibility Component of MVPE) position requires the incumbent to supervise multiple teams of community interviewers during a large cross-sectional household survey taking place in 46 sub-counties in 8 counties (Bungoma, Busia, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kisumu, Migori, Siaya, and Vihiga) in western Kenya. Each Regional Field Supervisor will be responsible for the following duties in approximately one third of the area, including: coordination, field staff supervision, quality control, data management, logistics and operations management, community coordination and sensitization, and reporting in an accurate and timely fashion.

Person specification:

• Diploma in Social Sciences, Community Health, Public Health, or other related field.
• Excellent knowledge and Microsoft Office suite
• Fluency in English and Swahili, written and spoken, with fluency in the local language spoken in the study area being an added advantage

Skills

• Able to work in challenging field conditions, within tight timelines, and in the conditions of roving field operations.
• Ability to develop an in-depth understanding of study goals and its implementation.
• Strong self-motivation and ability to work in a team, with good interpersonal skills.
• Proven leadership skills, assertiveness, and ability to take initiative
• Ability and willingness to quickly learn additional development skills and strategies on the job and be able to apply these.
• Strong writing, communication, and public relations skills.
• Strong management, decision making, and analytical skills.
• Ability to meet strict deadlines.
• Ability to work with little or no supervision
• Experience with electronic data collection, preferably with tablets.
• Experience working in complex household survey, preferably in supervisory capacity.
• Experience in the first round of the malaria vaccine feasibility study (baseline survey, 2019) would be a strong advantage.

Specific duties and responsibilities

• The Regional Field Supervisor (Feasibility component) is the senior member of the field team. She/He is responsible for the well-being and safety of team members from 4 teams, as well as the completion of the assigned workload and the maintenance of data quality. The supervisor receives her/his assignments from, and reports to, the Field Coordinator, Study Coordinator, and the Study PIs. The specific responsibilities of the supervisor are to:
• Make the necessary preparations for the fieldwork;
• Organize and direct the fieldwork; and
• Monitor interviewer performance with the aim of improving and maintaining the quality of the data collected.
• To prepare for fieldwork, the supervisor must do the following:
• Obtain sample household lists and maps for each area in which his/her team will be working.
• Become familiar with the area where the team will be working and determine the best arrangements for travel and accommodations.
• Contact local authorities to inform them about the survey and gain their support and cooperation.
• Obtain all monetary advances, supplies, and equipment necessary for the team to complete its assigned interviews and parasitemia tests.
• Lead training of field staff

During the fieldwork, the supervisor will do the following:

• Assign work to interviewers, taking into account the linguistic competence of individual interviewers and ensuring that there is an equitable distribution of the workload.
• Maintain fieldwork control sheets and make sure that assignments are carried out.
• Regularly send (or upload) completed questionnaires and progress reports to the central office and keep headquarters informed of the team’s location and progress.
• Communicate any problems to the field coordinator/study coordinator/PIs.
• Arrange for lodging and food for the team. Accountability procedures (financing/receipts) will be specified by KEMRI.
• Take charge of the team vehicles, ensuring that it is kept in good repair and that it is used only for project work. Coordinate team’s use of public transportation when vehicles are not used.
• Ensure that biowaste materials are disposed of in accordance with the standard protocol.
• Conduct regular review sessions with each interviewer and advise them of any problems found with their work.
• Ensure completed consent forms and questionnaires are kept in order and pack them up to be sent to the central office.
• Other responsibilities:
• Develop an in-depth understanding of project design and goal and ensure that the project is conducted in compliance with project protocols and other regulatory requirements.
• Work with the data manager to resolve any data queries in the field.
• Respond to questions about the project posed by participants, field coordinators, study coordinators, and/or PIs.
• Provide progress reports and solve reported problems encountered in the field to superiors.
• Arrange community sensitization activities.
• Perform any other duties as assigned by field coordinators, study coordinators and/or PIs.

Terms of Employment: 5 months Fixed Term contract.
Remuneration: Compensation is negotiable within a relevant grade, based on education levels, relevant experience and demonstrated competency