Career Opportunities at KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP)

JOB PURPOSE: 

The research officer will be responsible for 1) Executing research activities focused on a process evaluation of a maternal and child health service redesign in Kakamega county 2) Support County feedback activities together with Havard TH Chan Public Health School.

Description: 

REPORTS TO:  Study PI and Study Supervisor.

DIRECTLY SUPERVISES: None

INDIRECTLY SUPERVISES: None

BUDGET AND RESOURCE RESPONSIBILITY:  None

JOB DIMENSIONS:

The primary responsibility will be to support a body of work focused on a on a process evaluation of a maternal and child health service redesign in Kakamega county.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the direction of the supervisor to:

• Lead the process evaluation of health system effects of SDR and its political economy
• Lead the analysis and write-up of study findings
• Develop written reports on the analyses conducted and their interpretation.
• Support the day-to-day management of the project including through co-ordination with stakeholders at local, regional and national level.
• Support stake-holder meetings with project participants, local, regional and national governments and key stakeholders.
• And any other duties that may be assigned from time to time.

QUALIFICATIONS:

The successful applicant will have:

• A bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery (MBChB, MBBS or equivalent).
• At least two years post-qualification experience in medical practice or health research environment.
• Experience and skills in conducting evaluations of complex interventions, and broader policy and systems research
• Qualitative data analysis skills using NVIVO as a minimum.
• A licensed Kenyan Medical practitioner

Desirable Criteria

• Excellent organizational and communication skills

COMPETENCIES:

• Good writing skills.
• Good presentation skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills a meticulous approach to documentation (including word processing and spreadsheet skills)
• Team working and ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to work with limited supervision and meet deadlines.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT/CONDITIONS:

• Office based.
• Field work in selected counties.
• Willingness to travel to Kakamega.

go to method of application »

JOB PURPOSE: 

KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) is one of the leading research centres in Africa. The Programme engages in a wide range of research on the main causes of ill health in Africa.

In addition, KWTRP has a strong commitment towards developing local research leadership.

The department under which this position falls focuses on Health Policy and Systems Research, contributing to research focused on health services, economics, policy and on the management environment of health facilities.

The IMPLEMENT-CVD project is funded by UKRI and is a partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), UK. LSHTM is a world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and global health. LSHTM’s mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice.

The goal of the IMPLEMENT-CVD project is to improve implementation of fixed dose combination therapies (FDCs) for hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This post is for Phase 2 of the project. The general objective of Phase 2 is to conduct a feasibility trial of a strategy to improve implementation of FDC therapy for hypertension.  This builds on Phase 1 in which research was conducted to create a better understanding of the health systems factors involved in hypertension and CVD treatment in Kenya and how they interact to affect implementation of FDCs, and to co-develop strategies to improve implementation.

The project is seeking a Qualitative Research Officer for Phase 2 to primarily support activities related to the qualitative component of the study which will evaluate the feasibility (including acceptability and sustainability) of a pilot strategy to improve implementation of FDC therapy for hypertension, drawing on the experiences of patients, care-givers, health workers and policy stakeholders. This component will involve project co-ordination and data collection in Kilifi County. Working closely under the supervision of a team of multi-disciplinary researchers at KWTRP and LSHTM, the Research Officer will be responsible for co-ordinating and conducting data collection with patients, care-givers and heath workers, and contributing to qualitative data analysis. The Research Officer will also contribute to outputs from the study including policy briefs and peer-reviewed academic papers. They will be part of a study team of approximately 4 researchers from KWTRP and LSHTM and will collaborate with related studies at both KWTRP and LSHTM and several study partners or advisors in the UK and Kenya.

Description: 

REPORTS TO: Study PI and Study Supervisor

DIRECT REPORTS: None

INDIRECT REPORTS: None

BUDGET AND RESOURCE RESPONSIBILITY:  Responsible for allocated hardware and software

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Under the direction of the supervisor to:

• Co-ordinate and conduct qualitative data collection with patients, care-givers, health workers and pharmacists in Kilifi County.
• Co-ordinate qualitative data management including transcription, translation and storage.
• Undertake qualitative analysis with appropriate support and appropriately document these analyses.
• Develop written reports on the analyses conducted and their interpretation.
• Develop peer-reviewed manuscript quality reports for submission for publication.
• Support the day-to-day management of the project including through co-ordination with stakeholders at local, regional and national level.
• Support stake-holder meetings with project participants, local, regional and national governments and key stakeholders.
• To provide support in analysis to less experienced research staff / interns / collaborators, if opportunities arise.
• To support retrieval and review of policy documents and secondary data. 
• And any other duties that may be assigned from time to time.

QUALIFICATIONS:

The successful applicant will have:

• Recognised Postgraduate qualification (Masters) relevant to the field of global health and/or Public Health, Health Systems Management, Sociology, Anthropology or an equivalent.
• At least 3 years relevant working experience
• Demonstrated experience in project co-ordination and stakeholder engagement
• Demonstrated experience in collecting, analysing and interpreting a range of qualitative data, including in-depth interviews.
• Proficiency in one or more Qualitative software packages
• Highly developed oral and written communication skills in English and Kiswahili
• Robust track record of publishing and presenting research results, relative to opportunity
• Experience in undertaking research in a cross-cultural context
• Demonstrated interest, knowledge and working experience of Kenyan Health system, particularly with regard to (i) patient and family experiences of health and illness; ii) health service research;  or iii) pharmaceutical policy and practice

Desirable Criteria

• Excellent understanding of and experience in procedures for ensuring high quality data management.
• Demonstrated ability to act with sound judgement, sensitivity, and flexibility, and to exercise initiative in adapting preferred approaches when and where required.
• Interest in developing in-depth qualitative analysis skills drawing on social theory.
• Research experience and/or interest in chronic condition management.
• Research experience and/or interest in evaluation of healthcare interventions.
• Experience in working in international collaboration.

COMPETENCIES:

• Experience using NVivo/equivalent for Qualitative research analysis
• Have high energy, clear goal orientation and strong work ethics
• Strong organisation/programme management skills with the ability to prioritise workloads and work within tight deadlines
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment and to multi-task
• Ability to interact with users/ office use in simple non-technical language