Employment Opportunities at Kenya Medical Research - KEMRI

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the overall planning, coordination, and implementation of the SHIELD Study, developing work plans, timelines, milestones, and resource allocation strategies to ensure delivery of project objectives.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary research teams comprising climate scientists, epidemiologists, entomologists, public health scientists, and field teams, ensuring effective communication, integration of study components, and high-quality project execution.
• Oversee qualitative research activities, including protocol and tool development, field team training, data collection, management, coding, thematic analysis, and integration of qualitative findings with epidemiological, entomological, and climate data to generate actionable evidence.
• Lead stakeholder and community engagement by coordinating collaboration with refugee and host communities, county health officials, community leaders, humanitarian partners, and other stakeholders, while incorporating feedback to strengthen project relevance and impact.
• Monitor project performance and ensure compliance with study milestones, ethical approvals, regulatory requirements, institutional policies, and funder guidelines, while maintaining comprehensive project documentation.
• Manage project operations, resources, and risks, including financial, human, logistical, scientific, operational, security, and climate-related risks, ensuring efficient use of resources and timely implementation.
• Lead capacity strengthening and knowledge dissemination through technical meetings, stakeholder consultations, dissemination workshops, policy dialogues, and training of research and field teams in qualitative methods, climate-health integration, and community-engaged research.
• Perform any other related duties assigned by the Principal Investigator or supervising authority in support of the project's objectives.

Vacancy Requirements:

• Master’s Degree in Public Health, Environmental Science or a health-related field.    Mandatory 
• At least seven (7) years of research coordination experience in project management, including a minimum of one (1) year of active experience in climate-related research    Mandatory
• Moderate to advanced level analytical skills and use of at least one qualitative analysis package, e.g. N-Vivo, MAXQDA, QDA Miner    Mandatory
• Experience working in collaboration with multiple agencies/partners or Donors and Ministry of Health and Environment    Mandatory
• Excellent communication skills including oral presentations of scientific information    Mandatory 
• Strong supervisory and management skill    Mandatory 
• Communication skills    Mandatory
• Interpersonal skills    Mandatory
• Team player    Mandatory

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Key Responsibilities:

• Design, optimize, and implement molecular laboratory protocols for pathogen, vector, host, and environmental sample processing.
• Coordinate laboratory workflows including nucleic acid extraction, PCR assays, sequencing library preparation, quality assurance, and sample tracking.
• Perform comprehensive bioinformatics analyses of high-throughput sequencing datasets including quality control, genome assembly, alignment, variant detection, phylogenetic analysis, transcriptomics, metagenomics, and population genomics.
• Develop, optimize, and maintain reproducible computational pipelines using Python, Linux shell scripting, and workflow management systems.
• Integrate genomic, epidemiological, entomological, environmental, and climate datasets to investigate disease transmission dynamics and climate-health interactions.
• Perform advanced statistical analyses and develop informative visualizations, dashboards, and scientific figures for reports, publications, and stakeholder engagement.
• Manage research databases and ensure data quality, integrity, reproducibility, and compliance with institutional and national data governance policies.
• Interpret genomic findings and translate complex scientific results into actionable recommendations for project partners, county governments, and humanitarian stakeholders.
• Contribute to manuscript preparation, conference presentations, technical reports, and grant applications.
• Provide mentorship and technical training in molecular laboratory methods, bioinformatics, and scientific programming to project staff and students.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to ensure successful implementation of laboratory and computational research activities.
• Maintain laboratory documentation, bioinformatics workflows, analytical reports, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Ensure compliance with biosafety, biosecurity, ethical guidelines, and the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019).
• Perform any other research-related duties assigned by the Principal Investigator or Project Supervisor.

Vacancy Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Genetics, Genomics, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Computational Biology, or a related biological science.    Mandatory
• At least 2–3 years of research experience in molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics, or related disciplines.    Mandatory
• Demonstrated experience in molecular laboratory techniques including nucleic acid extraction, PCR, quantitative PCR, gel electrophoresis, library preparation, and DNA/RNA quality assessment.    Mandatory
• Hands-on experience working with High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) platforms such as Illumina, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, PacBio, etc.    Mandatory
•  Strong bioinformatics skills for processing and analyzing next-generation sequencing (NGS) datasets, including quality control, genome assembly, read mapping, variant calling, transcriptomics, metagenomics, or phylogenomic analyses.    Mandatory
• Proficiency in Linux/Unix environments and shell scripting.    Mandatory
• Strong programming skills in Python for genomic data analysis, workflow automation, and statistical computing.    Mandatory
• Experience using bioinformatics tools such as BWA, Bowtie2, Minimap2, SAMtools, BCFtools, GATK, BEDTools, FastQC, MultiQC, Kraken2, SPAdes, IQ-TREE, Nextflow, Snakemake, or equivalent tools.    Mandatory
• Experience in statistical analysis and data visualization using Python (Matplotlib, Plotly, Seaborn), R (ggplot2), or equivalent analytical platforms.    Mandatory0
• Excellent scientific writing, communication, and presentation skills.    Skills & Competencies
• Communication skills    Skills & Competencies
• Interpersonal skills    Skills & Competencies
• Team player    Skills & Competencies
   

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Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, development, testing, deployment, and management of digital data collection systems using Survey Solutions, ensuring alignment with study protocols and research objectives.
• Lead data management, quality assurance, and analysis, including data cleaning, validation, missing data management, routine audits, exploratory data analysis (EDA), and communicating findings to the research team.
• Generate and disseminate routine monitoring reports and data visualizations on recruitment, follow-up, data completeness, and study progress, while responding to data requests from collaborators, stakeholders, and project leadership.
• Conduct advanced statistical and spatial analyses to identify climate-health vulnerability hotspots, develop climate resilience indicators, and support evidence generation for the SHIELD Dashboard and Turkana County Annual Development Plans.
• Ensure reproducible and secure data management practices by maintaining well-documented analytical code, using version control (Git), implementing structured workflows, facilitating compliant data sharing, and identifying and mitigating data-related risks in accordance with the Kenya Data Protection Act 2019 and Wellcome Trust policies.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to integrate analytical outputs into the digital Early Warning System (EWS) and support data-driven decision-making across project activities.
• Contribute to scientific dissemination and capacity strengthening by preparing manuscripts, technical reports, policy briefs, presentations, mentoring junior staff, and participating in technical meetings, stakeholder engagements, and dissemination workshops.
• Perform any other duties assigned by the Principal Investigator or supervising authority in support of project objectives.

Vacancy Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, Computer Science, or a related field.    Mandatory
• Demonstrated expertise in statistical and spatial data analysis, including regression analysis, data integration from multiple sources, and reproducible analytical workflows.    Mandatory
• Advanced proficiency in R (including the tidyverse ecosystem) and strong working knowledge of Python for data cleaning, analysis, automation, and reproducible research.    Mandatory
• Proven experience in designing, deploying, and managing digital/mobile data collection systems, preferably using Survey Solutions.    Mandatory 
• Strong experience in database design and management (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server), data quality assurance, and data management frameworks.    Mandatory
• Experience developing automated reporting pipelines, dashboards, and data visualizations using tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or R Shiny.    Mandatory
• Demonstrated experience using version control systems (e.g., Git) and collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary teams, including researchers, epidemiologists, and field teams.    Mandatory 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with experience preparing technical reports, scientific manuscripts, and presenting analytical findings to diverse audiences.    Skills & Competencies 
• Communication skills    Skills & Competencies
• Interpersonal skills    Skills & Competencies
• Team player    Skills & Competencies

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Key Responsibilities:

• Lead community entry processes for the SHIELD study, ensuring all protocols for engaging both refugee and host-community leadership are respected.
• Act as the primary Secretariat to the SHIELD Community Advisory Board (CAB), coordinating monthly meetings and ensuring community concerns are integrated into study implementation.
• Engage with County officials, community leaders, local stakeholders, refugee representatives, and households to enhance awareness and promote community participation in SHIELD study activities in accordance with study and community protocols.
• Support the qualitative research teams in organizing, mobilizing, and identifying participants for Focus Group Discussions, Photovoice workshops, and Body Mapping sessions.
• Provide cultural orientation and guidance to the multidisciplinary research team (epidemiologists, entomologists, etc.) to ensure respectful interactions in the field.
• Monitor community perceptions of the study and proactively manage expectations regarding project deliverables and participant reimbursements.
• Ensure that informed consent processes are culturally appropriate and that participants fully understand their rights and the study's objectives.
• Collaborate with local Community Health Promoters (CHPs) to integrate SHIELD early-warning protocols into existing community health structures.
• Support the dissemination of research findings back to the community through town hall meetings and radio talk shows in local languages.
• Assist in identifying and mitigating security or operational risks related to community dynamics or climate-related disruptions

Vacancy Requirements:

• Diploma in Social Sciences, Community Development, Community Health, Sociology, Anthropology, or a related field.    Mandatory
• Minimum of three years’ active experience in community liaison and engagement, specifically within pastoralist or refugee-hosting settings. One (1) years’ experience in a humanitarian setup will be an added advantage.    Added Advantage
• Proven ability to navigate complex governance structures, including Refugee Affairs Secretariat (RAS), MOH, and UNHCR protocols.    Mandatory
• Fluency in Kiswahili and English is mandatory. Strong proficiency in the Turkana language is highly preferred.    Mandatory
• Willing to work and reside in Kakuma/Kalobeyei.    Mandatory
• Experience in facilitating Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and participatory research methods (e.g., body mapping, photovoice).    MandatoryStrong conflict resolution skills and the ability to build consensus among diverse stakeholders.    Skills & Competencies 
• Communication skills    Skills & Competencies
• Interpersonal skills    Skills & Competencies
• Team player    Skills & Competencies