JOB DESCRIPTION. Job title: Epidemiologist Location: London. Department: Technical Length of contract: Indefinite. Role type: National Grade: 10

Transcription

1 JOB DESCRIPTION Job title: Epidemiologist Location: London Department: Technical Length of contract: Indefinite Role type: National Grade: 10 Travel involved: 25% Child safeguarding level: Reporting to: Line manager: Head of Monitoring and Evaluation Direct reports: N/a Dotted line manager: N/a Indirect reports: N/a Organisational background Established in 2003, Malaria Consortium is one of the world s leading non-profit organisations specialising in the comprehensive prevention, control and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases among vulnerable and under privileged populations. We increasingly find our work on malaria can be effectively integrated with other similar public health interventions for greater impact and therefore expanded our remit to include child health and neglected tropical disease interventions. We work in Africa and Asia with communities, governments, academic institutions, and local and international organisations, to ensure effective delivery of services, which are supported by strong evidence. Our areas of expertise include: disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment disease control and elimination systems strengthening research, monitoring and evaluation leading to best practice behaviour change communication national and international advocacy and policy development Country and project background Malaria Consortium is a leading international organization dedicated to the control of malaria and other communicable diseases as well as at international level on communicable disease control throughout Africa and South East Asia. Malaria Consortium has country offices in seven countries throughout Africa, as well as implementing work in many more African and Asian countries. The organization works closely with Ministries of Health and other development and technical partners

2 in African countries at policy, strategy and implementation levels. MC s projects and programmes are underpinned by rigorous and high quality research, monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Considerable data have been collected through a range of monitoring and evaluation activities by Malaria Consortium and other partners in the countries where Malaria Consortium works, and there is an opportunity to undertake robust secondary analysis to explore important questions relevant to planning disease control better and assessing the impact of control efforts. Job purpose The Epidemiologist will support the epidemiological interpretation of programme and project results, and contribute to Malaria Consortium s research, especially on study design and data analysis, modelling, and interpretation of findings. The postholder will also further develop and support Malaria Consortium s M&E Community of Practice by exploring research questions that can be addressed through conducting secondary analyses on available data sets and coordinating external research students where applicable. The postholder will provide technical support and capacity building to country offices and the global (including regional) technical team as required. Scope of work The Epidemiologist will report in to the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation overall and will be responsible for providing technical guidance to country level projects, actively contribute to M&E CoP Leaders team and support secondary analyses from existing data in line with agreed Terms of Reference. Key working relationships Internal Head of Monitoring and Evaluation Regional Technical Directors and Global Technical Team members Regional Programme Managers Members of the M&E community of Practice Country Technical Coordinators and country level project staff External Members of global and regional technical working groups, as relevant and required Academic institutions Ministry of Health and National Malaria Control Programme staff Key accountabilities 1. Technical contributions (60%) Support statistical analysis of research and M&E data, and contribute to reports and publications to disseminate among partners

3 Lead the exploration of research questions of interest for Malaria Consortium using available data through conducting secondary and meta-analyses and/or by applying modelling techniques Participate in the development of field testing of innovative tools and approaches in surveys, rapid assessments, routine data collection and surveillance Actively contribute in building capacity through the M&E CoP in data management, statistics and data analysis for Malaria Consortium staff and Ministry of Health staff, both internally and externally Contribute to the organization s capability in communicable diseases surveillance and research Participate with other members of the Monitoring and Evaluation team in design and implementation of surveys and other M&E activities as well as support the Survey Repository platform Provide technical support to country teams in communicating the results to MoH and partners 2. Strategic contributions (20%) Contribute to Malaria Consortium s strategies on knowledge management and data use Represent Malaria Consortium on global and regional technical working groups and conferences, as required Support the organisation s business development efforts by providing technical inputs to proposal writing and programme design particularly on epidemiology, general M&E and data analysis Lead engagement and collaborations with academia for future partnerships as well as coordinating Masters and/or MPH students to analyse Malaria Consortium s legacy data 3. Programme management (15%) Work as part of the M&E team and with the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation and technical directors to provide technical assistance from the global M&E support team Manage projects and the survey repository platform as requested Participate in the review of programme narrative reports 4. Communication and advocacy (5%) Write peer-reviewed publications on key projects and data analysis exercises Contribute to documentation of lessons learnt from the organization s work including production of learning briefs, learning papers, general documentation and contribution to publications Provide technical inputs as required to Malaria Consortium s advocacy work Adaptation of Programming Sharing information with team and writing to beneficiaries

4 Person specification Qualifications and experience: Essential Postgraduate degree in public health with focus on epidemiology/bio-statistics or demography Extensive experience working in data management and epidemiology in developing countries within government, an international organization or research institution, preferably in Asia and/or Africa Significant knowledge in communicable disease control and child health Extensive experience in research design and implementation Significant experience in the development of data bases, data entry systems (PDA or phonebased) and statistical analysis software (EpiData, Excel, Access, Stata) Excellent writing and presentation skills Management and mentoring skills with respect to junior staff Ability to work in a team Ability to work independently with little support Desirable French and Portuguese speaking skills Core competencies: Delivering results LEVEL D - Inspires wider teams to achieve outstanding results and to manage risks Proactively improves effectiveness and performance of other staff to increase ability to meet objectives, acquiring new skills when appropriate Encourages mitigating risks amongst the teams/groups they work with/ manage Ensures the quality of all internal/external work of own and others Analysis and use of information LEVEL C - Works confidently with complex data to support work Interprets complex written information Works confidently with data before making decisions, for example, interpreting trends, issues and risks Acquainted with the validity, relevance and limitations of different sources of evidence Interpersonal and communications LEVEL C - Adapts communications effectively Tailors communication (content, style and medium) to diverse audiences Communicates equally effectively at all organisational levels Understands other s underlying needs, concerns and motivations and communicates effectively in sensitive situations Resolves intra-team and inter-team conflicts effectively

5 Collaboration and partnering Level C - Builds strong networks internally and participates actively in external networks and think tanks Builds strong networks internally Participates actively in external networks and/or think tanks Engages with relevant experts to gather and evaluate evidence Shares and implements good practice with internal and external peers Leading and motivating people LEVEL C - Effectively leads and motivates others or direct reports Gives regular, timely and appropriate feedback Acknowledges good performance and deals with issues concerning poor performance Carries out staff assessment and development activities conscientiously and effectively Develops the skills and competences of others through the development and application of skills Coaches and supports team members when they have difficulties Flexibility/ adaptability LEVEL C - Supports others to cope with pressure Responds positively to change, embracing and using new practices or values to accomplish goals and solve problems and supports others to do the same Adapts team approach, goals, and methods to achieve solutions and results in dynamic situations Sets realistic deadlines and goals for self or team Living the values LEVEL C - Supports others to live Malaria Consortium s values Demonstrates personal integrity by using role position responsibly and fairly Cultivates an open culture within the wider team, promoting accountability, responsibility and respect for individual differences Strategic planning and thinking and sector awareness LEVEL C - Keeps up to date with the internal and external environment Takes into account economic, political and other business factors when drawing up medium and long-term plans, covering both public and private sectors Looks beyond the immediate operations to prospects for new business Engages with appropriate internal and external sources to establish major influences on future plans