Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) Careers – Malaria Operational Research Study Coordinator

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Organisation: Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)
Duty Station:  Kampala,
Uganda
Reports to: Malaria
Program Manager
About
CHAI: 
Malaria is a major cause of
morbidity and mortality in Uganda. For decades, most fevers in Uganda have been
treated as malaria, and international guidelines, national policy and treatment
interventions have all assisted in institutionalizing this practice. Today,
however, scale-up of malaria control efforts and the availability of diagnostic
tools have resulted in reduction of malaria morbidity and mortality rates.
Presumptive diagnosis of malaria equating to fever is no longer appropriate, as
data indicate that between 40 -45% of clinically diagnosed malaria in Uganda is
not actually malaria. Those other fevers are often caused by treatable yet
potentially lethal diseases that, with the continued over-diagnosis of malaria,
remain untreated. In addition, presumptive treatment of malaria leads to
inappropriate use of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), an
expensive antimalarial drug, resulting in millions of dollars of wasted
resources.

In 2011, the Uganda
National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) changed its guidelines to recommend
that all suspected malaria cases should be parasitologically confirmed with a
microscopy blood slide or Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) prior to treatment. This
was an important first step to reversing the trend of overtreatment and to
improving management of non-malaria fevers. CHAI is supporting the Ministry of
Health to rapidly scale-up malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) in the public
and private sectors to improve health outcomes and achieve greater
value-for-money with the country’s limited health budget. This work follows on
CHAI’s extensive efforts to drive uptake of effective malaria treatment in
Uganda. CHAI seeks to support the Uganda Ministry of Health to reach its goal
of achieving diagnostic coverage for 90% of all suspected malaria cases by
2015. CHAI will continue to i) provide technical assistance to the Ministry of
Health and work with in-country partners to increase access to high quality
ACTs and RDTs in public and private sectors; ii) develop scalable solutions for
national implementation and adoption, and iii) design critical and timely
impact evaluations of interventions to strengthen uptake and adherence to
malaria diagnosis to inform the national strategy, advise international
stakeholders, and catalyze the implementation of effective interventions.
In addition, CHAI is
deploying Demand-Driven Evaluation for Decisions (3DE), a novel approach for
rapidly translating research into policy. CHAI, in collaboration with our
implementing partner IDinsight, will work closely with the Ministry of Health
to identify real-time policy issues related to malaria control and prevention,
and design research studies to directly address these questions. The 3DE model
uses rigorous research methodologies, provides timely evidence to inform
decision makers on the scale-up strategy, and catalyzes implementation to
ensure rapid and effective adoption.
Job Summary: The Malaria
Operational Research Study Coordinator will be responsible for the
implementation of CHAI’s malaria operational research studies with full
engagement with the Ministry of Health. The Study Coordinator will work with
the Malaria Program Manager to identify research questions in systems and
practices that require operational studies to improve malaria case management
practices in Uganda. The Study Coordinator will participate in the development
of study protocols, tools and the evaluation of the use and adherence to
diagnostic results in health facilities. The Study Coordinator will implement
baseline and endline assessments.  Additionally, the Study Coordinator
will be responsible for research-related project activities and overseeing the
rollout of the different intervention arms.
Key Duties and
Responsibilities:
  • Coordinate the development,
    implementation and dissemination of operational research related to
    diagnosis and treatment of malaria
  • Ensuring the technical and logistic
    implementation of OR projects according to the research protocols
  • Liaising with the implementing
    partners and other stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of the OR
    project
  • Help with the development of survey
    tools, data collection protocols, and training materials for data
    enumerators
  • Coordinate pre-survey logistics
  • Support the contracted data
    collection contractor and field manager with training and data collection
    activities
  • Work directly with the NMCP and
    public health facilities to ensure successful implementation of the
    interventions
  • Manage data collection protocols and
    implementation
  • Develop and oversee data management
    processes
  • Conduct quality control of data as
    it comes in from the field
  • Participate in data analysis
    activities and reporting
  • Liaise with government partners and
    other stakeholders in the malaria community
  • Write regular project updates
  • Participate in stakeholder meetings
    to facilitate the dissemination of the OR findings.
  • Work with the Global Malaria
    Diagnostics Team to ensure CHAI’s resources and expertise are fully
    leveraged to meet needs in-country
  • Other activities, as needed
Qualifications, Skills
& Experience:
  • The applicant should hold a Degree
    in Medicine, Public Health, social sciences, or a related field
  • Applied research experience and quantitative
    analysis experience
  • Familiarity with randomized
    evaluations
  • Experience with field survey
    implementation, and/or field monitoring & evaluation
  • Knowledge of STATA or similar
    programs
  • Experience working in public health,
    malaria and/or other infectious diseases
  • Experience in operational field
    research
  • Excellent management and
    organizational skills
  • Excellent writing and communication
    skills
  • The Research Coordinator must be a
    strategic thinker and highly organized with exceptional coordination
    skills. 
  • S/he must exhibit a passion for
    results and a commitment to excellence.
  • The applicant should exhibit
    flexibility, resourcefulness, responsibility, persistence, independence,
    energy and work ethic
  • S/he should be a highly motivated
    individual with outstanding credentials
  • Possess a strong record of success.
  • Exceptional attention to detail
  • Willingness to travel frequently and
    to do field work
  • Flexibility, self-motivation, and an
    ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently
  • Demonstrated ability to work successfully
    with diverse constituencies and to work independently
  • Excellent problem solving,
    analytical and quantitative skills, including fluency in Excel and
    PowerPoint
  • Strong work ethic and flexibility
How
to Apply:
If you are passionate about
humanities and desire to join this prestigious health NGO founded by one of the
United States of America’s Former Presidents, Bill Clinton, please click web
link below.
For
More Ugandan Jobs, Please Visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com   or
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