Project Director - Pietermaritzburg at HSRC

Job Advert Summary    

The CCBR is looking for a suitably qualified person to take on project director responsibilities at the Sweetwaters office. The successful candidate will oversee several projects at the site, focused on the HIV prevention cascade. Potential candidates should have strong analytical skills including good understanding of research methods, advanced data analysis skills, understanding of rigorous impact evaluation methods, systematic reviews, meta-analysis and statistical/mathematical modelling and good planning and analytical thinking.

The successful candidate will report to the senior management team and study principal investigators, cross project units, project team and site support staff to successfully implement their role. This position is offered on a 24 month contract.

Minimum requirements:

• Masters degree, in any one of the following areas (or similar):
• MBChB
• Public Health
• Statistics/biostatistics
• Social Science
• Additionally applicants must hold a relevant PhD degree, or demonstrate progress towards a PhD in a relevant field as above.
• Previous project management experience with clinical trials or intervention projects
• A sound conceptual grounding in research methods;
• Candidates must have an interest in practices and research that seeks to find implementable solutions that emerge from the scientific literature;
• Good planning and organisational skills, including the ability to working well under pressure;
• Good communication skills (verbal as well as report writing);
• Excellent writing skills necessary for publication in internationally accredited peer-reviewed academic journals, and for drafting briefing papers and reports;
• Intellectual and personal integrity, imagination and drive;
• The ability and enthusiasm to engage as a team player in large scale multidisciplinary research projects, to manage research teams, and to mentor and train team members.
• Preference will be given to candidates who have:

An established research career as evidenced by publications.

• Proposal writing to secure external funds;
• A valid and unendorsed driver’s license
• Experience working in urban, peri-urban and rural communities, and willingness to work after hours and over weekends and in rural communities
• Bilingual (English and isiZulu)

Duties & Responsibilities    

Key responsibilities:

• Support the HIV research agenda of the CCBR and the HSRC;
• Manage research teams and large scale long term research projects;
• Mentor fellow employees and emerging researchers;
• Deliver high-quality results and reports to meet set budgets and deadlines;
• Network with government and other scientists;;
• Conduct high level scholarly research which meets the challenge of peer review, and has both strategic and policy relevance;
• Communicate research findings through modalities like policy briefs;
• Build national and international research links; and
• Manage staff and build capacity within the division.