Scientist (S) at South African Medical Research Council

Job Description

• The Health Systems Research Unit (HSRU), based at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), leads research to inform and support decision-making in health and social policy to strengthen health systems to achieve universal health coverage. An appropriately qualified and seasoned Scientist is required to join our team on a full-time basis to support the Engaged Trials project, coordinated by HSRU.
• The Engaged Trials project, funded by UK Research and Innovation, aims to explore the feasibility of community engagement interventions and test their implementation at two clinical trial sites in South Africa. Adopting a transdisciplinary approach, the project will identify effective community engagement tools, guidelines, and strategies; co-create and contextualize an intervention for the trial sites; and implement it in real-world settings. The project will then assess the intervention’s effectiveness and draw lessons from the implementation process at various stages of the trial to develop guidance on best practices.

Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and manage project activities for the Engaged Trials project, including meeting records, deadlines, and overall implementation support
• Engage with and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, through stakeholder mapping and regular communication
• Contribute to the various research phases, including project planning, fieldwork preparation, data collection, data analysis, reporting of results
• Monitor quality of fieldwork or data collection, identification of problems and institution of corrective action
• Contribute to research outputs, e.g. manuscripts for journal publication and evidence summaries for lay audiences, and present at scientific meetings and conferences
• Conceptualise and pursue a PhD within the Engaged Trials project
• Participate in effective operational and administrative systems and support within the Engaged Trials project and team

Duration of the Contract

• 3 years

Remuneration

• R 571 433.00 per annum (cost-to-company)

Job Requirements

• Master’s degree in public health or social sciences
• 1-2 years’ experience with qualitative research methods and any type of systematic review methodology, e.g. scoping review, qualitative evidence synthesis, or effectiveness review
• Experience in team leadership while managing outputs or facilitating training within a project
• Co-author of at least 2 lifetime publications (e.g. ISI journal articles, editorials or book chapters, technical reports) or conference presentations
• Excellent interpersonal relations and communication skills
• Knowledge of evidence-informed decision-making principles, including health systems thinking, knowledge translation, or community engagement
• Experience with project coordination, liaising with relevant stakeholders, ethics application process, data collection and analysis

Advantageous:

• Understanding of the South African health system and/or policy and guideline context
• Understanding knowledge translation or community engagement principles in public health research
• Proficient in Afrikaans, isiXhosa or isiZulu
• Experience with stakeholder liaison