Senior Specialist Scientist - R556B - NCDRU at The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)

The South African MRC NCDRU’s program on ‘cancer epidemiology and prevention’ is a new research program on priority cancers, as well as their environmental, dietary, lifestyle and genetic determinants in South African and sub-Saharan African region. The program is located organizationally under the auspices of the Office of the Director, NCDRU. NCDRU is looking for a seasoned scientist to develop and maintain its cancer epidemiology and prevention research program.

Responsibilities:

• Leading the development and maintenance of an integrated program of research to improve the understanding, prevention, detection and control of priority cancers and their determinants.
• Identifying funding opportunities and lead grant proposals writing to attract funding to support the research portfolio of the program.
• Developing and maintaining a network of collaboration in research on cancer epidemiology and prevention in South Africa and Africa
• Establishing and maintaining links with stakeholders both national and internationally, to create new opportunities and maximize the reach and impact of the research of the program
• Leading scientific knowledge generation in the form of original and other forms of scientific articles on issues relating to cancer epidemiology and prevention
• Presentation and national and regional conferences
• Developing the next generation of experts in research on cancer epidemiology and prevention.

Core Requirements:

• PhD in epidemiology/public health and/or clinical qualification with practical experience on cancer epidemiology and prevention
• A least 8 years research experience in a research institution or a university, ideally in the area of cancer epidemiology and prevention in the South African and African context
• Good communication and organizational skills
• Experience in managing people and multiple projects as principal and/or co-principal investigator
• Ability to multi-task and work under pressure
• Ability to lead scientific writing, demonstrated through involvement in scientific papers as first or senior author
• Experience in grant writing as PI as successfully attracting funding for research.
• Experience in mentoring Masters and PhD students to completion as primary or co-supervisor
• Advanced knowledge of at least one of the following statistical packages: R, SPSS, SAS or STATA

Advantageous:

• Involvement in international collaborative research
• Strong international recognition