Jobs Available at The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)

Key Responsibilities:

• Reporting to the Director: Office of AIDS and TB Research, the successful candidate will be responsible for the following strategic and core areas:
• Project Work: Examine patients as required, review patient clinical files, extract clinical, laboratory, and functional data on outcomes from patient files based on a pre-designed data collection tool, collect and process samples from patients
• Data management and analysis: Ensure accuracy and completeness of extracted data before submission for analysis, be involved in discussions with supervisory team where necessary after data collection, make adjustments to data collected or collect additional data should it be required or recommended by principal investigator, perform quality control functions
• Research admin: Handle all patient files and imaging in compliance with ethical guidelines, treat all patient-related data with confidentiality including but not limited to patient files and imaging data, uphold hospital policies regarding patient confidentiality, ensure data privacy, no breaches in patient integrity and confidentiality of patient-level data upheld

Core Requirements:

• Bachelor of Medicine in Clinical Practice (Clinical Associate)
• A valid GCP certificate
• HPCSA registration
• At least 2 years’ experience involved in research projects in health

Advantageous:

• Demonstrated experience working in a large public health facility involved in a research project.
• Preferably demonstrated experience in working at Steve Biko Academic Hospital and surrounding hospitals on a successfully completed research project
• Good knowledge of HIV and TB

Remuneration

• R20 072.00 Per month

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Key Responsibility Areas will include the following:

• Managing the processing of local and international project contracts submitted to the Project Officer in the Contracts & Budgets Office and thereafter to the Legal Office for review and approval, then to the CEO for signing.
• Ensuring that project budgets adhere to the requirements of Contracts & Budgets and that spending is compliant with PMFA requirements.
• Monitoring expenditure on a monthly basis on all baseline and contract projects to ensure that spending does not exceed available funding and ensuring that funders are invoiced in a timely fashion.
• Preparing spreadsheets for Finances to ensure that contract staff salaries are drawn down from their respective projects on a monthly basis according to the time spent on each project.
• Reporting any deviations to the unit director in terms of problems related to the signing of contracts, overspending on projects, non-payment by funders, failure of projects directors to submit documentation regarding ethical compliance or other research integrity matters in a timely fashion.
• Provide administrative support to the Unit Director and take a lead role in preparing sections of the unit’s annual report, budget application, financial reports, quarterly Research Outputs, and the 5-yearly external unit review application
• Assist all staff in all MAST RU offices with the procurement system when ordering or purchasing supplies/equipment/consultancy services/sole suppliers and the tendering process for different projects.

Requirements

Core Requirements

• 3 years Tertiary Qualification, including a National Diploma or Degree, preferably in Business Administration, Project Management, Finance or a related field.
• 3 – 5 years of experience of Administrative and Financial Work In a science / research environment (e.g., Grants Management and Administrative, Financial Support to a research unit).
• Knowledge of research governance and compliance requirements.

Added Advantage

• Post-graduate certification or qualification in Project Management, Finance, or Business Administration.
• 5+ Years’ experience in Administration and/or Finance, preferably in a Science Environment (Grants Management and Administrative, Financial Support to a Research Unit).

Closing Date:

• 4 June 2026

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Project work

• Support implementation work of the SECRET project related to setting up the registry (e.g., collecting inputs from stakeholders, assisting in documentation).
• Contribute to the development and revision of SOPs and project workflows.
• Participate in stakeholder engagement activities, including logistics coordination for stakeholder consultative workshops.
• Conduct data collection activities, ensuring adherence to SOPs and ethical standards.
• Assist in preparing reports, and updates to registry websites.
• Assist with the development and pilot testing of tools and templates for implementing the registry.
• Develop first drafts of presentations for workshops and the related training materials

Research admin

• Contribute to research reports and publications
• Perform quality control checks on files and research documentation for accuracy and compliance.
• Transcribe meeting recordings and notes from workshops and consultations.
• Provide stakeholders and key individuals with promotional materials for the SECRET project
• Support administrative needs such as document filing and meeting coordination.

Data management and analysis

• Support data collection, curation and documentation related to registry development and stakeholder consultation activities.
• Manage trial data information and conduct analysis to identify research topics.
• Conduct data entry, cleaning, and verification using standard templates and tools.
• Perform basic data analysis using Excel or other entry-level tools (e.g., frequency counts, summaries).

Core Requirements:

• A 4-year tertiary qualification in Life Sciences, Epidemiology, or related
• Basic understanding of scientific research methods.
• Able to coordinate aspects of studies/projects under full guidance of supervisor
• Understand and adhere to the scientific protocols, policies and procedures.
• Limited understanding of analysis, interpretation and reporting of research data.
• At least 1–2 years of experience in research, data collection, or health project implementation.
• Ability to follow scientific protocols, standard operating procedures, and ethical research practices.

Advantageous:

• Honours or Master’s coursework advantageous.
• Familiarity with data entry, transcription, or qualitative and/or quantitative data handling.
• Strong organisational and administrative skills with attention to detail.

Closing date:

8 June 2026

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Key Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership in cancer and/or NCD molecular research within the unit.
• Initiate, lead, and manage novel national and international multidisciplinary research programmes.
• Conduct high-impact translational research and publish in peer-reviewed ISI-indexed journals as first and/or senior author.
• Secure and manage substantial national and international grant funding as Principal Investigator.
• Lead and implement research strategy, innovation, and capacity development initiatives within the unit.
• Supervise and mentor postgraduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early- and mid-career scientists.
• Foster and maintain strategic collaborations with academic, governmental, clinical, and international stakeholders.
• Translate research findings into public health impact, policy contributions, intellectual property, and innovation outputs where applicable.
• Present research findings at national and international scientific conferences, including keynote presentations.
• Contribute towards unit management, budgeting, operational oversight, reporting, and risk management.
• Support transformation and equity initiatives within the SAMRC and BRIP.

Requirements:

• PhD in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Cancer Biology, or a related field.
• Excellent academic and scholarly track record, including at least 40 lifetime peer-reviewed ISI-indexed publications, with a minimum 12 as first author
• Internationally recognised leader in the cancer field with an NRF B-rating or equivalent standing.
• Proven track record of successfully securing and leading major research grants and programmes, including cumulative research income exceeding R10 million as Principal Investigator.
• Proven track record of postgraduate supervision to completion, including Masters and PhD students, minimum of 10 students graduated.
• Proven Leadership and management experience in cancer research with strong record of mentorship, capacity development, and people management.
• Experience in budgeting, financial oversight, and risk management.
• Membership of national and international scientific bodies and committees.
• Work collaboratively to build effective team with excellent scientific writing, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• University affiliation at Associate or Full Professor level.
• More than 20 years’ experience in molecular and cell biology research within the NCD and/or cancer field

Advantageous:

• Proven track record of international collaborative partnerships in cancer and/or NCD research.
• Experience in cancer epidemiology and translational precision medicine research.
• Strong understanding of ethical standards in human subjects research.
• Experience in intellectual property development and research translation.
• Demonstrated contribution to national and international scientific guidelines, policy documents, or advisory committees.

Closing date:

12 June 2026