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Research Fellow - Institute of Applice Health Research

Employer
Global Academy Jobs
Location
United Kingdom
Salary
£30,942 - £42,792
Closing date
Nov 16, 2020

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Job Details

Position Details

Institute of Applied Health Research

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £30,942 to £40,322, with potential progression once in post to £42,792. Due to a limited Budget we can only offer up to £33,797 for this position.

Grade 7

Part Time 18.75 hours per week FTC up to 3 years

Closing date: 16 November 2020

Background

Diarrhoea is a leading cause of under-five morbidity and mortality in low and middle income countries (LMIC). Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, suffers a large burden of morbidity and mortality - with an annual incidence of 2.4 episodes/child year and 185.7 deaths/100,000 in children under-fives years of age. Certain Sub-Saharan African countries, including Mali, suffer even higher burdens of under-five morbidity and mortality. Given the large role of enteric infection in causing diarrhoea, water, sanitation, and hygiene systems have been thoroughly explored for the abatement of under-five diarrhoea. These systems, however, have had mixed results on child health, and are demanding on resources and budgets. As a lower cost alternative, interventions to improve complementary food safety, hygiene, and nutrition, particularly among weanlings, have been postulated, but require further exploration.

Through a large MRC funded project, we are examining the impact of a behavioural intervention to improve complementary food safety, hygiene, and nutrition on weanling health in Mali, building on past work at the IAHR. The intervention will be evaluated through both quantitative means, such as measurements of indicators of malnutrition and stool sampling to detect enteric infection, through a cluster RCT; and qualitative means, such as ethnographies and focus group discussions.

A key component of the study is the evaluation of the intervention in both urban and rural areas, and as such, the study will take place in villages and cities across three of Mali's provinces - all in the southern secure area of the country. The study is led by the University of Birmingham, with strong collaboration with Malian Governmental and Academic organizations, as well as international organizations such as the WHO, UNICEF, ICDDR,B, and WaterAid; and other British academic partners (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Loughborough University).

Summary of Role

We are recruiting for a Research Fellow (Qualitative) to manage the qualitative component of the project, including set-up, data collection, data analysis, and dissemination in Mali and the UK. The research fellow will also contribute to further funding bids and creation of new research projects, as well as supporting research in the wider university.

The project also has a strong capacity building component, which the research fellow will be involved in - including training and mentoring local staff, and possibly supervising PhD students.

Travel to urban and rural parts of Mali, 2-3 times per year for up to 2-6 weeks, may be required for this role (although there is some flexibility about this).

Main Duties and Responsibilities

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlines below.
  • Being involved in the planning of the qualitative parts of the project, designing research instruments (such as observation proformas), data collection and data analysis
  • Presenting research outputs, including drafting academic publications, funder reports, policy briefs and presenting at conferences and stakeholder meetings
  • Co-ordination of the Mali and UK qualitative teams and dealing with problems or challenges that might arise.
  • Training, supervising and providing guidance, as required, to research staff, students, and support staff on daily basis in Mali and UK, including supervising and guiding PhD students.
  • Contributing to methodological research as related to the project
  • Developing research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required, and writing bids for funding therein
  • Contributing to research, enterprise and business development and public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader


Person Specification

Required
  • Good honours degree and the possession of a PhD or equivalent experience in a relevant discipline (e.g. Social Science, Sociology, Politics, Health Psychology, Epidemiology, Public Health, Nutrition, or WASH)
  • Methodological expertise (qualitative health research, ethnography, thematic analysis and/or realist evaluation)
  • Experience in project and/or staff management
  • Strong written communication skills, including experience in academic writing (such as peer-reviewed publications and conference abstracts), and dissemination of written reports (including policy makers, clinicians, and communities)
  • Strong oral communication skills and cross-cultural competency, able to explain complex processes in all settings, ranging from academic conferences to community meetings.
  • Ability to work independently, organize own workload, and use own initiative
  • Ability to meet tight deadlines and deal rapidly with immediate problems as they arise.
  • Willingness to travel and undertake work placements in LMICs

Desirable
  • Experience in conducting research in LMICs, including sub-Saharan Africa
  • Experience of working in international remote teams
  • Experience of teaching and supervision of students
  • Experience of training staff in data collection and analysis methods
  • Proficiency in written and spoken French
  • Training, supervising and providing guidance, as required, to research staff, students, and support staff on daily basis in Mali and UK, including supervising and guiding PhD students.
  • Contributing to methodological research as related to the project
  • Developing research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required, and writing bids for funding therein
  • Contributing to research, enterprise and business development and public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader


For informal enquiries contact Nicola Gale n.gale@bham.ac.uk

We value diversity at The University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community '

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