Job Purpose:
- Welcome to the exciting opportunity to contribute to
groundbreaking research at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme
(KWTRP), a leading research centre in Africa dedicated to investigating
the primary causes of ill health and the development of health care
systems on the continent. At KWTRP, we are not only committed to advancing
scientific knowledge but also to fostering local research leadership.
- Part of the research portfolio of the Population and Health
Impact Surveillance Research Unit (PHISG) and the Health Services Unit at
KWTRP Nairobi is to undertake research into the relationships between
health outcomes and access to health services, the ecological defined
phenotypes of severe disease and determinants of hospitalisation and death
in childhood.
- The new Research Officer position will join the Population and
Health Impact Surveillance Research Unit in Nairobi and will be supervised
by Prof. Emelda Okiro and co-supervised by Prof Bob Snow. The Research
Officer will be expected to provide statistical support to the PHISG. It
is also expected that the appointed RO will build an independent line of
enquiry related to hospital access and in-patient outcomes, helping the
wide group understand optimised catchment areas for emergency care and
marginalised, poor hospital access populations.
We, therefore, welcome applications from those
wishing to develop their skills and a career in medical statistics, geospatial
analysis and the use of hospital data in epidemiology.
Description:
Reports To: Study PI and Study Supervisor
Direct Reports:
None
Indirect Reports: None
Budget And Resource Responsibility: Responsible for allocated hardware and
software.
Key Responsibilities:
For the Population and Health Impact Surveillance
Research Unit and under the direction of the supervisors to:
- Provide statistical and R coding support to PHISG
- Build and check fidelities of locational data of hospital
admissions in Western Kenya and Kilifi
- Undertake geospatial analysis of data to understand the
geographic distribution of different hospital admissions, linked to
ecological and malaria risk factors
- Publish independent research findings in peer reviewed
journals and support other publications in the PHISG
- Contribute to the wider scientific activities of the
Population and Health Impact Surveillance Research Unit, the Health
Services Unit and the Nairobi Programme of KEMRI-Wellcome in Kenya
- And any other duties that may be assigned from time to time.
Qualifications:
The successful applicant will have:
Criteria:
Qualifications
- Recognised Postgraduate qualification (Masters) relevant to
the field of statistics or epidemiology
- At lease 3 years related working experience.
- A track record in understanding statistical methods related to
health care access.
- A track record in handling large health data and statistical
packages including R
- Published in peer reviewed journals at least one first author
paper, and co-authored at least three publications
- Highly developed oral and written communication skills
- Experience in undertaking research in a cross-cultural context
- Demonstrated interest in public health and demonstrated
knowledge and working experience of Kenyan Health system, added advantage.
Competencies:
- Prior experience of geospatial analyses with recognised
software (e.g. ArcGIS) is highly desirable.
- Experience in use of STATA and / or ‘R’ for analysis of health
data and/or experience of computer programming languages.
- Have high energy, clear goal orientation and a strong work
ethic.
- Strong organisation/programme management skills with the
ability to prioritise workloads and work within tight deadlines
- Ability to write clearly for a scientific audience and to
present clearly to non-academic audiences
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team
environment and to multi-task
How To Apply