Founded in 2002 by
President William J. Clinton, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is a
global health organization committed to strengthening integrated health systems
around the world and expanding access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS,
malaria and other illnesses. Based on the premise that business oriented
strategy can facilitate solutions to global health challenges, CHAI acts as a
catalyst to mobilize new resources and optimize the impact of these resources
to save lives, via improved organization of commodity markets and more
effective local management. By working in association with governments and
other NGO partners, CHAI is focused on large scale impact and, to date, CHAI
has secured lower pricing agreements for treatment options in more than 70
countries. In addition, CHAI’s teams are working side-by-side with over 30
governments to tackle many of the largest barriers to effective treatment and
care.
Point-of-care (POC)
products for HIV and tuberculosis bring diagnostics out of the laboratory and
closer to the patient, reducing the burden to receive testing, and allowing
tasks to shift to lower cadres of healthcare workers, particularly in rural
areas. Several POC products for diagnosis, disease staging, and treatment
monitoring have recently become available or are in development, with the
potential to dramatically increase access to treatment, improve patient
retention, and make healthcare systems more efficient. However, despite the
potential advantages of these new technologies, there are barriers that prevent
adoption and scale-up in developing countries, including regulatory hurdles and
limited guidance on how to decentralize testing in rural areas. Laboratory
Services Team (LST) works with high-volume, early-adopter countries to overcome
these barriers and build a healthy, competitive global market for these
products.
Prior to regulatory
approval, new technologies must undergo independent technical performance
evaluations to ensure performance is comparable to the gold standard
technologies. Once approved, it will be critical to understand the best
implementation practices for new technologies as they fit into the traditional
diagnostic networks through evidence-based research.
As new technologies
become available, the Research Associate will focus on supporting governments
to technically evaluate these technologies and develop and conduct operational
research studies under the direction and supervision of the POC Scientist. The
Research Associate will work with CHAI country teams to support countries in
developing monitoring and evaluation and research studies to understand optimal
point-of-care technology implementation and patient impact. In doing so, the
Research Associate will develop ethics protocols, data collection tools, and
provide intensive in-country support throughout the duration of studies to
ensure successful study execution. Upon completion, the Research Associate will
assist with data analysis and report/manuscript generation. Furthermore, the
Research Associate will support both global and country teams to develop best
practice case studies for publication and distribution. Through this work the
Research Associate will develop strong relationships with various teams within
CHAI, as well as Ministries of Health, and National Reference Laboratories.
We are seeking a
highly motivated individual with strong scientific credentials, analytical
capability, and good writing and communication skills. The Research Associate
must be able to function independently and flexibly and have a deep commitment
to excellence. CHAI places great value on relevant personal qualities:
resourcefulness, responsibility, tenacity, independence, energy, and work
ethic.
Job
Requirements
- Serve
as a key technical advisor to CHAI country teams on the evaluation and
operational research studies of new diagnostic products;
CHAI country teams and Ministries of Health to conduct evaluations of new POC
diagnostic products and research studies, including the following activities:
the CHAI country teams, develop research ideas that address critical diagnostic
gaps, both globally and country-specific;
evaluation and study protocols, data collection tools, patient consent forms
and additional study materials;
evaluation and study data collection in-country;
with analysis and writing of scientific reports/manuscripts.
countries in developing and executing monitoring and evaluation activities
- Compile
and develop best practice case studies on POC implementation experiences
from project countries
- Regularly
monitor and keep up-to-date with the literature on POC diagnostic
products, critically review, and develop materials to concisely share to a
varied audience;
- Provide
evidence-driven technical advice to governments and other partners on the
creation of operational systems to support the wide-scale implementation
of new POC diagnostic products.
responsibilities as needed by manager
or Master’s degree in microbiology, virology, immunology, epidemiology, or
related biomedical field, plus 2-5 years work experience in a relevant field;
written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare and
deliver compelling presentations and write manuscripts for publication;
analytical, problem solving, and quantitative skills;
to think strategically, handle ambiguity and work in a fast-paced,
limited-structure, multicultural environment;
to learn on the job quickly;
- Detail-oriented
with strong organization skills;
- Ability
to handle multiple work streams simultaneously and work independently;
- Based
in East or Southern Africa and available for up to 75% travel;
- High
level of proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
Pluses
- Proficiency
in statistical packages (STATA, SAS or similar);
- Experience
living or working abroad, particularly in developing countries;
- Familiarity
with global health issues.