Operational Research Specialist at Malaria Consortium

Malaria Consortium is recruiting for a Operational Research & Surveillance Specialist to join our team in Abuja, Nigeria.

The Operations Research Specialist (ORS) will be based in the country office Abuja  and would support Malaria Consortium/Nigeria and programme leadership in the development and application of periodic analytical and assessment methods (research, surveys, investigations, studies, evaluations, etc. in the supported states and LGAs) to improve decision-making and programme operations for better outputs and outcomes. The office holder would define operational/implementation problems, research questions and topics, support the engagement of relevant experts, agencies and institutions to deliver on specific assignments. He/she would be responsible for the processing and obtaining of approvals for Terms of References (ToRs), protocols and ethical clearances to enable completion of these research, surveys, studies, investigations, etc. He/she would also be responsible for monitoring and evaluating ongoing activities to ensure they meet timelines and milestones; and also, be responsible for obtaining approval for submitted reports, their dissemination and scientific papers therefrom.

Key working relationships:

The ORS will work closely with the Programme Director (PD) and Technical Specialist (TS), as well as other M&E team members under the leadership of the Senior Country Technical Coordinator. In the implementation of data collection activities, he/she will need to liaise with stakeholders such as the Federal Ministry of Health/NMEP, State Ministry of Health/SMEP, partner organisations, subcontractors, universities and research institutions as may be required. The position holder will support recruitment and maintenance of a network of data collectors and supervisors in SMC supported states. He/she will also work closely with a research advisor/principal investigator from the academia when required.

Key accountabilities:

Operational Research contributions (75%)

• In conjunction with other project team members develop OR protocols and lead in pre-implementation activities such as securing ethical clearance and waivers where necessary, particularly where proposed procedures are not approved in national implementation guidelines.
• Identify Operations Research (OR) questions that should be answered for more effective programme implementation.
• Coordinate day-to-day technical preparations, implementation and supervision of research activities in SMC states.
• Support the M&E Manager and Data Analysis Specialist in statistical analysis of operational research data and contribute to reports and publications to disseminate among partners.
• Write periodic research-related reports for project for donors and other audiences as required.
• Coordinate the implementation of in-country dissemination and research uptake activity plans, such as stakeholder consultations, media engagements, and country specific project learning outputs.
• Advise and support the SMC state teams in managing activity plans, consultants and budgets for specific operational research activities. 
• Support, and as appropriate lead, the documentation of operational research and lessons learnt from the project including drafting of manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals, learning briefs, learning papers and general documentation (e.g. narrative reports, infographics).
• Support the dissemination of lessons learned to national and global audiences through conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and technical reports.

Quality assurance of operational research (10%)

• Ensure adherence to OR protocols during implementation. Flag any necessary changes to protocol and seek approvals as appropriate either from the SCTC or the research ethics committees.   
• Supervise SMC operational research project implementation and outputs, quality control of data collection and carry out regular project performance assessments as planned and other reports as required
• Working with the PD and TS, contribute to the adherence of research guidelines and embedding into research studies, standards of operational research quality

Capacity building and institutional strengthening (10%)

• Participate in building project capacity in operational research, mainly in the NMEP and SMEPs but also where appropriate within SMC team
• In liaison with the TS and SCTC, support capacity building initiatives of the project’s M&E team and contribute to the organisation’s strategic objectives

External Representation (5%)

• Participate in national or regional technical working groups as relevant

Person specification

Qualifications and experience:   

Essential

• Postgraduate degree in Epidemiology, Statistics or Public Health
• 10-12 years post qualification and  8 years working in a research role with an excellent understanding of operational research approaches
• Demonstrable knowledge and ability to design and implement research studies, including design of qualitative and quantitative data collection tools.
• Good qualitative and quantitative data analysis skills
• Demonstrated experience of working in a team of experts delivering specialized TA services
• Previous public health sector experience in sub-Saharan Africa countries
• Familiarity with Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) in Low and Middle Income countries e.g. DHIS2
• Experience in setting up standards of quality as well as internal quality assurance mechanisms 
• Strong writing skills with publications in peer-reviewed journals

 Desirable

• Significant knowledge in communicable disease control, particularly malaria
• Experience in working effectively with government and non-government partners

Work-based skills:

Essential

• Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as collaboratively on a team, particularly with Ministries of Health and/or other government sectors and partners
• Proven ability in transferring skills, particularly working with government and nongovernment colleagues
• Demonstrated verbal and written communication and presentation skills
• Excellent statistical analysis skills including familiarity with software such as STATA, R or Statgraphics, CSPro, Atlas ti, NVIVO
• Results-oriented attitude to work
• Expert competency level in reviewing, understanding and synthesizing data for sharing with wider audiences
• Practical organizational skills with the ability to manage a fluctuating workload, prioritize and re-prioritize when necessary and meet tight deadlines
• Able to travel to SMC supported states to oversee OR or other data collection activities
• Excellent command of English with exceptional writing and communication skills and the ability to present information in clear, concise, and compelling ways
• Computer literacy, including high degree of skills in MS Office and Stata.