Overview:
The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI – formerly the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative) under the leadership of former President William Jefferson Clinton III, has worked since 2002 to reduce the pricing of HIV/AIDS medicines and tests, and to work with governments around the world to further turn the tide on the disease by building the systems needed to deliver care and treatment.
In 2006, CHAI signed an MOU with the Malawi government to strengthen health systems in the most challenged districts, provide national support to HIV/AIDS drug pricing and programmatic work, support the pilot and scale-up of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) initiatives, expand access to ART for children, strengthen Malawi’s lab system, and scale up an integrated nutrition program for children. CHAI’s support to Malawi has expanded to include Human Resources for Health, Vaccines, and Health Financing.
CHAI’s eMTCT Program combines approaches that address both facility and community-level barriers to access, retention and adherence to integrated ART/PMTCT/MNCH services for HIV-positive mothers and their infants. CHAI, the Malawi College of Medicine, and the World Health Organization, have collaboratively implemented the PRIME Study, a robust cluster randomized control trial, in an effort to compare the impact and cost-effectiveness of using mother-infant-pair (MIP) clinics in improving retention of mother-infant pairs on PMTCT care and their quality of care. The PRIME Study will create new scientific knowledge, hypothesizing positive associations between MIP clinics and improved uptake of high-quality care, by providing integrated HIV and MNCH services under one roof, including education, counselling and psychosocial support for HIV positive mothers. Additionally, the Study’s mHealth component seeks to test the effectiveness of improved SMS communication to increase retention in MIP services. This program is seeking an operationally-focused and research-oriented individual to oversee implementation of the research design and enable the research findings to inform the national eMTCT strategy.
In 2006, CHAI signed an MOU with the Malawi government to strengthen health systems in the most challenged districts, provide national support to HIV/AIDS drug pricing and programmatic work, support the pilot and scale-up of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) initiatives, expand access to ART for children, strengthen Malawi’s lab system, and scale up an integrated nutrition program for children. CHAI’s support to Malawi has expanded to include Human Resources for Health, Vaccines, and Health Financing.
CHAI’s eMTCT Program combines approaches that address both facility and community-level barriers to access, retention and adherence to integrated ART/PMTCT/MNCH services for HIV-positive mothers and their infants. CHAI, the Malawi College of Medicine, and the World Health Organization, have collaboratively implemented the PRIME Study, a robust cluster randomized control trial, in an effort to compare the impact and cost-effectiveness of using mother-infant-pair (MIP) clinics in improving retention of mother-infant pairs on PMTCT care and their quality of care. The PRIME Study will create new scientific knowledge, hypothesizing positive associations between MIP clinics and improved uptake of high-quality care, by providing integrated HIV and MNCH services under one roof, including education, counselling and psychosocial support for HIV positive mothers. Additionally, the Study’s mHealth component seeks to test the effectiveness of improved SMS communication to increase retention in MIP services. This program is seeking an operationally-focused and research-oriented individual to oversee implementation of the research design and enable the research findings to inform the national eMTCT strategy.
Responsibilities:
Based in Mangochi, the Senior Research Associate, in collaboration with the College of Medicine and the District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) in Mangochi and Salima districts will:
- Oversee all aspects of the field office’s operation of the PRIME study;
- Monitor the ongoing implementation of Mother-Infant-Pair clinics and follow-up mechanisms at selected health facilities, ensuring full implementation at a level that the MOH may be able to sustain;
- Undertake all implementation activities in the work plan consistent with study protocols, internal review boards, and national guidelines;
- Ensure implementation of, and adherence to, the study protocol;
- Work closely with the M&E Officer to ensure the operational research component of the study is carried out successfully, including data management and processes, data entry and storage, case report form management, tracking of human participants, data audits, and good clinical practice;
- Author or contribute to both scientific and lay reports and papers;
- Support Study Manager to coordinate efforts between the College of Medicine (research institution and PI), the respective districts and the Ministry of Health (MOH);
- Report to and support Study Manager and CHAI Lilongwe Financial office in management of financial and administrative matters;
- Coordinate all training and mentorship activities;
- Lead a team of nine research staff, playing a key management role in maintaining morale and assisting to resolve staff disputes;
- Represent CHAI at stakeholder and district meetings;
- Liaise with CHAI Applied Analytics and other Global Teams and host CHAI visitors to the Mangochi office;
- Provide information, reports, presentations, and any other activities at the behest of CHAI management, donors, and partners, and;
- Contribute to the growth of additional mHealth implementation and scale-up activities with other CHAI Malawi teams.
Qualifications:
- A minimum of 4 years of experience in private or public sector enterprise and experience with research trials;
- A master’s degree preferably in Public/Community Health, Nursing, Informatics, Statistics, or Environmental Health/Science;
- Experience with quantitative and qualitative study design, implementation, and analysis and knowledge of research ethics and Good Clinical Practice;
- Experience in conceiving, planning and executing programs or projects with verifiable results and little external support;
- Experience managing demanding work plans and tight budgets and leading teams;
- Experience developing training materials and/or reports for broad consumption;
- Ability to negotiate and achieve consensus with key stakeholders;
- Ability to solve challenging problems without extensive structural or operational support;
- Ability to adapt to fast-paced and changing environments, both internally and externally;
- Excellent business-oriented verbal, visual and written communication skills;
- Previous experience working in a developing country with an ability to function at a high level in rural settings with limited infrastructure and services;
- Willingness to spend significant time in the field and traveling between Mangochi, Salima and Lilongwe districts;
- Strong analytical skills and technical proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint;
- Experience working directly with community stakeholders; and
- English language fluency, both written and verbal required. Fluency in Chichewa, both written and verbal preferred.
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