Position description

• USAID’s Alliance for Combating TB in Bangladesh (ACTB) Activity will develop a dynamic, strategic, and fresh approach to accelerate Bangladesh’s fight against TB. The solutions will be aimed at creating an environment aligned with the universal health coverage (UHC) vision and focused on defined priority areas – increased TB detection, decentralized DR-TB management, child TB, expanded prevention and others.
• The Research Investigator, reporting to the Project Coordinator, will be responsible for conducting scientific research on public health issues; will support development of successful proposals; develop research protocols; plan and implement research project, coordinate research activities, supervise research teams, and generate knowledge from research evidence within the strategy of the center and organizational values and guidelines. The position will be based in Dhaka office. The position may require frequent travel to all the activity sites and offices in Bangladesh.

Duties and Responsibilities

Research Proposal Development

• Brainstorm new research ideas with scientists;
• Work with supervisor in proposal development through literature search, reviewing the relevant documents of study;
• Develop concept notes and draft proposals for study questions articulated by the team;
• Develop and update applications for data collection and data visualization;
• Review concept notes for peers and provide comments in order to conduct research in new areas.

Research Protocol Development

• Create detailed research design and methodology to achieve the study objectives for multiple research projects;
• Estimate requirements for financial and non-financial resources based on research methodology;
• Identify research leaders (PI, COP, PC etc.) and collaborators (external partner organizations etc.) for research projects;
• Circulate new protocol drafts internally and externally, seek feedback and modify accordingly;
• Seek approval from Finance, RRC, ERC etc. on protocols;
• Coordinate with Research Administration (RA) for approvals for research-related activities and registering projects with government/international authorities and for securing licenses or approvals for research-related activities;
• Contribute to other colleagues' research protocols in order to develop effective protocols that meet the new research objectives.

Project Management and Coordination of Research Activities

• Assist the Project Coordinator to coordinate activities and multiple projects under the Program; Create detailed project plan covering milestones, deliverables etc.;
• Train staff on data collection, sample collection procedures, and field implementation;
• Initiate procurement of necessary items through Division Support Unit; Secure non-financial resources and track consumption of financial & non-financial resources;
• Develop, field-test and finalize data collection tools; Prepare research communication materials;
• Assign work to team and initiate activities as per project plan;
• Supervise data collection; Monitor quality of data collected and response rates against timelines and research criteria; Guide staff on how to address issues faced during field-work;
• Travel field to check the study activities; Prepare periodic reports from the involved studies;
• Ensure coordination of research activities within the unit as well as other research groups;
• Collaborate with other research group across different divisions of icddr,b and external stakeholders;
• Coordinate with donors and stakeholders at international and national level to downstream including academicians and government partners;
• Coordinate and liaise with scientists in the country and abroad, the GoB an NGOs;
• Track progress against timelines and take corrective actions collaborate with researchers to support implementation of data management and analysis plan;
• Develop new monitoring tools, if required, in order to effectively execute research projects and track progress of other research projects.
• Take corrective actions to comply with donor mandates and research protocols in order to obtain study objectives with adherence to quality standards and project timelines.

Scientific Analysis, Knowledge Creation and Translation

• Critically asses data quality;
• Under the guidance of PI, apply rigorous scientific analysis to derive meaningful scientific inferences from data;
• Present findings to other scientists and seek inputs;
• Deliberate on those inputs and develop a draft report;
• Discuss preliminary findings with team members and key stakeholders;
• Derive implications for public health;
• Work jointly with PI, PC and COP and other team members to develop sound scientific manuscripts and articles for peer-reviewed journals;
• Conduct peer reviews of manuscripts of other researchers in order to support scientific manuscript creation while developing one's own scientific writing abilities.
• Actively disseminate the knowledge at conferences and seminars, and support these activities of colleagues;
• Provide consultation services to the Government of Bangladesh and other stakeholders in the area of scientific expertise in order to generate new knowledge based on research evidence.

Scientific Capacity Building

• Coach junior researchers/research fellows on data collection methods;
• Involve junior researchers in discussions, manuscript writing etc.;
• Contribute in the teaching of public health, demonstrate to junior scientists the rigor with which scientific reasoning and scientific documentation should be conducted;
• Recommend staff for internal and external training programs;
• Deliver lectures, conduct workshops and training sessions to share knowledge and experiential learning in order to develop sound science within the center.
• Attend in different scientific seminar and training programs in order to develop sound scientific knowledge.

People Management

• Promote a spirit of collegiality and gender diversity amongst team members and in the organization;
• Encourage team members to collaborate across areas; Address and resolve any diversity related issues;
• Set goals and conduct appraisals for the team; Set high standards; Identify and reward high performers and confront poor performance where needed;
• Mentor young professionals and prepare them for higher responsibilities;
• Interview candidates and make hiring and promotion recommendations, if required;
• Take appropriate actions to manage poor performance (such as creating Performance Improvement Plans, coaching, job rotations, planning separations from icddr,b) in order to build and develop an engaged and high-performing team.
• Required experience and qualifications

Education:

• Candidates must have a MBBS degree with 1-year internship from a reputed medical college recognized by Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC), followed by a Masters degree in Public Health or other related disciplines.

Experience:

• At least 3 years of working experience in the field of research with experience in project development and implementation. However, preference will be given to those who have experience in TB research/program. Publication in international peer-reviewed journals will be an advantage.

Source:https://career.icddrb.org/vacancy-preview/11084