Research Associate - INSPIRE MoMent Study at Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria

Summary/Overview

• IHVN implements the INSPIRE (Integrating and Scaling up PMTCT through Implementation Research) MoMent study, which is a four-year Canadian Government-funded, WHO-supported research project that is evaluating the impact of Mentor Mother programs on Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) service uptake and retention at primary healthcare facilities in Nigeria.
• The study is being conducted at Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) in two states (FCT and Nasarawa), and is in its third of the four year project period.
• We are looking for proactive and detail-oriented individuals with interest in maternal & neonatal health, HIV/AIDs and/or research.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Interviewer is responsible for but not limited to:

• The INSPIRE-MoMent study Research Associate (RA) will provide technical and administrative support for study field officers posted at study sites. Additionally, he/she will facilitate data transmission from the field to the central office.
• They are expected to spend approximately 50% of their time in the field and the other 50% in the central office.
• The RA will be responsible for 10 of 20 study sites. Residence within the FCT or Nasarawa is required.

The duties of the MoMent RA include, but are not limited to the following:

• Supervise and mentor MoMent Field Officers
• Coordinate all collection, validation and transmission of study data to the Data Manager at the central office in Abuja
• Be up to date with site-level day to day operations, promptly identifying study-related gaps and proffering logical solutions (with/without the Project Coordinator) at all sites he/she is assigned
• Forecast and request of study-related commodities or services (for example, viral load transportation) on behalf of his/her field officers
• Bi-weekly Technical Assistance visits to all study sites under their supervision
• Report to the Data Manager on all data-related issues and to the Project Coordinator on all other site-level study related issues
• Make timely financial requests for field officers to the Principal Investigator via the Project Coordinator
• Assist in the development and review of relevant study Standard Operating Procedures
• Ensure all the field officers discharge their duties according to Study SOPs and study protocol
• Participate in routine completion of study forms as necessary
• Participate in academic research activity including but not limited to abstract writing, interpretation of data and data analysis and manuscript development
• Other assignments as requested by the Data Manager, Project Coordinator or the Principal Investigator.

Minimum Qualifications

• A Master's degree in Health or Research-related discipline
• In lieu of Master's degree, at least 5 years' demonstrable experience in public health research in Nigeria
• Should have completed the one year compulsory government service ( NYSC) or possess certification for its exemption
• Excellent oral and written communication in English, with proficiency in MS Office suite, especially Excel and Powerpoint
• Strong professional interpersonal and public relations skills
• Ability to work in a team, take instruction, share experiences, and cooperate with authority of Project Coordinator and Principal Investigator
• Maturity and patience in communicating with people with a wide range of personalities and capacities is necessary.

Added Advantages:

• Prior knowledge and experience in HIV knowledge/programming, especially PMTCT.
• Past demonstrable experience in research including knowledge of statistics
• Ability to speak Hausa