African Center for Translational Genetics (ACTG) Program Coordinator at 54gene

Overview

• The African Center for Translational Genetics (ACTG) is a not-for-profit entity with funding from 54gene Inc as part of its vision to democratize precision medicine
• The objectives of the centre are to empower the next generation of African genomic scientists through the provision and implementation of grants, fellowships, and internships; enable better health outcomes by powering the discovery of disease variants which will significantly improve responses to drugs especially among African populations, and enhance therapy on the African continent by enabling individualized and precise care that utilizes patient unique genetic identity to develop new targets to medicine.

Position Summary

• We are seeking a highly-motivated and enthusiastic individual who is passionate about research governance and publications to join our team at the ACTG. Under limited supervision, the “ACTG Coordinator” would have knowledge of governance arrangements in different research partnerships aimed at ensuring all partners have a say and are carried along in the process.
• S/he would have experience generating ideas needed to add value to different groups that are stakeholders in projects such as the general community that comprise the pool of people that are involved in the project, disease/patient advocacy groups, local authorities, etc.
• The candidate would also have experience and is able to support different teams to develop and publish manuscripts in high-impact journals to share the knowledge gathered from 54gene-supported studies.

Roles and Responsibilities
Fellowship / Scholarship / studentship award, planning and coordination:

• Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)/Policies to guide the award of different categories of sponsorships to young African researchers to empower them to lead genomics research on the continent
• Design and coordinate the call for sponsorship applications for the different categories of awards under the ACTG
• Coordinate screening and selection process for sponsorship applicants
• Design Key Performance Indicators and monitor the performance of sponsorship awardees as may be applicable
• Work closely with and support ACTG sponsorship awardees, especially recipients of fellowships to achieve their aims and objectives.

Capacity Development:

• Identity contemporary issues in genomics and precision medicine which would benefit scientists and clinicians in African countries to improve their practice
• Organize, collaborate on, and/or support symposia and panel discussions, seminars, workshops, and short training opportunities to keep African practitioners abreast of on contemporary issues in genomics and precision medicine of relevance to their practice and their professional capacity development needs
• Build and sustain a database of contemporary issues in genomics and precision medicine on which a capacity-building programme would benefit African scientists and health practitioners by commissioning desk reviews and needs assessment studies.
• Performs related responsibilities as required.

Collaborations on precision medicine and translational research:

• Support the identification, discussions and establishment of collaborations with African scientists/researchers and clinicians or other scientists/researcher working in or with interest in working in Africa in the areas of precision medicine and translational research in areas of common interest with 54gene
• Support the implementation and governance of research collaborations established by 54gene through the ACTG towards capacitating and enabling precision medicine and translational research objectives of such collaborations
• Coordinate meetings of partnerships between 54gene and 54gene subsidiaries in the areas of basic and translational genomics research as well as precision medicine.

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Biomedical / Life Sciences is preferred. Bachelor's Degree in other fields coupled with relevant postgraduate degree and required experience will be considered.
• MBA, MPH, MD or other relevant Graduate or Postgraduate Degree
• A PhD Degree in related fields will be an added advantage.

Experience:

• 5-7+ years of multidisciplinary experience in program management in the fields of clinical research, public health, health services or health systems research, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, or other related industry work.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Experience managing different stakeholders - coordinating different meetings according to stakeholder interests, reporting on their meetings and following through with action points
• Experience developing policies, MOUs, SOPs and other similar governance instruments
• Experience designing and facilitating capacity building initiatives - seminars, workshops, etc
• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written. The ideal candidate can communicate effectively with various stakeholders. Has excellent presentation report writing skills
• Previous experience developing grants or being part of a team that has a history of writing successful grants
• Resourceful and self-motivated; you’re not afraid to dive into a complex problem and wear lots of hats to get the job done.