Research, Governance & Ethics Specialist at 54gene

Department: Research Governance & Ethics
Status: Full-Time, Exempt
Reports to: Vice President,Research Governance & Ethics

Job Description

• We are seeking a highly-motivated and enthusiastic individual who is passionate about research governance and ethics to join our team at 54gene. Under limited supervision, the “Research Governance and Ethics Specialist'' 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.
• The candidate would also have experience working with ethics committees; have knowledge of what makes research studies ethical and the application of various principles and theories to address ethical dilemmas in research and to determine the appropriateness of a proposed research study or otherwise.

Qualifications
Education and Certifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Biomedical / Llife Sciences is preferred
• MBA, MPH, MD or other relevant Graduate or Postgraduate Degree
• A postgraduate training or masters in bioethics or a PhD degree in related fields will bean added advantage

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Research Governance

• Past experience working on research collaborations with governance structures. Bonus:past experience working coordinating the operations of research committees, technical working groups etc
• Experience developing policies, MOUs, SOPs and other similar governance instruments
• Experience managing different stakeholders - coordinating different meetings according to stakeholder interests, reporting on their meetings and following through with action points,

Research Ethics:

• General and specialist knowledge about research ethics and related regulations, theories and principles and their application in protecting human research participants
• Knowledge of international regulations on the ethical conduct of research In-depth knowledge of operations of research ethics committees, including risk-based reviews
• Experience carrying out ethics reviews or working with ethics review committees
• Experience writing publications on ethical issues in research or developing (or contributing) guidelines/policies on research ethics
• Experience with writing protocols in general and particularly the ethical considerations sections of study proposals and/or proposal requests

General:

• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written. The ideal candidate can communicate effectively with various stakeholders. Has excellent presentation skills and writing peer-reviewed publications.
• 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
• 7+ years of multidisciplinary experience in research ethics including in areas of governance, program management, clinical research, public health, health services or health systems research, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, or other related industry work

Requirements
Essential Functions:
Research Governance:

• Identify, propose and manage governance structures such as committees, technicalworking groups, expert panels, and external experts to govern the various research collaborations established by 54gene.
• Develop Terms of References for governance structures - committees, technical working groups etc.
• Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)/Policies/Memoranda of Understanding to help in the interactions of the governance structures with collaborating parties
• Facilitate implementation of, coordinate and monitor initiatives/activities being undertaken by the research governance entities.
• Convene periodic meetings of the governance entities and provide them with support to attain actions points emergent from their meetings
• Identify and propose capacity building initiatives for the governance entities as well as other engagement activities with 54gene, partners of 54gene, subsidiaries of 54gene necessary to promote their functions

Research Ethics:

• Provide guidance to research teams within 54gene and partner teams on theappropriateness of proposed research studies with a focus on ethical issues in the design, conduct and reporting of research findings
• Liaise or coordinate liaison with research ethics committees across all 54gene operational sites and countries to ensure that 54gene supported studies receive adequate human subjects oversight
• Identify and support the attainment of training needs of research team members and ethics committees across all 54gene operational sites and countries
• Stay abreast of contemporary ethical issues in genomics research and develop scholarly articles to contribute to the academic discourse on areas of priority to genomics research in Africa
• Identify contemporary and emerging ethical issues in genomics research and facilitate scholarly discourse on these issues by African professionals; and organize symposia and panel discussions or commission and provide support for scholarly publications by especially African professionals on these issues
• Performs related responsibilities as required.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

• 54gene celebrates diversity and is proud to be an inclusive employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, colour, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, marital status, genetic information, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a mental or physical disability, or any other applicable legally protected status or characteristics.