Research Associate/Program Coordinator

The incumbent is a member of the Institute for International Programs (IIP) technical team at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. IIP’s mission is to improve the evidence base for strong public health programming for maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition (MNCH&N) programs, working collaboratively with research institutions and Governments in low and middle-income countries. IIP is currently implementing several projects in these countries, most of which involve data collection, management, analysis, and publication as well as training and capacity building in these activities.

The incumbent will be appointed at the Research Associate (RA) level and serve as a research faculty member in the department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The position will involve a combination of program coordination and research, working primarily on the two projects described below.

Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on RMNCH+N in SSA

This twelve-month project is at its inception and aims to implement rapid household surveys, data compilation and analysis to assess the impact of COVID-19 on RMNCH+N in Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Niger. In each, IIP investigators work in selected in-country research institutions to implement the project. Findings will be disseminated at country level to the government stakeholders and through peer-reviewed publications. The incumbent will be expected to spend 50% of level of effort on the project on mostly coordination but also involved in the technical research component.

Comprehensive Mortality Surveillance for Action (COMSA) in Mozambique

COMSA aims to build a sample surveillance system that continuously tracks pregnancies, births, and deaths, assesses cause of death in representative communities from across Mozambique, allowing national and provincial mortality and cause of death estimates to be produced on an annual basis in the country. The project was initiated since 2017 in collaboration with the Mozambique National Institute of Health and National Institute of Statistics. The incumbent will spend 50% level of effort in both coordination and analysis role.

The Research Associate will work independently in close collaboration with the IIP’s principal investigator, responding to the needs of each project. Specific responsibilities include:

Project coordination:

• Serving as the liaison with the funding agency and technical stakeholders to manage grant workplans and budgets, including generation and submission of grant-level approvals for extensions, budgetary re-allocations, as well as approvals to contract with sub-awardees.
• Interacting with implementation partners to develop contract deliverable schedules, budgets and scopes of work, and other documents necessary to secure approval and execute awards. Once awarded, the incumbent will track progress and coordinate technical updates to ensure invoice payment.
• Assist with preparation of IRB reporting documents and responding to IRB requests
• Working with the Principal Investigator and JHU Finance team to track activity progress, including tracking timelines and workplans for project milestones and deliverables, and monitoring activity-specific budgets and expenditures, and coordinating extensions, reallocations and de-obligations as necessary.
• Preparing and writing of program-related reports (i.e. meeting reports and annual reports to funders) and presentations for multiple audiences including donors and implementing partners. This includes tracking all reporting requirements and deadlines; coordinating actors engaged in reporting; and preparing and/or coordinating responses to special donor requests. In collaboration with financial staff, the incumbent will assist with financial reports to funders.
• Organize standing or ad-hoc project meeting and ensure proper documentation of action-items in a note for the record.
• Assist the project PI in achieving all project deliverables.

Research and analysis

1. Assisting with primary data collection including (1) tool development; (2) developing and implementing data management protocols; (3) programming, training and implementing computer assisted personal interview (CAPI) systems; (4) developing and conducting data quality assurance procedures; (5) conducting data analysis and visualization of findings.
2. Managing secondary data sources including (1) data extraction; (2) quality assessments; (3) management and organizing various sources; (4) analysis, visualization and reporting.
3. Carry out data analysis of primary or secondary data in support of specific project needs or as part of project overall analysis plan
4. Contribute to the write up of project technical interim and final reports to the donors or as needed
5. Disseminate findings to in-country and global communities through peer-reviewed publications, reports and conferences.
6. Build in-country capacity for management, analysis, visualization of data through workshops, trainings and one-on-one mentoring.
7. Respond to request to data support as needed and requested by project PIs

Required

• Masters-level training in public health or related with a focus on quantitative methods
• Excellent oral and written communication and organization skills.
• Ability to work independently, handle multiple activities and competing priorities, and deliver on time.
• Knowledge of global reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health related technical terms and concepts.
• Proficiency in programming of least one statistical software package. R or STATA preferred.
• Quantitative research experience in low-and-middle income countries.

Preferred

• French and/or Portuguese fluency.
• Proficiency in developing and managing current State of the Art Computer Assisted Personal Interview applications including ODK,

Please submit a cover letter highlighting your relevant education, experience and skills and an updated CV. Screening will start immediately on a rolling basis. The position will be filled once a suitable candidate is identified, so early application is encouraged. If you have any issue submitting your documents, please email them directly to IIP-Central@jhu.edu.

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristic. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.

The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check.

If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the HR Business Services Office at jhurecruitment@jhu.edu. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711.

The following additional provisions may apply depending on which campus you will work. Your recruiter will advise accordingly.

During the Influenza ("the flu") season, as a condition of employment, The Johns Hopkins Institutions require all employees who provide ongoing services to patients or work in patient care or clinical care areas to have an annual influenza vaccination or possess an approved medical or religious exception. Failure to meet this requirement may result in termination of employment.

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