Placement Organization: Zambia Centre for Applied Health Research and Development
Placement Location: Lusaka, Zambia
Eligible Citizenship: Zambian
About: The Zambia Center for Applied Health Research and Development (ZCARHD) is a registered non-governmental organization that focuses on applied and implementation research. It has 85 permanent employees based in Lusaka, Mazabuka, Choma, Kalomo, and Livingstone, Zambia. It is composed of faculty and staff of the Center for Global Health and Development (CGHD) at Boston University (USA) and Zambian public health professionals and specialists, who are working together to carry out applied policy- and program-relevant research on critical issues of public health importance. The goal is to generate evidence to support health policy decisions that will improve public health and well-being in Zambia.
ZCARHD’s strategic approaches include conducting evaluation of public health interventions to measure health outcomes, impact, and efficiency of public health services; conducting and supporting applied research on relevant health and development questions; strengthening the capacity of local scientists and trainees from Boston University-affiliated programs to undertake applied research on health and development; and strengthening health services through collaboration with the Government of Zambia, international donors, and local partners. ZCARHD’s areas of technical expertise and focus include research on maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH); HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; malaria prevention and treatment, health economics; health systems research, and orphans and vulnerable children; as well as monitoring and evaluation of public health programs.
Position Overview: The main role of this position is to provide technical support to the Research Unit of the Ministry of Health (MOH) headquarters in Zambia. This includes helping with grant writing, development of research protocols, review of research proposals, and preparation of activity reports. Perform any other duties required by the MOH Research Secretariat and the ZCAHRD office in collaboration with MOH.
Responsibilities:
- Manage a national health research database
- Work with the Principal Research Officer at MOH on on-going research projects, including managing correspondences, arranging consultative meetings, etc.
- Work with the MOH Principal Research Officer and the ZCAHRD focal point person on new grant applications, research protocols and data collection tools, data analysis, report writing and publications, and facilitation of research dissemination conference.
- Prepare policy briefs where necessary
- Carry out any other duties in the MOH Research Secretariat as needed
Required Skills and Experience:
- Strong research background
- Grant writing skills
- Computer literate in MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and common databases, especially MS Access
- Data analysis and report writing Skills
- Highly organized
- Good communication and writing skills
- Literature review skills and experience
- Master’s degree in Public Health or International Health or Epidemiology
Living Conditions: Fellows will be provided with housing, health insurance and a living stipend of $650/month. Fellows will also receive an award of $1500 upon successful completion of the fellowship year. Flights to and from the placement site and all other costs associated with GHC programming are included. Fellows will be placed in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. They will work from the ZCAHRD central office. Transport to and from the office will be provided.