Operational Research Advisor on antibiotic Resistance

BACKGROUND

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international humanitarian aid organisation that provides assistance in more than 70 countries to populations in distress, to victims of natural or manmade disasters and to victims of armed conflicts, without discrimination and irrespective of race, religion, creed, or political affiliation.

The OCB Medical Department is a network of units, the Brussels Medical Unit (BRUMED in Brussels), the Southern African Medical Unit (SAMU) in Cape Town, the Luxembourg Operational Research unit (LuxOR) in Luxembourg, the Middle East Medical Unit (MEMU) in Beirut and the Brazil Medical Unit (BRAMU, and positions based around the world (Nairobi, Rio, Rome and Toronto). It is composed of polyvalent medical staff working in, and outside of the operational cells. The experts cover the following domains: anesthesia, antibiotic resistance, capacity building & mentoring for healthcare professionals, change management, chronic non-communicable diseases, critical care, data protection & data sharing, emergency medicine & toxicology, emergency preparedness, environmental health, epidemiology, general surgery & orthopedics, health promotion & anthropology, Hepatitis C, HIV, infection prevention & control, infectious diseases, knowledge management, laboratory, malaria & vector-borne diseases, medical data & health informatics, medical equipment, mental health, microbiology, nursing care, nutrition, operational research and documentation, pediatrics & adolescents health, pharmacy, primary healthcare, public health, sexual & reproductive health, tuberculosis, vaccination, survivors of torture and viral hemorrhagic fever & emerging infectious diseases. The department support is organized in resources deployed in thematic circles with specific time-bond deliverables.

Operational Research in MSF-OCB

Operational research and documentation are an integral part of the medical department activities. There are two relatively autonomous units supporting operational research and field epidemiologists. The LuxOR unit, has staff based in the offices in Luxembourg, Brussels, South Africa, Beirut, and Toronto, with core activities including operational research, Epidemiology Support, capacity building and a focus on research linked to the domains covered by the medical department (as mentioned above). The second unit involved in Operational Research is SAMU, based in Cape Town, South Africa which focuses on HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and Tuberculosis. More information can be found on: https://msf.lu/en/operational-research/luxor and https://samumsf.org/en

The Middle East Medical Unit (MEMU)

The Middle East Medical Unit (MEMU) aims to ensure that AMR is integrated into the holistic, comprehensive and quality care management of our patients and in the routine practice within the MSF projects through firstly, the implementation of the MSF AMR main pillars consisting of Infection Prevention & Control Programs, Antimicrobial Stewardship and Access to Diagnostic & Surveillance; and secondly influence policies & practices by advocacy, analysis, research, innovation and L&D initiatives.

Organisation of activities around Antimicrobial Resistance in MSF(-OCB)

In 2015 the Intersectional ABR Task Force was formed, with the recruitment of an ABR Referent and, Microbiologist Referent within MSF-OCB. The ABR strategy developed by the Task Force is based on a multidisciplinary approach that includes three pillars and transversal axes: the three pillars are Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), antibiotic stewardship (AS) and diagnosis & surveillance, the transversal axes are health promotion, analysis and advocacy, monitoring & evaluation, operational research and environmental health.

The OCB Medical Prospects 2020-2023 for ABR focus on the following three objectives:

1. Improve patient care outcomes
2. Mitigate adverse consequences of antibiotic misuse (resistance, side effects, unnecessary costs etc.)
3. Avoid the spread of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) in our health facilities

To achieve these objectives, knowledge and expertise needs to be built, and baseline evidence needs to be gathered, which can be done through operational research and documentation activities. Therefore, we are looking for a support on operational research to strengthen MSFs actions.

FUNCTIONAL INTERACTION

• The LuxOR Director is the overall medical department reference person regarding guiding global policy and strategic aspects of operational research in OCB and provides overall guidance to team members.
• The Program Officer is responsible for team management, research system support, OR coordination, budget and LuxOR strategy. She is also responsible for linkage between LuxOR, Operations and the Medical Department in Brussels.
• The MEMU hosts different positions focusing on AMR: MEMU Coordinator, AMR Referent, Microbiology Referent, Microbiology MIO, Infection Prevention and Control MIO, and the ABR Advocacy officer. Additional to that there are regional positions including Regional HP Officer, Regional Epidemiologist, , and International Office Pharmacist
• The Operational Research Advisor on ABR will have a close interaction with team members who are based in Luxembourg, Beirut, London, Canada and South Africa. Continuous interaction with the field, operational cells and the medical department will be necessary to support operational research and documentation activities. The LuxOR team consist of advisors and mobile/flying implementation officers, there is no hierarchical link between positions. S/he will report to the LuxOR Director, Program Officer and MEMU Medical Coordinator

MAIN ACTIVITIES/RESPONSABILITIES

• Drive the Operational Research agenda and strategic decision making for ABR by active participation in the OCB ABR circle and the intersectional ABR OR discussion group
• Contribute to the LuxOR and MEMU strategic cycles and plans
• Contribute to different MEMU activities according to need (e.g AMR day, WAAW week, community of practice…)
• Review/draft operational research study protocols and provide technical and editorial support to comply with MSF Ethics Review Board (ERB) requirements for submission for ethical clearance through the appropriate channels. Critically review new study protocols.
• Provide editorial and manuscript writing support for publication, policy briefs, and other documentation (programme descriptions/advocacy pieces) according to an agreed platform of delegated responsibility between existing members of the Operational Research team
• Support advanced data analysis and provide statistical support for operational research databases.
• Support and coordinate the creation of new indicators and tools for monitoring and evaluation of the three AMR pillars (IPC, AMS, and microbiology)
• Lead and coordinate the write-up of AMR reports (e.g IPC final year report, AMR chapter for the OCB medical activity report and MSF movement AMR report)
• Support landscape scoping of diagnostics innovations relevant to MSF Lab activities and ensure these are shared in the proper technical referent groups
• Conduct field visits (up to 50% of the year) to selected projects as deemed important by the LuxOR coordination and referents.
• Lead or support capacity building sessions and training on operational research through SORT-IT courses, and training around antibiotic Stewardship
• Engage with ABR related research with external partners such as expert networks, academia, regional public health institutions
• Represent MSF(OCB) on international conferences related to ABR and Microbiology

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

• Medical or para-medial profile with public health background and operations experience either in MSF, another NGO or havingworked in the context of health systems in a developing country.
• Specific training or degree and practical competences in (clinical) microbiology, laboratory, infectious diseases and infection control
• Epidemiology training (e.g. a field-epidemiology or relevant public health microbiology training) is an asset
• Practical experience in developing both quantitative and qualitative study design and use of statistical software packages (EpiInfo, EpiData and STATA) or similar.
• High capacity/potential in scientific writing and data analysis.
• Very high level of spoken and written English.
• Spoken French is essential while written French is an asset.

SOFT SKILLS REQUIREMENTS

• Share and support the MSF vision and values
• A high degree of work autonomy, team interaction and diplomacy is required
• Ability to adapt to changing circumstances, contexts, tasks, responsibilities and people.
• Ability to handle large volumes of work under pressure, tracking multiple projects or activities, and to deliver quality outputs within deadlines
• Proactivity and leadership capacity to drive operational research
• Flexibility for travel at short notice.
• Adhere to MSF’s Principles and to our managerial values: Respect, Transparency, Integrity Accountability, Trust, Empowerment.
• Adhere to the MSF Behavioural Commitments

CONTRACT CONDITIONS AND BENEFITS

• One-year contract with the possibility of extension – based in Beirut, Lebanon
• Full time position – up to 50% of the time in the field
• Operational Research Advisor contract (salary according to MSF-Lebanon salary scale + legal leaves + recuperation leave for time spend in the field)
• Medical cover (including hospitalization)
• Frequent travel required (to Brussels and to the field)
• Contract start date: October 2022