ISGlobal is seeking a postdoctoral scientist who is interested on working in the research projects of the team focused on data collection and surveillance around vaccination (including COVID-19) and key diseases in migrants in the MENA Region. This is a unique opportunity for a motivated research to contribute to the transformation of data collection around migrant health and working in Low-middle income countries and carrying out research that has social impact and responds to unmet medical needs. The researcher will work in collaboration with an International Consortium (The Migrant Health MENA Working Group) in 5 countries, Spain, UK, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan. The position will involve research tasks related to the development of the MHCP-tool, the establishment of an early career research network and supervising PhD students. This position will also give the researcher the opportunity to gain leadership abilities by supporting the coordination of the project and leading publications.

Lugar

Barcelona

About the project:

The objective of this project is to develop, evaluate, and implement the Migrant Health Country Profile tool (MHCP-t) in specific sites in the MENA region (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan and Yemen), an innovative digital tool that will facilitate the monitoring of key migrant health indicators to assess health needs and gaps in provision, improve health outcomes, and ensure they are included, particularly in the immediate COVID-19 vaccine response. MHCP-t will enable countries to drive data collection strengthening, facilitate cross-country comparisons, and ultimately to transform service delivery and policy making around migration and health.

This highly novel approach facilitates data collection around three health domains of relevance to migrant health: disease-specific data, policies and legal frameworks, and service provision, in areas of critical importance in migrant health: tuberculosis, HIV, viral hepatitis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases, vaccine-preventable diseases (including COVID-19) and non-communicable diseases.

We will develop MHCP-t, deliver a process evaluation to test and evaluate it, and validate its real-time use in MENA countries with the aim of embedding the tool into routine practice in health and data systems, aligning with major global initiatives to strengthen data collection in migrant populations. A core focus of our research Consortium –The Migrant Health MENA Working Group– is to develop research capacity in the MENA Region via training and mentoring early and mid-career researchers to deliver the proposed research, and to establish a research network with strong links to leading MENA Region and European academic institutions.

Fields

• Migrant Health
• Data collection and surveillance
• Health Systems

Training and experience /Qualifications

• Have a completed, or close to completion, PhD in a discipline related with public health or desirable on migrant health.
• Prior experience of conducting high-quality quantitative and/or qualitative research in the field of migrant health and/or infectious diseases
• Experience of doing systematic reviews
• Experience in epidemiology
• Demonstrated track record of achievements included scientific publications and presentation of results in international conferences in the area of Public Health, Migrant Health, Health Systems
• Experience of working with multidisciplinary teams (MoH, NGOs, community groups, researchers) in low- and middle-income countries
• Specific Requirements:
• Previous knowledge in migrant health
• Experience and knowledge in the Process Evaluation work for health interventions
• Data management skills and use of statistical software: Solid programme experience using one of the following programmes, STATA or R, NVIVO
• Be willing to apply to individual fellowships to become and independent researcher and define new own lines of research
• Commitment to overseas travel (travel to Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan will be a requisite of the project)

Specific Duties

• Contribute to the design of the study plan and detailed Gannt-chart
• Coordinating MHCP-t development (qualitative research and process evaluation)
• Lead and support the analysis and delivery of a process evaluation and feasibility study of the MHCP-t in the Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan.
• Support the implementation of the Migrant Health Secretariat in coordination with IOM
• Contribute to systematic reviews and supervision the PhD students in these tasks.
• Take part in the academic activities of the research network on Migrant Health including helping and supervising the work of PhD students within the project
• Coordinating the original articles for publication in high impact journals
• Disseminate findings at conferences, workshops, scientific journals, and other channels
• Responsibility for coordinating the preparation of technical and scientific reports, conference abstracts, presentations and journal papers

You would also be expected to undertake other activities appropriate to your grade as directed by your manager. This job description reflects the present requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities change, the job description will be reviewed and amended in consultation with the post holder periodically. ISGlobal aims to provide opportunities for all its employees to develop the skills required to be successful in their role and to further develop their careers.

Skills

• Capacity to work both independently and as part of a team
• Excellent organization and coordination skills
• Demonstrated track record of achievements
• Problem resolution
• Learning capacity
• Computer skills (word, power point, excel)
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Self-starter with ability to work unsupervised
• Ability to work closely with other members of an international team and high level of enthusiasm and motivation

Language level

• Be fluent in spoken and written English and basic level of French will be requested. Arabic is desirable.

Conditions

• Duration: 3 years
• Starting date: July 1st 2022
• Contract: Full time

Salary Range: According to ISGlobal salary scales