Project Officer

Position Summary

Reporting to the Senior Director of Human Resources for Health who services as a project specific Principal Investigators (PI) and the Deputy Director for Research, the Project Officer provides overall coordination and support for planning, implementation, and monitoring of public health research and evaluations. To ensure success across a portfolio of research studies and evaluations, the Project Officer provides direct support and coordination from the protocol development phase through data analysis and dissemination. The Project Officer assists PIs and study/evaluation teams to create and manage annual workplans including setting timelines and targets, reviewing project priorities, and measuring study milestones. In addition, the incumbent will assist in the identification of study implementation challenges, propose solutions to study teams, and support and facilitate the smooth execution of strategies to achieve study aims. The Project Officer also actively provides mentorship and capacity building support for in-country ICAP teams conducting research and evaluation work.

Responsibilities

Research and Evaluation Implementation Support Functions

• Provides direct oversight and coordination for a portfolio of research studies and evaluations, in collaboration with the PIs and study teams including: (80%)
  • Serves as liaison between in-country teams and NY units for implementation planning, management, and monitoring of the studies/evaluations;
  • Oversees study/evaluation implementation, including, but not limited to:
  • Support for protocol development and design of data collection materials and tools;
  • Liaison with all necessary IRB/EC and tracking of all IRB/EC submissions, approvals, and deadlines;
  • Development of training materials, SOPs and QA/QC procedures;
  • Support for data management and analysis and manuscript/abstract development.
  • Conducts on-site monitoring, trainings and supportive visits to ensure adherence to the protocol and SOPs;
  • Tracks, monitors, and reports on study/evaluation status and works with in-country teams and ICAP New York to ensure adherence to specific protocols, workplans, sponsor reporting requirements and SOPs;
  • Provides hands-on support for distance education activities, including but not limited to assisting with logistics and with telecommunications platforms.
  • Participates in development of project documents, including preparation and submission of progress reports for study sponsors, presentations, and other project documentation from development through final submission;
  • Coordinates the development of project/evaluation budgets and budget modifications, and monitors expenditures to ensure activities are implemented within budgetary guidelines.
• Supports and coordinates the provision of direct mentorship and guidance to in-country ICAP teams conducting evaluation work (10%);
• Serves as Proposal Manager on select research proposals (led by Senior Director of Human Resources for Health) (5%);
• Performs other duties, as assigned by the Senior Director of Human Resources for Health and Deputy Director for Research (5%)

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Public Administration, International Affairs, or related fields is required or equivalent in education, training and/or experience.
• At least 2 years of experience related to implementing, monitoring and managing health- related research and evaluations including adherence to research protocols, data collection procedures and ethical requirements of human subjects research;
• Experience with research and evaluations supported by the U.S. Government, other global research support organizations or private funders;
• Experience managing and supervising a multi-site research project, including managing project staff, overseeing data collection and conducting data quality assessments.
• Demonstrated project coordination and strategic planning skills and capacity to think strategically, to facilitate actions to be accomplished across matrixed organizations, to work in multi-cultural settings and with a high degree of independence;
• Strong interpersonal, communication, organizational, and analytical skills;
• Excellent skills in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and Adobe Acrobat.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Public Health, Public Administration, International Affairs, or related fields is required
• At least 5 years of related experience
• Experience working in low- or middle-income countries.

Other Requirements

• Five to ten domestic and/or international trips of approximately one week in duration per year