Regional Research Coordinator, Vitamin A Supplementation (VAS) Program

Co-founded in 1915 by Helen Keller, Helen Keller International is dedicated to saving and improving the sight and lives of the worlds vulnerable. We combat the causes and consequences of blindness, poor health, and malnutrition with more than 120 programs in 20 African and Asian countries, as well as in the United States. Renowned for our reliability, efficiency, and high level of technical expertise, Helen Keller International promotes the development of large-scale, sustainable solutions to some of the most pressing issues in public health.

Program overview:

When delivered twice a year to at least 80% of children aged 6 to 59 months in countries with high under five mortality and high rates of vitamin A deficiency, Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) can contribute to a reduction of U5M by up to 24%.

VAS is delivered to children twice a year through multiple delivery mechanisms. Some countries are organizing mass distribution campaigns where teams of distributors visit every household to give vitamin A to children. Others have integrated VAS into their facility-based delivery systems alongside routine immunization or growth monitoring. A third group of countries are using a hybrid system between campaigns and facility-based delivery. Finally, some countries are transitioning from one approach to another. Helen Keller International has been providing support on VAS delivery to Ministries of Health in 14 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa for several decades and is currently supporting distribution of more than 30 million VAS capsules per year.

To improve the performance of VAS services and build evidence on best practices around VAS, Helen Keller conducts multiple research projects and studies. To support this evidence building, we are recruiting a Regional Research Coordinator whose primary responsibility will be to support the design and implementation of research projects on

• Identifying, implementing, and documenting sustainable and cost-effective delivery model(s) for VAS, particularly those that provide solutions to maximize the cost-effectiveness and reduce costs of campaigns, and that are integrated in the routine health system and structures.

• Supporting the transition from vertical campaign to routine VAS delivery models.

• Leveraging VAS as a means toward health system strengthening and integrated service delivery.

Under the supervision of the VAS Regional Research Manager, the Research Coordinator will backstop ongoing studies collaborating with country offices, governments and partners and identify research opportunities that align with the VAS Program strategic priorities. The Research Coordinator will assist in research project planning, and ensure that the scope of work, study protocols and regulatory requirements are followed throughout the course of the project(s), that project deliverables are fulfilled in a quality and timely manner and will serve as the liaison for the project between the country office(s) and VAS regional team.

Specific Responsibilities

Reporting to the VAS Regional Research Manager the Research Coordinator will be responsible for: Coordinating and supporting research project development and implementation in the VAS Program (70%)

• Collaborate with country programs and partners to…

• Provide technical review of research concept notes and study protocols.

• Support the development of research ethics applications for specified studies, as needed.

• Support the country program teams and partners to assure methodological soundness and quality implementation of research studies.

• Support the design and supervision of data collection, entry, and analysis.

• Support training of enumerators and other research staff.

• Participate in preparation of manuscripts for peer review and other reporting and dissemination activities.

• Participate in regular team meetings.

• Perform other duties as assigned directly related to this position.

Conducting specialized research for the VAS Program regional team (30%)

• Conduct literature reviews on relevant topics.

• Identify opportunities for analysis (using existing and new data) that align with the VAS Program research and programmatic priority areas.

• Design analytic research projects utilizing methodologies and measures that are pertinent and robust.

• Conduct advanced quantitative data analyses in STATA and/or qualitative analyses.

• Provides insight into the analysis and interpretation of findings.

• Prepare comprehensive report(s), presentation(s) and knowledge mobilization products explaining/discussing research objectives, methodology, results, and relevance to health issues as they relate to the VAS Program.

Qualifications

Education and work experience:

• Master’s in public health (MPH) or Masters in relevant field, both quantitative and qualitative training preferred.
• Minimum 3-6 years of experience with at least one year of experience leading research projects in Africa. At least two years of field research experience in Africa.

Data collection and analysis skills:

• Demonstrated internal and external research coordination experience and communications skills.
• Demonstrated technical expertise in at least one of the following areas: nutrition, health systems, health economics, experimental study design and implementation.
• Experience providing technical input to research proposals, workplans, budget development and reports.
• Experience conducting and/or supporting primary [qualitative and quantitative] data collection in challenging environments.
• Data analysis skills, both quantitative and qualitative and experience using data analysis software (e.g. SPSS, Stata, SAS, R, etc.);
• Experience in management of large quantitative datasets and ability to coach country teams in database management.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Project management, teamwork, communication skills:

• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills and ability to collaborate with others on research projects in diverse contexts.
• Experience managing complex projects with multiple activities that may occur simultaneously.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision on specific projects.
• Ability to work with remote, multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary teams.
• Willing and able to travel to countries to support research projects (up to 30% of time).
• Fluency in English and French (bilingual) is an asset.