Senior Research Officer, PhD

1. Background

LVCT Health is an established Kenyan NGO that utilizes research to inform policy reform and advocacy and strengthen the equitable delivery of health services to vulnerable and marginalized populations. LVCT Health has a vibrant mental health program that is involved in providing technical support to the public sector and delivering psychosocial interventions.

LVCT Health in partnership with the BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health, the African Population

and Health Research Center (APHRC), the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), the Ministry of Health, Kiambu and Nairobi County Health Departments are implementing participatory research project in Kenya and Bangladesh funded by the National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR), UK. The research will involve co-developing, piloting, and adapting a holistic health systems support package for Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) in both countries with a specific focus on integrating psychosocial

support to enhance the well-being and agency among CHVs.

2. Job purpose

The successful candidate will be expected to lead the research, register and complete a Ph.D. in Global Health (the project will cover registration and training fees). The Senior Research Officer will work with the Principal Investigator, study co-investigators, County Health Departments and the Ministry of Health to implement this research and ensure the delivery of high-quality psychosocial interventions that target CHVs. The Senior Research Officer is expected to engage flexibly with multi-disciplinary partners including. psychologists, health system researchers, social scientists, policymakers, primary health workers, and CHVs. In addition to research-specific roles, as part of the Ph.D. scholarship, the successful candidate will design and test and evaluate co-developed psychosocial support interventions.

3. Key Responsibilities

Design and implementation of the community-based participatory research (CBPR) and health systems research

• Implement community-based participatory research (CBPR) and health systems research to the highest level of quality.
• Coordinate research in all study sites and participate in multidisciplinary research activities

Conduct high-quality CBPR and health systems research to inform the scale-up of interventions to improve mental health well-being and agency for CHVs

• Apply qualitative research methodologies to design study components and analyze data for uptake of intervention(s) and policies at community, county, and national levels
• Collaborate with consortium partners to develop context-specific mental health interventions for CHVs, and liaise with consortium partners to coordinate robust data collection.
• Implement research in line with all NIHR funding and administrative requirements.
• Lead the training, debriefing, mentoring, and support to field teams throughout the study.

Produce articles and policy briefs to communicate research findings to a wider audience

• Lead the development of academic papers for submission to high-impact journals.
• Be responsible for writing project reports, policy briefs and other technical documents as appropriate
• Coordinate the development of communication materials that will enhance the visibility of this study

Communication

• Work with the different health systems teams on communications for social media platforms and the LVCT Health website
• Develop and manage effective relationships and communication pathways with all LVCT Health departments and research partners

4. COMPETENCY CRITERIA

Qualifications, Training & Knowledge

• MSc/MPhil in a relevant discipline in health and social sciences (e.g., Public Health, Psychology, Social sciences).
• Understanding of health issues, services, and Kenya’s health system
• Training at Master level in health systems research methods. Knowledge of community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods will be an added advantage

Experience

• At least 5 years of hands-on experience implementing mixed methods health systems research. Experience with CBPR methods will be an added advantage
• Experienced and competent in advanced qualitative data analysis using software such as NVivo, Atlas.ti, etc. Experience in quantitative analysis will be an added advantage.
• Experienced and competent in the delivery of implementation science projects in the health sector
• Experience in publishing peer-reviewed articles in academic health systems research journals
• Experience in supervising project teams, including training and mentoring research assistants

Skills & Behaviours

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to communicate in English and Swahili
• Demonstrable attention to detail and accuracy, leading to high-quality research data and results
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to achieve research objectives independent of day-to-day supervision
• Ability to work as an integral, productive, and cooperative member of a multi-disciplinary team
• Excellent communication skills suitable for the management of, and liaison with, a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural, and multinational team
• Ability to work independently and demonstrate the ability to be able to lead others

5. Terms of Employment

This will be an annual renewable year contract as per the LVCT Health scheme of service. The candidate will be on probation for the first three (3) months. Compensation for this position is negotiable within a relevant grade based on educational levels, relevant experience and demonstrated competency.

The successful candidate will be based in the Nairobi LVCT Health office.