FIELD RESEARCH COORDINATOR, RELAPSE STUDY/2695
Duration : 20 months
Start date : November 1, 2019

You'll contribute to ending world hunger by ...

Action Against Hunger has received a two-year contract from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) for the Identifying the Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Relapse after Recovery from Severe Acute Malnutrition Globally project. The project is led by Action Against Hunger, in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

The goal of this research project is to measure relapse rates among children who are discharged from outpatient therapeutic programs (OTP) following successful treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM).  In addition to measuring relapse to SAM, the project aims to better understand overall child health and nutrition outcomes during the year following SAM treatment (e.g. linear growth, illness, relapse to moderate acute malnutrition [MAM]).  Secondary outcomes will also include exploring the programmatic costs associated with relapse as well as individual-level and programmatic-level risk factors associated with relapse, in particular WASH-related risk factors. The study will be implemented in four different countries – Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Somalia. 

The Field Research Coordinator in each country will be primarily responsible for implementing the data collection processes as described in the study protocol.  They will be the main in-country point of contact for all matters related to the study.

Key activities in your role will include

Objective 1:  The Field Research Coordinator will be based in the field and serve as the main point-of-contact in-country for all elements of the project. Potential responsibilities in this role include:

  • Serve as the in-country point of contact achieve in-country IRB approval (with support from ACF-USA and implementing NGO support).
  • Coordinate closely with the PI by participating in regular (weekly/bi-weekly) calls with the PI to communicate progress in recruitment, enrollment, and completion of follow-up visits by participants, as well as submitting weekly reports regarding data collection and study activities.

Objective 2: The Field Research coordinator will have primary responsibility for the collection of data for the project, as well as maintaining overall data quality. Responsibilities include:

  • Train and manage all data collectors. 
  • Oversee proper informed consent process by data collectors.
  • Ensure quality of data collection and fidelity of study protocol implementation.
  • Work closely with community health workers / volunteers (CHW/Vs) as well as CMAM clinic staff to identify and enroll participants.
  • Track enrollment progression of both post-SAM children and non-SAM children.
  • Enter all data into electronic data bases and reconcile any data entry errors with original hard copy forms.
  • Track participant completion of follow-up appointments and manage the CHWs who travel to the field to encourage caregivers to return to the clinic for their follow-up visit.
  • Oversee anthropometric measurements by data collectors and OTP clinic staff during follow-up visits to ensure accuracy in data.
  • Oversee household surveys, water sample collection and analysis, and ensure compliance with study protocols.
  • Collaborate closely with AAH Nutrition and WASH Heads of Departments.
  • Collaborate closely with OTP clinic staff to obtain OTP clinic data of each post-SAM participant and transfer data from clinic forms into electronic database for the research project.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.

Do you meet the profile required criteria?

The ideal candidate will have experience working in research projects and/or monitoring and evaluation in the field. We are seeking an individual who is adept at following study protocols, who has good judgment and problem-solving skills, and has strong communication skills and documentation habits. The person needs to have well-developed interpersonal skills (to be able to develop good rapport with data collectors and other in-country stakeholders) and be familiar with Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programming.

  • At least a master’s degree from an accredited college or university in a major such as social or health science with 2 years relevant experience in the field; OR a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a major such as social or health science with 5 years relevant experience in the field.
  • Experience organizing and participating in field-level data collection as part of a research study or program monitoring and evaluation.
  • Training in and proven knowledge around nutrition programming in low-income countries;
  • Knowledge of MS Office Suite required and comfortable working with computers with minimal IT support.
  • Experience with mobile data collection tools (eg Kobo) (preferred but not required).
  • Ability to live and work in a developing country with travel to remote locations for the duration of data collection.
  • Fluent in English and French is a requirement.
  • Proven experience with field work, preferably in Mali.
  • Possess strong organizational skills, attention to detail.
  • Possess significant team management skills.
  • Ability to take initiative and prioritize multiple tasks with minimum supervision.
  • Genuine interest in and commitment to the mission and principles of Action Against Hunger.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work both independently and as a member of a team.

Our remuneration package:

We offer the incorporation to a dynamic international network with the following remuneration package:

  • Formal Work Contract duration: 20 months (possibility of 3 months renewal depending on funding).
  • Base: Kayes, Mali
  • Compensation package:  from  29.424,0 € to 36.024,0 € gross/year divided in 12 payments and based on experience and context. This salary includes a base salary + context plus + living expenses and per Diem in local currency subject to unexpected changes in currency exchange)
  • Per diem and living expenses
  • Guest House or similar accommodation covered by the organization
  • Travel costs to and from the mission.
  • Expat Health, repatriation, travel and life insurance covered by the organization
  • Extra per month and per child (Under 18 years old): from 100€ to 225€ monthly (according to standard list of Action against Hunger -Spain).
  • Break: additional rest period, including travel cost to a reference area and economic help of 215€.
  • 25 working days of paid leave per year.

To apply, please click on this link to be taken to the application page:

https://employ.acf-e.org/index.php/positions/view/2695/FIELD-RESEARCH-COORDINATOR-RELAPSE-STUDY/ 

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