Madagascar: Research Manager (Madagascar)

Title: Research Manager
Reports to: Strategic Information Coordinator
Location: Ranomafana, Madagascar
Percentage Effort: Full-time
Key Words: Global health, implementation research, epidemiology, capacity building
Start Date: Fall 2017
Expected Commitment: Minimum of 2 years

Organizational Profile

PIVOT (www.pivotworks.org), a global health care NGO launched in January 2014, has partnered with the government of Madagascar to create a model health district based on principles of health system strengthening. Eleven hours from the capital by car, PIVOT works in the Ifanadiana district, adjacent to Ranomafana National Park with a catchment area of nearly 200,000 people, more than 75 percent of whom live in extreme poverty. PIVOT collaborates directly with the Madagascar Ministry of Health (MoH) to strengthen a district hospital, 20 health centers, and community health programs. PIVOT also benefits from strategic partnerships from mission partner Partners in Health, Centre ValBio at Stony Brook University, Harvard Medical School, and Stanford University. In addition to strengthening the public health system, PIVOT conducts monitoring and evaluation and supports research. Currently PIVOT is a 180-person organization with 6 international staff in Madagascar, and a United States-based headquarters.

Position Overview

PIVOT’s mission is guided by the principle that all people have intrinsic worth and should have the chance to live healthy and productive lives. As a social justice organization working in a setting of extreme poverty and disease, our core objective is to address social inequity by advancing universal access to quality healthcare, while creating a system that can serve as a model for the country. We see the space in which we work as a unique “crucible” for science and innovation in an ecologically important environment. We partner with a distinctive constellation of academic leaders working in a broad range of scientific disciplines.

We promote implementation research of interest to the MoH that can inform health programs or produce lessons for replicating and scaling-up of the model. We also support scientific research on underlying social, economic, and environmental drivers of disease. As a data-driven organization, PIVOT began its work with a 1520 household baseline study, and counts as its data flagship an ongoing longitudinal cohort study to track the population-level effects of our intervention. In addition, our Monitoring and Evaluation team tracks key indicators of every program implemented by PIVOT over time on a regular basis. This provides an opportunity to evaluate programs and address scientific questions with an unprecedented level of detail for a non-profit global health organization.

The research manager will work closely with PIVOT’s leadership, launch and coordinate implementation and clinical research initiatives to evaluate PIVOT interventions, and to serve as the central coordinator for PIVOT’s broad ranging research partnerships. In addition, this person will work to build both internal organizational capacity and national capacity for conducting field-based public health research in Madagascar. He/she will be expected to organize trainings, provide frequent mentorship to Malagasy students and work closely with PIVOT managers to help them evaluate their programs.

PIVOT’s research vision is shaped in partnership with the site by co-founder and current co-CEO Matt Bonds, an economist-ecologist with an applied focus on the role of healthcare and health systems in breaking cycles of poverty and disease (www.bondslab.com)).

Responsibilities:

• Coordinate research projects, including data collection and project management. Create systems and infrastructure to support long- and short-term operational and scientific initiatives and partnerships.
• With the team in Ranomafana, identify opportunities for new operational and clinical research to document implementation of health programs, follow-up on their outcomes, and produce lessons for replicating and scaling PIVOT’s model.
• Elaborate Annual Plan (PTA) for research in harmony with PIVOT’s logic frame.
• Lead the design and development of new operational and clinical research projects of interest to PIVOT and partners. This includes supporting the M&E team in selecting key indicators for use in program evaluation, collecting additional data for research, analyzing data and publishing results in international scientific journals.
• Assist in the development of grant proposals to support PIVOT research/synergistic partnerships.
• Liaise with key partners at the Ministry of Health, Institute of Statistics, national universities and other Malagasy institutions. Foster strong partnerships with foreign university research partners.
• Be a strong research capacity builder and mentor for Malagasy students and research partners.
• Spearhead internal capacity building for research, engaging with staff to provide close mentorship in the execution of research, from study design through to publication.

Qualifications and Competencies

• Graduate degree in epidemiology, biostatistics or other public health related field.
• At least 2 years of experience living and working in a resource-poor, international setting.
• Demonstrated track record in operational research or field epidemiology, including study design, data collection, analysis, and publication.
• French and English language proficiency required including reading, writing and conversing. The office operates in French and interactions with U.S.-based staff and many partners are in English.
• Malagasy language ability considered an extraordinary asset, as is any substantial experience in Madagascar or working with the Malagasy public health system.
• Long-term commitment to living and working in rural Madagascar- minimum of two years. The role requires relocation to Ranomafana full-time. • Experience in mentorship and capacity building.
• Flexibility and aptitude for managing projects across multiple domains. Beyond implementation and clinical research, PIVOT’s research vision is broad and will require a coordinator willing to work with researchers across disciplines, methods, and approaches, including but not limited to infectious disease, economics, ecology, mathematic and statistical modeling, and geography.
• Demonstrated commitment to global health and social justice. It is critically important that the Research Coordinator sees themselves as part of a social justice organization, believes strongly in our work, advocates on behalf of patients, and sees research and data as key to fulfilling our mission.

This is an excellent opportunity for a dynamic, driven and passionate individual to be part of an exciting global health organization that links access to quality health care to research in an ecologically important context.

Please submit your CV and letter of interest to jobs@pivotworks.org before August 15, 2017. Applications will be reviewed and interviews scheduled on a rolling basis. Please refer to the job title in the title of your email. For more information on PIVOT, please visit our website at www.pivotworks.org .