Operations Research and Ethics Consultant

Project Overview and Role:

In April 2019, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded the implementation of the Translating Data for Implementation (Data.FI) cooperative agreement to a consortium led by Palladium. Data.FI is a $180 million, 5-year project which will serve as USAID's primary mechanism for data, technology, and health information systems to support HIV activities across strategic President's Emergency Program for AIDSRelief (PEPFAR) countries as part of a suite of large-scale global HIV programs representing the next generation of HIV/AIDS programs. The project will play a key role in USAID's goals of helping partner countries on their journey to self-reliance and transitioning local organizations to prime recipients of US Government funding.

The project's overall goal is to improve in-depth global, regional, and national analyses of HIV epidemiologic and program data that can be directly applied to expedite the achievement of PEPFAR targets to attain and sustain control of the HIV epidemic. The focus also includes directly supporting host country governments and implementing partners to enhance existing health information system platforms further to inform management responses to well-defined HIV/AIDS programming gaps. To ensure rapid access to high-quality data, Data.FI is working towards accelerating data utilization to rapidly course-correct and take to scale cost-effective and impactful activities, models, and approaches required to attain and maintain HIV epidemic control; scaling and optimizing in-country health information system capabilities to collect, exchange, adapt, govern, and visualize information to track the attainment and maintenance of HIV epidemic control, and supporting the transition of prime funding and implementation to capable local partners.

Purpose of Position

Palladium/Data.FI is seeking an Operations Research and Ethics Consultant to support the project’s activity providing technical assistance for strengthening Operations Research and Ethics Advisory Committees (OREACs) in Taraba and Akwa Ibom States and strengthening the capacity of OREAC members in these states to promote ethical conduct of research and protection of human subjects of research.

 Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

•Conduct a needs assessment to inform the establishment/strengthening of the institutional OREACs in Taraba and Akwa Ibom States
•Propose key activities to strengthen the capacity of members and make the OREAC functional optimally in each state
•Support, as required, National Health Research and Ethics Committee (NHREC) trainings of OREAC members and facilitate their registration/re-registration with NHREC
•Support the OREACs to review and identify priority health research areas for the state to guide conduct of research by individuals and organizations in the state
•Support the OREACs to establish a system of research protocol submission, review, approval and archival to promote ethical conduct of health research in the state
•Support in-house trainings on key aspects of ethics in health research for OREACs in the two states
•Support the Committees in the technical review of research protocols submitted to it by individuals and organizations
•Support the conduct of monthly OREAC review meetings 
•Support the Committees in their roles in creating awareness on ethical conduct of health research among the community of practice

Required Qualifications:

 •Master’s degree or Doctorate in Public Health or other health related fields with training in public health research and other types of research involving human subjects
•Minimum of 5 years’ experience conducting research involving human subjects and working with and mentoring health research ethics committees
•Thorough knowledge of all aspects of research design, implementation, and dissemination
•Experience training and mentoring senior public officials on research and research ethics
•Strong interpersonal skills and proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships among teams and organizations
•Excellent written and verbal skills in English; ability to communicate technical information to audiences with varying levels of technical expertise

Company Overview:

About Palladium - Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world's most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people's lives.