Statistician – IVAC Research Programme Non-profit Jobs – Medical Research Council (MRC) UK / UVRI

  Information Technology (IT) and Data Jobs in Uganda, NGO - Non-Government Organisations Jobs in Uganda, Uncategorized

Organization: Medical
Research Council (MRC) UK / UVRI 
Duty Station: Entebbe,
Uganda
Reports to: 
Head of Statistics & Head of the Immunomodulation and Vaccines research
programme
Position Code:
STAT518
About US:
The MRC/UVRI Uganda
Virus Research Unit on AIDS was established following a request in 1988 from
the Uganda Government to the British Government for collaboration on the
research of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection and AIDS (Acquired
Immunodeficiency. The Unit is a center of excellence in HIV/AIDS related
research. It conducts large-scale epidemiological and intervention studies, clinical
trials, virological and immunological research and behavioural studies, and has
generated a wealth of research results that have been used to inform policy and
practice that have led to a large number of scientific publications in peer
reviewed journals over time.
About the Research Programme:
The principal goal
of the research programme that the post-holder will be working within is to
understand the impact of infection exposure on human immunological programming
and health. Our overarching hypothesis is that chronic and cumulative infection
exposure influences immunological mechanisms through active processes (during
current infection), lasting epigenetic modifications, and genetic selection;
that (therefore) some effects do not immediately respond to treatment; and that
effects critically impact upon major health outcomes including vaccine
responses and susceptibility to pathogens, allergy-related disease and
metabolic conditions. The main focus of our new work is on vaccines, addressing
the role of infectious exposures in population differences in vaccine
immunogenicity. We are also continuing our long-standing programme of
allergy-related and metabolic studies.
Job Summary: The
main responsibilities of the Statistician – IVAC Research Programme will be to
provide statistical support in the design and conduct of clinical trials,
epidemiological studies and community-based interventions carried out by the
programme, and to carry out statistical analysis of data from these projects
and prepare the results for publication. The post holder will be a member of
the Unit’s Statistics and Data Management section which currently has eight
statisticians (including three PhD candidates), and over 30 other data
personnel who work in data management, programming, transcription and
archiving. The section enjoys close links with the Tropical Epidemiology Group
at the London School  of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine and works closely with statisticians and epidemiologists from
this group in London. The post-holder will work closely together with one
senior statistician in particular from this group who has worked together with
the Head of the IVAC Programme for many years. The post-holder will be expected
to make occasional visits to our study clinics, sites and communities and s/he
may occasionally be required to stay overnight at one of our research stations
around Uganda. There may also be occasional travel to take part in conferences
or meeting nationally and internationally. The post holder will also be
encouraged to contribute to the Unit’s training and teaching activities and
will be expected to provide statistical support and advice to the research
programme’s lab technicians, project leaders and PhD candidates.
You will be
responsible to the Head of the Immunomodulation and Vaccines research programme
and the Head of Statistics section.
Key Duties and Responsibilities: 
  • Provide statistical support for studies carried out by the research
    programme, and in particular to assist with issues relating to study
    design, sampling and field procedures, quality control activities, data
    collection and statistical analysis;
  • Work closely with data managers and provide a statistical
    perspective on designing and setting up study databases and data
    processing;
  • Carry out statistical analysis of project-collected data;
  • Actively contribute to the development and preparation of protocols
    and data collection instruments for new research studies;
  • Formulate develop statistical analysis plans for ongoing trials and
    to organise and prepare for milestone events such as database lock,
    unblinding, analysis and reporting;
  • Prepare regular views on study data to help project management teams
    monitor recruitment and other data flows and data quality issues during
    the conduct of a study;
  • Carry out interim analyses for data monitoring committees and trial
    steering committees;
  • Prepare scientific reports and present results in meetings with
    colleagues and collaborators;
  • Actively contribute to scientific articles and prepare
    publication-standard tables and figures;
  • Support and advise project leaders and lab technicians on
    statistical issues as well as other scientists within the Unit as
    appropriate;
  • Perform any other additional tasks as required by the principal
    investigator or Head of Medical Statistics.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
  • The applicant for the Medical Research Council (MRC) UK /
    UVRI Statistician – IVAC Research Programme job placement must hold a
    Master’s degree in statistics (post-graduate qualifications in
    epidemiology, mathematics or equivalent data-related field with a strong
    statistical analysis component will also be considered);
  • Practical experience as an applied medical statistician, including
    with the analysis of large datasets;
  • Strong statistical analysis skills and a good understanding of
    statistical issues in medical research;
  • Strong statistical programming skills using STATA or equivalent
    statistical analysis software;
  • Good computer skills including proficiency with Microsoft Office
    applications and in particular with Excel and Word;
  • Keen attention to detail
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills in English;
  • Strong organisational skills
  • Good team working skills
  • Previous experience in the design and analysis of clinical trials is
    desirable
  • Knowledge or experience of epidemiology and public health.
  • Experience working with specialised database software such as
    OpenClinica, ODK, REDCap, Access or similar;
  • Record of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals;
Personal Competencies:
  • Personal Integrity
  • Emotional Resourcefulness
  • Ability to Learn
  • Forward Thinking
  • Reliability
  • Openness to Others
  • Independence
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Conceptual Thinking
  • Pro-activity
  • Results Orientation
  • Thoroughness
  • Concern for Excellence
  • Flexibility towards Others
  • Service Orientation
  • Development Orientation
  • Ability to Multi – Task
How to Apply:
The candidates
should send their application letters, curriculum vitae including names, email
addresses and telephone contact details of three (3) referees, plus copies of
academic qualifications should be e-mailed to recruitment@mrcuganda.org.
NB: Please quote the following position code in the subject line of the
email: Statistician – STAT518. Please also fill the following online form
accordingly after submitting the application documents on the e-mail
above. Click Here
Address to:
The Human Resource
and Administration Manager
MRC/ UVRI and LSHTM
Uganda Research Unit
P.O. Box, 49
Entebbe.
Uganda
NB: Only
shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews. Note that academic
qualifications will be subjected to verification by the issuing
institutions. Please note that the Unit became part of the London School
of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine effective 1st February 2018.
Deadline: 8th June 2018
For more of the
latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or
find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline



Related Jobs