Research Project Manager

Location: Abuja (FCT)

Scope of work

• The PRM will be responsible for providing direct management support required for operational research to the programme and projects co-delivered, co-implemented or integrated with the SMC platform in all the nine PF supported states and even beyond.

Key working relationships

• The PRM will report to the Programme Director (PD), and will work closely with the Technical Unit of the programme and MC.
• The position holder will support as may be required, the recruitment process and maintenance of a network of data collectors, supervisors, researchers, institutions and firms in SMC supported states and research advisors from the academia as may be required.

Key accountabilities (percent of time spent on each area)
Operational Research Support (70%):

• Support the coordination of the implementation of in-country dissemination and research uptake activity plans, such as stakeholder consultations, media engagements, and country specific project learning outputs.
• Line-manage the programme Research team in the day-to-day preparations towards actual rollout of research activities, implementation and supervision of research activities in SMC states.
• Support the review and contribute to strong research concept notes as required, in collaboration with the Operations Research Specialist (ORS), Country Office and UK teams.
• Extract lessons and ideas from findings of relevant Malaria Consortium/non research for programme improvement and/or business development and share with the Programme Director (PD).
• Provide effective programme management to the research portfolio of the PF/SMC programme and other projects co-implemented/delivered or integrated on the SMC platform.
• Oversee effective planning and management quality implementation of the research agenda for SMC and allied projects.

Research Implementation and Budget Management (10%):

• Contribute to the development of the annual OR budget and forecasts; and support the PD in budget management/implementation, tracking and reforecasting.
• Support the development and approval of specific activity budgets for timely research activities.
• Manage the budget of research activities and obtain the required support documents to enable timely payments and allowable burn/spend rates.

Capacity building and institutional strengthening (10%):

• Participate in the Country Office platforms for internal learning and cross-learning among teams.
• Support and participate in building project capacity in operational research, mainly in the NMEP and SMEPs but also where appropriate within SMC team.
• In liaison with the PD, SCTC, TS and ORS, support capacity building initiatives of the project’s Research team and contribute to the organisation’s strategic objectives.

External Representation and Safeguarding (10%):

• As may be directed and/or in collaboration with the ORS, participate in national or regional technical working groups as relevant and/or directed.
• Support the synthesis of research, survey, study and evaluation findings into short, relevant briefs for policy makers and donors.
• Support the compliance of all research, survey, study and evaluation activities implementers to Malaria safeguarding policy, guidelines and practices.

Person specification
Essential:

• Demonstrated experience of working in a team of experts delivering specialized technical assistance (TA) services.
• Postgraduate Degree in Public Health, Global Health, Epidemiology or a related research discipline.
• Good qualitative and quantitative data analysis skills.
• Experience in setting up standards of quality as well as internal quality assurance mechanisms.
• Familiarity with Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) in low- and medium-income countries e.g. DHIS2.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a programme management position.
• Strong skills in communicating scientific / development research to non-research audiences.
• 12 -15 years post qualification with an excellent understanding of operational research, survey, study and evaluation approaches, especially for malaria.
• Substantial hands-on experience in research project management, with at least 2 years in similar roles.

Desirable:

• Experience in working effectively with government and non-government partners.
• Significant knowledge in communicable disease control, particularly malaria.

Work-based skills
Essential:

• Able to travel to SMC supported states to oversee OR, survey, study, evaluation activities or other data collection activities.
• Computer literacy, including high degree of skills in MS Office and Stata.
• Proven ability in transferring skills, particularly working with government and nongovernment colleagues.
• Demonstrated verbal and written communication and presentation skills.
• Excellent command of English with exceptional writing and communication skills and the ability to present information in clear, concise, and compelling ways.
• Practical organizational skills with the ability to manage a fluctuating workload, prioritize and re-prioritize when necessary and meet tight deadlines.
• Results-oriented attitude to work.
• Excellent statistical analysis skills including familiarity with software such as STATA, or Statgraphics, CSPro, Atlas.ti, and NVIVO.
• Expert competency level in reviewing, understanding and synthesizing data for sharing with wider audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as collaboratively on a team, particularly with Ministries of Health and/or other government sectors and partners.