Research Officer

VACANCY

JOB TITLE: Research Officer - CLICK HERE FOR VIETNAMESE

POSITION SUMMARY:

Location:                     Ha Noi
Employment Type:       Fulltime (100% FTE)
Duration:                    01 year (extension to be based on performance and availability of funds)
Travel requirements:    Frequent travel to districts within Ha Noi

BACKGROUND:

FIT VN is a registered non-profit organization working in the field of tuberculosis (TB) prevention and care, service delivery, research, technical assistance and advocacy. FIT is a young, dynamic and growing organization. FIT now has office-based staff working across five cities in Viet Nam. We work in close collaboration with Provincial and National TB Programs and other in-country partners to implement projects funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program, the Stop TB Partnership’s TB REACH initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNITAID and Johnson & Johnson. We have also had multiple active research partnerships, including with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the UK, the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation in the Netherlands, and Ceres Nanosciences and SureAdhere Mobile Technology in the United States. FIT staff have supported the implementation of other TB programs in South and Southeast Asia and represented Viet Nam at multiple regional and international forums on TB technical assistance. Finally, FIT was chosen to represent civil society organizations from Viet Nam at regional events and at multiple events in the lead up to and during the United Nations High Level Meeting on TB in New York City.

In collaboration with the National TB Control Program (NTP), FIT is helping to build a comprehensive Search-Treat-Prevent TB program across five cities in Viet Nam (Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Hoi An, Can Tho) and several island and remote communities. In the short term, we are aiming to 1) increase TB detection and treatment in key populations, such as household contacts, children, and people visiting private healthcare providers; 2) provide social support and adherence monitoring options to improve TB treatment outcomes; and 3) scale up TB infection screening and treatment services. We hope these efforts will lead to declines in Viet Nam’s TB burden over the medium and long term.

Our organization is growing quickly, and we are searching for a highly qualified, independent, experienced and motivated Research Officer to support our project activities. For additional information please refer to our website: www.tbhelp.org

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

Main activities

• Engage with relevant stakeholders at the Community level, study participants, and contacts.
• Solicit support from local stakeholders to recruit and train community health workers (CHW) in the wards in which study participants reside for treatment support throughout the course of the study.
• Train TB staff at District TB Units to perform project/study-related activities.
• Develop Standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training materials as required.
• Obtain weekly Xpert MTB/RIF as well as Xpert MTB/XDR results for all machines placed at District TB Units (DTUs), and Basic management units (BMUs) around Hanoi.
• Obtain registered paper photos as well as DS-TB and DR-TB data from all district TB Units (DTUs), Basic management units (BMUs) in Hanoi
• Conduct pre-screening and contact investigation for all patients with a rifampicin-resistance result on Xpert.
• Follow-up and manage the screening activity for all patients with a rifampicin-resistance result on Xpert.
• Obtain first-level consent from eligible candidates prior to referring them to Hanoi Lung Hospital and National Lung Hospital.
• Monitor pre-/screening, testing procedures, and referral of TB patients from the district TB Unit to Hanoi Lung Hospital and National Lung Hospital
• Follow-up with TB officers to ensure that all persons eligible for Xpert will be tested at the District TB Units with Xpert capacity diligently.
• Follow-up with participants, commune TB officers, District TB Unit, and province-level staff on the status of referrals of potential participants.
• Coordinate with commune health station TB officers and community members to provide contact investigation and adherence support.
• Ensure the provision of treatment support consisting of people follow-up via in-person visits or phone of at least once a week.
• Monitor trial participants’ interactions to ensure that they are followed up daily by Community Health Workers
• Support treatment follow-up and missed doses should be notified within 24 hours to the DTU study, DOT staff, and site coordinator.
• Work with Community Health Workers to conduct household visits for all the study participants to provide adherence counseling, contact tracing, and observe evening doses on days off.
• Collaborate with Community Health Workers, TB officers, and DTU on case management for each participant managed for the entire duration of treatment.
• Support and monitor the administration of evening/weekend doses as per protocol.
• Support trial participants to buy social health insurance and access other social support packages
• Enter all the study data into the data management software systems.
• Weekly and monthly reports as required.
• Complete monthly financial reports related to the project/ study
• Support other work as required by the study and site coordinator.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in a field related to health, epidemiology, development, or management is required
• At least 2 years of experience working in non-profit organizations, preferably for health-related programs/projects
• Experience effectively engaging with government health entities
• Experience engaging with community healthcare workers
• Strong organizational and work prioritization skills, attention to detail
• Strong verbal and written communications skills
• Good attitude, self-motivated, and ability to work well individually as well as in teams
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office software
• Fluency in Vietnamese is required
• Some knowledge of English is preferred, but not required

APPLICATIONS SHOULD INCLUDE:

• A cover letter
• A detailed Curriculum Vitae
• At least two employment references (Name, Phone Number, Email Address)

SUBMIT AN APPLICATION:

• By e-mail to [email protected]
• Subject: “Application for Research Officer in HN”
• No later than 31 March 2023

Compensation and the final position grade will be commensurate with experience. Full benefits will be included in the compensation package. All applications will be carefully considered, but only short-listed applicants will be contacted and interviewed. If you do not hear from us within 21 days of the closing date, this will mean that your application has been unsuccessful.

FIT is an equal opportunity employer.