Senior Project Coordinator

Position: Senior Project Coordinator
Department: Public Engagement Group
Location: This position will be based in Ho Chi Minh City
Hours of work: Full time Monday – Friday, 37.5 hours per week, extra hours may be required including travel and overnight stays regionally.
Tenure: Initially for 01 year, including a 02 month probation period, with possibility of extension based on annual performance appraisal and research approval
Reporting to: Head of PCE – Dr Mary Chambers
Vacancy reference: JD-1220-030

Background

The Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) is a large-scale clinical and public health research unit, with sites offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam, Jakarta in Indonesia and Kathmandu in Nepal. In Vietnam, we are hosted by the Hospital of Tropical Diseases (HTD) in Ho Chi Minh City, and the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases (NHTD) in Hanoi. OUCRU-Nepal is hosted by the Patan Academy of Health Sciences, and in Indonesia we exist in partnership with the Eijkman Institute as the Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Programme (EOCRU). As a Wellcome Trust Africa Asia Programme, we have received considerable support from the Wellcome Trust since our establishment in 1991.

OUCRU’s vision is to have local, regional and global impact on health by leading a locally driven research programme on infectious diseases in Southeast Asia. Priority is given to health issues important to the hospitals where we work, and to the countries as a whole where we operate: Vietnam, Indonesia and Nepal. All work is intended not only to benefit the patients seen daily at our host hospitals, but also to help improve patient care throughout Southeast Asia.

Dedicated to research excellence, OUCRU has a commitment to promote its research findings internationally and locally in Vietnam. OUCRU has a dedicated Public Engagement team responsible for promoting the image and science of OUCRU in Vietnam, and designing and implementing training and public engagement activities. These range from workshops in rural farming communities, theatre shows with a health message in local primary schools to running training projectss and promoting collaborations with universities and research institutes in Vietnam.

OUCRU has a research and engagement interest around vaccination uptake, in the context of underserved communities and understanding vaccine hesitancy. In Vietnam, this focus has been on rural communities where there are many barriers to accessing vaccines, and challenges for the health staff who work in the national vaccine programme. It is particularly important to address these challenges in light of the delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine.

OUCRU employs approximately 320 people across Viet Nam and has an average annual budget of USD 12mil.

Please see more information on OUCRU Website: www.oucru.org

Job summary

• You will be responsible for leading Community Engagement projects, working closely with healthcare workers, heath researchers, clinicians, engagement practitioners on the following:
• Capacity building for health workers and health volunteers provincial partners (Dak Lak CDC) through the development of appropriate training curriculum, materials and provision of training;
• Development of health messaging tools and methods of community engagement - with a focus on the national vaccination programme in rural areas;
• Involvement in activities for wider engagement with HCWs in Vietnam, particularly using online platforms.
• Engagement activities to support Healthcare Workers at our host institute the Hospital for Tropical Disease;

Key responsibilities and tasks

Capacity building for rural healthcare workers:

• Lead formative research and data analysis to understand training needs for target audiences
• Consult with local partners (CDC Dak Lak and HTD) regarding training requirements.
• Collaboratively develop curriculum for healthcare workers and hamlet-level health volunteers, with focus on communication skills, health messaging (specifically around vaccines), community engagement, and TOT skills.
• Conduct TOT training for healthcare workers responsible for training the hamlet-level health volunteers on above listed skills utilizing participatory methods.
• Evaluate curriculum content and delivery and modify as required.
• Provide supervision and guidance to TOT participants on their training capacities.
• Meet reporting and budget management requirements

Vaccination health messaging and community engagement:

• Coordinate consultations with health staff and key stakeholders from the CDC Dak Lak, other local district health workers, and community members to develop strategies for community engagement and health messaging on vaccines and vaccine uptake.
• Coordinate development of health messaging tools and educational material in conjunction with local partners which are accessible in local ethnic minority languages and appropriate for those with low literacy levels.
• Develop implementation plan in collaboration with local partners.
• Delivery of project activities in collaboration with local partners and relevant stakeholders.
• Evaluation of implementation of projects, and providing recommendations to local partners for future implementation projects
• Meet reporting and budgetary management requirements.

Other tasks:

• Be responsible for organization and logistics arrangements of project activities in charge
• Annual reporting requirements for OUCRU and funding partners.
• Produce an evidence-based report and recommendations about the vaccine training project which can be presented to promote the use of the training scheme in other provinces.
• Where the applicant is unfamiliar with the job they may be required to spend time learning the fundamental aspects of this discipline.
• Other tasks requested by Line Managers

Selection criteria

Essential criteria:

• BSc, BA (Public health, Social Sciences or associated subject ) or higher degree;
• Excellent spoken and written Vietnamese and English;
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills in cross-cultural settings essential;
• 3 years minimum experience in development of TOT training and/or community engagement approaches and/or facilitating group activities;
• Experience of using qualitative research methods and analyzing data;
• Experience in evaluating community interventions;
• Experience in working with communities /public;
• Highly organized;
• Ability to work with a high degree of autonomy, and yet be a team player;
• Willingness to perform other tasks requested by Head of PE

Preferred criteria:

• Experience in conducting desk research and mapping training resources
• Experience in conducting and analyzing evaluation activities
• Experience in report writing in English
• Experience with rural and /or ethnic minority communities
• Experience in developing health messages

Benefits

• Contracted salary: Negotiable (depending on actual experience and education).
• Optional insurance: In-patient and out-patient medical coverage; Personal accident insurance coverage
• Two months’ salary for annual bonus and clothes
• Annual leave 18 days each year for the first year
• Other responsibilities and benefits are based on Viet Nam Labour Law.

How to apply

Interested qualified candidates are invited to send their detailed resume and cover letter in English, including copies of relevant degrees, certificates, either by email or by post to the following address:

Oxford University Clinical Research Unit
Laboratory of Clinical Science
Hospital for Tropical Diseases
764 Vo Van Kiet, Ward 1, District 5, HCMC
Tel: 39237954
Email: [email protected]

The cover letter should detail:

What do you think ‘community engagement’ involves?
What part of your education, training or employment history has best equipped you for this position?

*** We thank all candidates for their interest but only short-listed applicants will be notified for interview.

Contact person: Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Phuc

Deadline for submission:  24 February 2021