Research Assistant

The Woolcock Institute is lung health research organization, based at Sydney University, Australia (http://www.woolcock.org.au/). The Institute has operated in Vietnam since 2009, and is undertaking large and important operational and epidemiological research projects in collaboration with the National Tuberculosis Program in 9 Provinces, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Research in Vietnam currently focuses on tuberculosis but we anticipate that it will expand into other areas including programmatic management of chronic lung disease (asthma and COPD), air pollution research and preventive interventions that are relevant to lung health. The Woolcock also runs training in epidemiological and operational research methods for Vietnamese doctors and public health workers.

The Woolcock Institute is implementing a research called ACT2G (Two-year follow-up of household contacts and index patients for incident TB) from 2014 to 2015. We are looking for a motivated and skilled people to work with our organization in implementing this major project.

Role:

This person will conduct research into the diagnosis of TB disease, and its risk factors, within a larger tuberculosis screening project in Ca Mau province (the ACT3 study). This person will conduct the follow-up interviews of TB patients diagnosed as part of the ACT3 study and other related studies.

Main duties and Responsibilities:

• Carry out administrative arrangement for the research implementation
• Conduct in-depth interviews with patients with TB using quantitative and qualitative research methods, under the guidance of other researchers in the team.
• Use geographic information system (GIS) technology to collect spatial coordinates of participants in the research.
• Liaise with staff in the NTP throughout the province, to locate and interview TB patients diagnosed within the National Tuberculosis Program (e.g. in district health centres, hospitals)
• Conduct workshops/meetings to educate staff from the NTP about our research project
• Interpret and translate English – Vietnamese to support international experts.
• Prepare monthly project activity reports
• Ensure that invoices and supporting documents are legal and valid according to Vietnam law and the policies of the Woolcock Institute
• Ensure data quality and manage database of the research
• Perform other tasks required for the ACT3 project, as directed by the Senior Research Officer

Required education, skills and qualities

a. Education:

• A bachelor’s degree in public health or another health-related university qualification

b. Professional Experience:

• ? Previous experience in health-related research (desirable, not essential)

c. Skills:

• Good English language skills (the ability to communicate using spoken and written English)
• Ability to work with members of government health services
• Ability to liaise with patients
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment
• Interest in health research and willingness to learn new skills

Application Procedure

Interested applicants should send an application letter together with a CV in English to the following address with the subject title “Research Assistant Application”, no later than August 29, 2014. The detailed Job Description is available upon request. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews. The application will not be returned. Electronic application is acceptable.

Applications should include:

- A cover letter including a response to each of the selection criteria
- A detailed Curriculum Vitae
- The names and contact details of three referees

Send applications by email to

Le Thi Nhung (Ms)
No.4, 97/51 Lane, Van Cao Street, Ba Dinh, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
Fax: (84-4) 3 762 1884
Email: [email protected]