Somalia: Research Officer - Mogadishu

Background: The International Rescue Committee has been working in Somalia since 2006, providing essential services to conflict and disaster affected communities. The IRC has been operational in Central Somalia (Mudug and Galgadud regions) and Mogadishu implementing interventions in the areas of livelihood, WASH and health reaching out to more than 200,000 conflict and drought affected people.

Summary of Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Health and Nutrition Coordinator (SHNC), and technically coordinating with the M&E Manager in Mogadishu, the Research Officer will be primarily responsible for coordinating, supporting and supervising an operations research study of a new treatment protocol for acute malnutrition. This will entail training of the nutrition clinic staff health facility staff and community health workers), and their follow up to ensure adherence to and implementation of the objectives of the protocol; as well as reporting on research achievements at various stages of the study. The Research Officer will be expected to support daily data entry and carry out quality of care and data quality checks and frequent data audits for completeness and accuracy.

Key Responsibilities:

Project implementation

· Organize and conduct trainings for the nutrition clinic on study protocol and follow up with continuous on the job training (OJT) on the basis of gaps identified

· Support screening and enrollment of participants at the health clinic; if necessary plan and conduct mass MUAC screening of the under-fives towards reaching the required sample size of malnourished children in collaboration with the community health workers (CHWs) and health facility staff

· Assure quality of care of treatment being provided at the clinic, including accuracy of MUAC measurement, edema diagnosis, danger sign assessment, etc.

· Support recruitment of the CHWS, plan and train them on the study protocol and define their roles in the study including screening and referrals, follow up, active case finding and defaulter tracing, when necessary or if the cases enrolled for the study are declining

· Daily supervision of the health facility staff at the study while recruiting participants to the study, as per the defined criteria; obtain informed consent from caregivers to collect and store personal information

· In collaboration with the medical staff and community health workers, follow up on progress of the participants in response to the treatment, referrals and discharges at the health facility level; with the CHWs, schedule and support follow up of participants at household level on protocol adherence as well as trace defaulted participants.

· In collaboration with the M&E Manager, establish and maintain databases of all the information as defined in the protocol collected from the participants for analysis and reporting; support daily data entry and carry out quality checks; perform periodic data audits for completeness and accuracy

· Monitor RUTF supplies, medical supplies, equipment and stationery used in the study to ensure adequacy for the same and provides updates on stock status accordingly

· Identify and either assist in or conduct interviews with key stakeholders, schedule and support data collection from them

· Conduct weekly and monthly review on progress, challenges experiences and if need be re-strategize accordingly with the CHWS and the health facility staff

· Provide daily updates on progress as well as challenges experienced and measures put in place to ensure successful implementation of the protocol.

· Report to the supervisor any concerns or negative events that occur related to the study in a prompt and transparent manner

Communication

· Communicate daily at the start of the study and weekly later on with the Principal Investigator of the study on study progress

· Document lessons learnt and best practices during the study and communicate the same accordingly in relevant forums

· Maintain a professional relationship with the nutrition clinic staff to effectively communicate the study protocol procedures and CMAM best practices where appropriate

· Provide scheduled updates on progress as well as challenges experienced and measures put in place to ensure successful implementation of the protocol

· Attend scheduled research team meetings and one-on-one meetings with the supervisor

· Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Reporting and Coordination

· Coordination, implementation and support supervision of the implementation of the study protocol

· In collaboration with the research team, schedule and conduct sensitization meetings with MoH Officials and other implementing partners on the study protocol at the district level

· Coordinate meetings with IRC and district MoH officials to update on study progress and share interim results

· Represent IRC in nutrition coordination meetings at the regional level to provide updates on the progress and share any lessons learnt and best practices

· Work with the nutrition clinic staff, MOH and local community leaders to acquire community-level consent prior to the start of the study.

Required qualifications

· Bachelor degree/Diploma in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics from a recognized University or any other health related field.

· Should have a strong M&E and IMAM/CMAM background.

· Highly preferred: demonstrates an active commitment to research – either through their own studies or previous experience of conducting similar related studies

· Trained on integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) and demonstrate understanding of IMAM protocols.

Required Experience & Competencies:

· Strong understanding of CMAM required, with at least 2 year’s experience in CMAM programming both at health facility and community level including supply handling and reporting

· At least 2 years’ experience working in Somalia with government health workers, other implementing partners and with the community

· Experience in conducting CMAM/IMAM trainings for the different target groups including community health workers both classroom and OJT

· Strong knowledge and skills in the use of excel and can type functionally

· Demonstrated ability to work independently and with a high degree of creativity

· Experience in data collection entry including quality checks for both quantitative and qualitative data

· Experience in nutrition survey and assessments especially in data management including quality is desirable

· Must be a strong team player and result oriented with ability to work independently with minimal supervision

· Experience of working in networks and building strong working relationships with a range of stakeholders

· Fluent in written and spoken English and Somali languages.

To apply for this job, visit the IRC careers page on:www.rescue.org/careers

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling in basis. Application deadline is 06th November 2017.