Fresh Job Opportunities at KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation (KNCV)

KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation (KNCV) is the principal international non-profit organization exclusively dedicated to fighting tuberculosis (TB) worldwide and to strengthening health systems against TB, globally and locally. KNCV is an international center of expertise for TB control that stimulates effective, efficient and sustainable tuberculosis control strategies in national and international contexts. We are an organization of passionate TB professionals; this includes doctors, researchers, training experts, nurses and epidemiologists.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Statistician/Epidemiologist

Location: Lagos, Nigeria 
Job Duration: 6 months (50% FTE) 
Reports to: Dr. Adebukola Agnes Adegbola (Line Manager), Ellen Mitchell (technical) 

Challenge TB 
KNCV is the lead partner in Challenge TB (CTB), the new USAID-funded 5-year global program to decrease TB mortality and morbidity in high burdened countries. We lead an international consortium with eight partner organizations: American Thoracic Society (ATS), FHI 360, Interactive Research & Development (IRD), Japan Anti Tuberculosis Foundation (JATA), Management Sciences for Health (MSH), PATH, The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), and the World Health Organization (WHO). 

The overarching strategic objectives of Challenge TB are to improve access to quality patient centered care for TB, TB/HIV, and MDR-TB services; to prevent transmission and disease progression; and to strengthen TB platforms. 

Study Description

• In the past 10 years, inventory studies have been implemented in the Netherlands, the UK, French Guiana, Egypt, Yemen, and Iraq. Inventory studies can help to plan and implement strategies to better engage the private sector in TB care.
• Lagos has a dynamic private health sector which plays an important role in TB diagnosis and treatment.
• The sector has not been sufficiently enticed to contribute consistently to the notification of TB cases as required by law. A study is planned to identify the magnitude of under-reporting in both the public and private sectors, and to identify effective strategies to catalyze timely notification.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for development and implementation of the Statistical Analysis Plan (SAP) in alignment with WHO guidance.
• Responsible for ensuring appropriate sampling, stratification, and randomization.
• Responsible for identifying flaws, biases, logic, linkage, and merge errors in statistical data through routine scrutiny.

Activities:

• Development and implementation and management of Statistical Analysis Plan (SAP) in coordination with international technical advisors.
• Engage with the ethical review boards and technical advisors to ensure smooth progress.
• Assess bias in recruitment, and recommend ways to address if required.
• Draft syntax to permit the calculation of notification rates, completeness rates, matching rates, under and over reporting, and their confidence 95% intervals (CI).
• Conduct routine logic checks of the data and alert the team (in writing) to any and all data quality challenges.
• Verify during the analysis stage whether survey data are self-weighting and perform any corrections that may be required given the actual size of various clusters and the current population. Adjust estimates to take into account cluster sampling
• Conduct intermediate analysis of preliminary merges of all registered TB case lists to detect and correct inconsistencies and errors, flag issues promptly, and provide interim reports to various stakeholders.-
• Create tables, graphs, and models, for presentation
• Liaise with HQ staff to ensure per-protocol sampling, stratification, and analysis.
• Represent the study in international data analysis workshops if required.
• Work closely with IT / Data Management consultant and Clinical Coordinator

Technical Qualifications

• PhD in Statistics, Epidemiology, or Mathematics.
• Demonstrated competence in (bio)statistics, survey methodology, stratification, sampling, weighting, matching, randomization, etc..
• Demonstrated competence in TB/HIV epidemiology.
• Demonstrated competence in data managerial software like MS Access, SQL, Epi-Data, Link Plus or any other applicable software program
• Demonstrated competence in use of statistical software like STATA, R+,etc.
• Expertise in the management of missing data particularly via multiple imputation (or willingness to learn).
• Knowledge of GIS and mapping programs.
• Demonstrated Proficiency in written and spoken English and another Nigerian language.

Behavioral Competencies:

• Ability to work closely with a wide range of stakeholders in a respectful manner.
• Ability to plan realistically in order to adhere to timelines and hit deadlines.
• Willingness to spend some time in the field for any final data collection.
• Enjoys challenges

Start Date
1st June, 2016 


Job Title: Senior Information Technology/Data Manager

Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Job Duration: 7 months (100% FTE) 
Reports to: Dr. Adebukola Agnes Adegbola (Line Manager), Ellen Mitchell (technical)

Challenge TB

• KNCV is the lead partner in Challenge TB (CTB), the new USAID-funded 5-year global program to decrease TB mortality and morbidity in high burdened countries.
• We lead an international consortium with eight partner organizations: American Thoracic Society (ATS), FHI 360, Interactive Research & Development (IRD), Japan Anti Tuberculosis Foundation (JATA), Management Sciences for Health (MSH), PATH.
• The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
• The overarching strategic objectives of Challenge TB are to improve access to quality patient centered care for TB, TB/HIV, and MDR-TB services; to prevent transmission and disease progression; and to strengthen TB platforms.
• Study Description: In the past 10 years, inventory studies have been implemented in the Netherlands, the UK, French Guiana, Egypt, Yemen, and Iraq.
• Inventory studies can help to plan and implement strategies to better engage the private sector in TB care.
• Lagos has a dynamic private health sector which plays an important role in TB diagnosis and treatment.
• The sector has not been sufficiently enticed to contribute consistently to the notification of TB cases as required by law.
• A study is planned to identify the magnitude of under-reporting in both the public and private sectors, and to identify effective strategies to catalyze timely notification.

Responsibilities

• To verify the accuracy public and private sampling frames.
• To develop and implement an acceptable strategy for digitizing paper-based records.
• To perform probabilistic and deterministic matching to compare official surveillance data with facility-based data.
• To quantify the extent of over and under reporting through assessment of the quality and quantity of notification at the facility, LGA, and sector level.
• To develop an electronic recording and reporting system (e.g. SMS or web-based) for private providers.

Activities:

• To coordinate the digitizing of data at facility level with stakeholder approval and without disrupting services.
• To develop data collection tools for the study
• To work with TB program staff to simplify the process of reporting cases and outcomes for private and public providers.
• To provide training in use of TB recording and reporting systems
• To produce GIS maps of facilities to assist program staff to reach and engage private and public providers.
• To develop data management SOPs for the study.

Technical Qualifications

• MS in Statistics, Information technology, Informatics, Computer Science or Mathematics.
• Familiarity with capture-recapture methods
• Demonstrated experience in probabilistic (fuzzy) and deterministic matching methods for database de-duplification, merging, and appending
• Basic understanding of statistics, survey methodology, stratification, sampling, weighting, randomization, etc.
• Solid understanding of TB surveillance, including quarterly recording and reporting
• Demonstrated competence in relational database management in software like MS Access, SQL, Epi Data, Link Plus, Red Cap, FoxPro or any other applicable software program
• Demonstrated competence in use of statistical software like STATA, R+,etc.
• Expertise in the management of missing data particularly via multiple imputation.
• Knowledge of GIS and mapping programs.
• Demonstrated Proficiency in written and spoken English and one other Nigerian language.

Behavioral Competencies

• Ability to work closely with a wide range of stakeholders in a respectful manner.
• Ability to plan realistically in order to adhere to timelines and hit deadlines.
• Willingness to spend 25% of the time in the field during data collection.
• Enjoys challenges

Job Title: Study Clinical Coordinator

Location: Lagos
Job Duration: 7 months (100% FTE) 
Reports to: Dr. Adebukola Agnes Adegbola (Line Manager), Ellen Mitchell (technical) 
Start Date: As soon as possible; preferably March 1, 2016 

Challenge TB 
KNCV is the lead partner in Challenge TB (CTB), the new USAID-funded 5-year global program to decrease TB mortality and morbidity in high burdened countries. We lead an international consortium with eight partner organizations: American Thoracic Society (ATS), FHI 360, Interactive Research & Development (IRD), Japan Anti Tuberculosis Foundation (JATA), Management Sciences for Health (MSH), PATH, The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), and the World Health Organization (WHO). 

The overarching strategic objectives of Challenge TB are to improve access to quality patient centered care for TB, TB/HIV, and MDR-TB services; to prevent transmission and disease progression; and to strengthen TB platforms. 

Study Description

• In the past 10 years, inventory studies have been implemented in the Netherlands, the UK, French Guiana, Egypt, Yemen, and Iraq. Inventory studies can help to plan and implement strategies to better engage the private sector in TB care. Lagos has a dynamic private health sector which plays an important role in TB diagnosis and treatment. The sector has not been sufficiently enticed to contribute consistently to the notification of TB cases as required by law. A study is planned to identify the magnitude of under-reporting in both the public and private sectors, and to identify effective strategies to catalyze timely notification.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for partner engagement and coordination
• Responsible for study design and protocol development in collaboration with the study statistician.
• Responsible for the development, production, pre-testing, validation, and distribution of all study instruments – including registers.
• Responsible for coordinating with STBCO, ARFH, GFATM, KNCV, LGA TB Officers, field supervisors to ensure complete coverage of TB recording tools (registers, quarterly reporting forms).
• Responsible for the accurate and timely field collection of TB data.
• Ensures compliance with regulations and guidelines of the Nigerian TB Program, National Bioethics Committee, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), WHO, and Ministry of Health.
• Responsible for ensuring the quality of technical performance of all field staff
• Responsible for quality of participants’ study experience -minimizing risks and maximizing benefits for public and private providers – reducing reporting burden
• Responsible for leveraging evidence-based behavioral theory to develop strategies to encourage complete notification.

Activities:

• Engages private sector leadership to understand and support the aims of the study.
• Ensures generation of training materials for recording and reporting according to national guidelines.
• Coordinates all training to competency of field procedures – including consenting, field digitalization, interviewer standardization, reporting requirements.
• Develops study SOPS and ensures effective implementation
• Provides training and supportive supervision to field staff.
• Coordinates with local TB and HIV services to ensure contact investigation, case notification, and collection of treatment outcomes,
• Assesses monitoring reports from external technical consultants and responds to recommendations in a timely manner.

Technical Qualifications

• Medical degree, Public Health degree and/or Laboratory Microbiological Training.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the Nigerian health system and TB/HIV diagnostic and treatment services in Lagos
• Keen understanding of the Lagos private sector
• A minimum of 2 years’ experience in the field of research implementation
• Training and certification in Research Ethics and Good Clinical Practice (GCP),
• Demonstrated understanding of TB pathology, diagnosis, prevention, screening, treatment, symptomology, risk factors, and risk groups.
• Demonstrated understanding of use of digital chest radiography in TB
• Demonstrated understanding of TB laboratory diagnostic procedures, specifically solid culture, GeneXpert technology, and microscopy.
• Demonstrated competence in TB/HIV epidemiology, survey methodology, biostatistics, stratification, sampling, and screening/ diagnostic algorithms.

Behavioral Competencies:

• Able to work effectively with the KNCV team, the State TB Control Officer, the LGA TB control officers, medical professional societies, and international technical assistants and partners.
• Able to provide supportive supervision and motivation to incentivize quality in field data collection.
• Ability to juggle competing priorities.
• Willingness to spend 10-25% of the time in the field during study implementation

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should send their curriculum vitae including proof of prior experience, and letter of interest to: jobskncvnigeria@gmail.com under subject “Lagos Inventory Study – Clinical Coordinator”.


Deadline: 29th February, 2016.