The Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) has been active in basic, translational and operational research of infectious diseases in DRC. Through longstanding partnerships with Congolese institutions, ITM has been involved in outbreak research activities of the latest Ebola, Chikungunya and COVID-outbreaks, in addition to long-standing work on a range of other diseases. ITM will reinforce its contributions to tackle these health challenges, starting by COVID, by strengthening the scientific and research capacity of Congolese institutions, to prevent and react to new or re-emerging diseases – the CREDO project.
The mission of the senior scientist is to coordinate and facilitate the implementation of the CREDO activities together with the scientists from ITM and the three partner institutions in DRC, as well as identify new research opportunities for collaboration among existing and new partners.
*Job description:**
You coordinate in DRC the CREDO project, specifically the scientific part, and together with the CREDO-team you make sure that the expected results are delivered within the available timeframe.
You are a member of the CREDO project management team, which is partly based in DRC and in Antwerp.
You contribute to the research projects of the CREDO-program within your field of expertise and support the fellows of the partner institutions in the elaboration of protocols, implementation of projects and writing of reports and scientific publications in international journals and specialist magazines, in collaboration with the DRC/ITM counterparts involved in the respective research lines.
You manage and coach your junior scientific colleagues based in Kinshasa.
You follow the activities of ITM supported Fellows to ensure they are managing the work as needed and you provide, or identify, technical and other support to the fellows as necessary.
Together with the ITM DRC country representative, you provide technical advice and identify opportunities for scientific collaboration with a range of partner institutions, stakeholders and external agencies.
You provide technical advice to (embassy, authorities, funding agencies…) and provide scientific input for reports as needed.
You report directly to the ITM DRC country representative for management and local issues and to the research project promotors and DRC country programme promotor (based at ITM, Antwerp) for scientific issues .
Profile
You hold a master and a postgraduate in the field of clinical, epidemiological or biomedical science. A doctoral degree (MD, DVM, PhD or equivalent) is a plus.
You have strong conceptual, analytical and scientific writing skills;
You have at least 5 years of experience in which you have accrued in-depth specialist knowledge in clinical, laboratory or public health science.
You have experience in conducting research, with or without a capacity building component, in Africa or another LMIC setting.
You have experience in project management
Experience in setting up (inter)national and multi-disciplinary partnerships is a plus;
Your closest colleagues describe you as resilient, stress-resistant, flexible, solution-oriented, proactive and customer-oriented.
Coaching and/or training skills are a plus;
You speak and write fluently English and French (mandatory); knowledge of Dutch is an asset.
Ability and willingness to work fulltime in DRC at short notice.
You will be based in Kinshasa, with regular travels to the field and to Antwerp.
The ITM is an open and international campus where staff, students and researchers work on new international health challenges. We strive for excellence, integrity, specificity and efficiency. Your assignment contributes to our mission. We value human dignity and diversity, academic creativity and a critical spirit, solidarity and cooperation, and the well-being of employees, students, patients and clients. Together we ensure a pleasant working atmosphere with attention to work-life balance and opportunities for training. We offer you:**
A full-time contract of till December 2021, renewable.
Starting date: as soon as possible.
A salary set according to the pay scales of ITM and the Flemish universities and to your work experience with supplementary benefits and expat package.
This vacancy is archived.