Organization Summary:

Ciheb-Zambia is a non-profit local Zambian organisation supporting Ministry of Health to scale up comprehensive HIV prevention and testing services and find the best solutions to life threatening situations among communities in Zambia.

A newly funded 5-year research project will evaluate the clinical benefits of an intervention package to support adults hospitalized with advanced HIV disease (i.e., low CD4 +/- opportunistic infections), a group that has high mortality and challenges successfully engaging in care. The intervention features support from a community health worker and enhanced transitions of care between hospital and home. The intervention will be assessed via a randomized controlled trial.

Position Summary

Ciheb Zambia is seeking a positive, highly motivated, organized individual with excellent communication skills to join our team as a Research Scientist. A Study Physician is being recruited to provide day-to-day clinical and technical oversight of the trial. This physician will coordinate trial implementation across multiple hospitals in Lusaka and support clinical care for participants The Study Physician will work closely with multidisciplinary study investigators, hospital teams, community health workers, community liaison officers, and health-system stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health and Provincial Health Office.

This position also provides a unique opportunity for a physician to gain in-depth experience with clinical research, including clinical trials, behavioral science, and epidemiology.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide clinical and technical oversight of study activities across participating hospitals, including assessing hospitalized patients for potential trial eligibility and supporting study visit data collection, including via collection of blood specimens.
• Assist in clinical management of complex patients with HIV, opportunistic infections, and non-communicable diseases.
• Provide clinical mentorship to MoH staff engaging with the intervention, including around discharge planning, referrals to clinical and social services, and post-hospitalization follow-up.
• Provide clinical guidance to community health workers and community liaison officers who are delivering the intervention package.
• Work with operational staff to coordinate study logistics and troubleshoot implementation challenges across multiple sites.
• Aid in protocol development, standard operating procedures, technical reports, and scientific writing.
• Maintain effective working relationships with hospital leadership, the Ministry of Health, Provincial Health Office, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Represent the project at hospital and other MoH and research meetings.
• Ensure study activities are conducted according to the protocol, ethical requirements, and Good Clinical Practice.
• Contribute to study meetings, reports, abstracts, presentations, and manuscripts as appropriate.

Minimum Qualifications:

Educational:

• Master of Medicine (MMed) in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, or Master of Science in Clinical Trials/Clinical Research or similar.
• MBChB, MD, or equivalent medical degree.
• Active Zambian medical license.

Experience:

• At least two years of prior clinical research experience.
• Previous experience in HIV, clinical, or implementation research.
• Experience supervising clinical, research, or community-based staff.
• Strong clinical knowledge of advanced HIV disease and general internal medicine.
• Strong understanding of the Zambian inpatient hospital systems.

Required skills:

• Ability to navigate professional and institutional networks within hospitals, the Ministry of Health, and Provincial Health Office.
• Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Highly motivated self-starter with the ability to independently execute complex research and clinical tasks.

Professional Development

The position offers opportunities to strengthen the candidate’s research skills and experience, including participation in data interpretation, scientific presentations, abstracts, and manuscript development.

• Provide clinical and technical oversight of study activities across participating hospitals, including assessing hospitalized patients for potential trial eligibility and supporting study visit data collection, including via collection of blood specimens.
• Assist in clinical management of complex patients with HIV, opportunistic infections, and non-communicable diseases.
• Provide clinical mentorship to MoH staff engaging with the intervention, including around discharge planning, referrals to clinical and social services, and post-hospitalization follow-up.
• Provide clinical guidance to community health workers and community liaison officers who are delivering the intervention package.
• Work with operational staff to coordinate study logistics and troubleshoot implementation challenges across multiple sites.
• Aid in protocol development, standard operating procedures, technical reports, and scientific writing.
• Maintain effective working relationships with hospital leadership, the Ministry of Health, Provincial Health Office, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Represent the project at hospital and other MoH and research meetings.
• Ensure study activities are conducted according to the protocol, ethical requirements, and Good Clinical Practice.
• Contribute to study meetings, reports, abstracts, presentations, and manuscripts as appropriate.

• Ability to navigate professional and institutional networks within hospitals, the Ministry of Health, and Provincial Health Office.
• Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Highly motivated self-starter with the ability to independently execute complex research and clinical tasks.

• Master of Medicine (MMed) in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, or Master of Science in Clinical Trials/Clinical Research or similar.
• MBChB, MD, or equivalent medical degree.
• Active Zambian medical license.
• At least two years of prior clinical research experience.
• Previous experience in HIV, clinical, or implementation research.
• Experience supervising clinical, research, or community-based staff.
• Strong clinical knowledge of advanced HIV disease and general internal medicine.
• Strong understanding of the Zambian inpatient hospital systems.