Ministry of Health Research Cadet Deadline 26 August 2008

Position Description

Research Cadetship

Research Capacity Development and Other Studies in Timor-Leste

Position title: Research Cadet

Fixed term: 12 months (September 2008 – September 2009)

Project description: This research cadetship program aims at supporting the research capacity within Timor-Leste to conduct HIV social research. The National Centre in HIV Social Research (NCHSR) at The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia will work in collaboratively with the Instituto de Ciencas da Saude (ICS), Ministerio da Saude, to train and supervise up to two researchers to be based at ICS. In addition to the training, the abovementioned positions will be involved in the establishment and implementation of a behavioural surveillance system to monitor HIV and AIDS risk behaviour, along with other qualitative studies in Timor-Leste.

Job description: The cadetship program will span a period of 12 months. During this time, the successful candidate will receive training and field experience on various aspects of research, including: qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, specifically behavioural surveillance studies; research study design and implementation; data collection and analysis; and writing manuscripts and reports for publication. As well as receiving training, the successful candidate will be expected to work on the Timor-Leste behavioural surveillance survey and related activities, and contribute to an extent commensurate with the training provided during the cadetship. Though the positions will be based at the ICS in Dili, there will be significant travel to Australia and the districts in Timor-Leste during the data collection period.

Data analysis
A component of the cadetship program will include data analysis of interviews collected from the Timor-Leste behavioural surveillance survey (BSS). During this period, the successful candidates will receive hands on training and supervision on data analysis and will work as part of a team analyzing data obtained from the BSS. The data analysis component will be conducted at the NCHSR, in Sydney, Australia. The successful candidate is likely to be based in Sydney for a period of 2-3 months.

Report and manuscript preparation
The position will entail preparing and writing reports and manuscripts for publications. The successful candidates will participate and aid in the preparation of reports and subsequent journal publications arising from the research studies conducted.


Data collection
During the survey period, the successful candidate will be responsible for participating in the collection of data for the BSS. Duties may include administrative and logistical support for conducting the study, conducting interviews in the field, and supervising field staff. A typical day in the field during the survey period will involve traveling within Dili and/or the districts conducting interviews and providing supervision and support for other field staff. This position will require a high degree of flexibility and initiative, and must be able to work to deadlines. It may also entail significant amounts of travel to the districts during this period. In addition, the hours of work will be flexible, with hours of work dependent upon the availability of participants, and may vary from day to day. It is anticipated that some field work will be conduced in the evenings and nights and on the weekends.

The position will be subject to a three month probation period.


Duties:
· Act as the first point of contact for any enquiries regarding the study
· Liaise with the Ministry of Health, local NGOs and other key stakeholders
· To participate in interviewing and selecting supervisors and interviewers
· To participate in planning and conducting training of supervisors and interviewers including the logistic and administrative arrangements
· To communicate problems arising in the field to headquarters and to facilitate resolution of the problems in the field
· To supervise the field staff
· To check and collect the completed questionnaires from the supervisors regularly
· To act as a translator for the research team and UNSW staff
· Assist with data collection including conducting interviews, note taking and observing
· Undertake data management tasks including translating notes and organising data and entering it onto the computer
· Participate in research meetings with the project team and supervisor, contribute to analysis of data and discussion of research findings
· To coordinate and provide administrative support for the project. This would include duties such as managing budgets, logistic support for MoH in planning workshops and field work during the data collection phase, procurement support for any equipment or supplies required for the project
· Follow budget and reporting systems
· General administrative duties
· Any other duties that may be relevant to the project


Principal Accountabilities:
· To ensure that the planned field work proceeds as scheduled
· To ensure that the research methodology and protocols are adhered to whilst in the field
· To deliver completed questionnaires and forms safely and promptly to headquarters
· To provide translation of key documents and research tools
· Provide advice and proofing of a written report about the research findings
· To resolve any issues or problems that may arise whilst in the field


Reporting Relationships:

· Primary supervision: Dr Patrick Rawstorne, Research Fellow, NCHSR, UNSW
· Immediate (day-to-day) supervision: Jason Lee, Research Associate, NCHSR, UNSW.

The University of New South Wales will provide the primary supervision for the two positions.

Selection Criteria:

Essential:
· Relevant degree in social sciences, public health or basic and health science. In lieu of formal tertiary education, equivalent working experience in health or research programs
· Demonstrated ability to work with people of different ages and background
· Fluency in English
· Ability to read and write in English to an acceptable standard
· Awareness and capacity to work with marginalised groups
· Good work attitude: friendly, confident, hard working and willing to help other team members
· Strong analytic skills – able to synthesise information quickly and efficiently
· Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise work-loads and meet deadlines
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills
· Excellent interpersonal and cross-cultural skills
· Capacity to work independently and as part of a team
· General computing competence, including keyboard skills, sound file handling practices and proficiency in use of computer systems such as word processing, spreadsheets and email
· Strong desire to learn research skills
· Availability to travel to Australia for extended periods, and districts in Timor-Leste when the need arises

Desirable:
· Previous research experience
· Familiarity with statistical packages such as SPSS


For further details on the National Centre for HIV Research, please refer to the website http://nchsr.arts.unsw.edu.au/about/

To apply for these positions, please submit a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a cover letter written in English electronically to jason.lee@unsw.edu.au or send a hard copy to:

Jason Lee
GFATM HIV Program
care of Service Support Unit (SSU)
Ministry of Health
Rua de Calcoli,
Dili, Timor-Leste

Tel: +670 740 1116

by close of business Tuesday 26^nd August 2008