School

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Department/Area

Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases

Position Description

We are recruiting a project manager to coordinate an exciting malaria molecular surveillance initiative in South America. The goal of the project is to establish routine molecular surveillance and epidemiological risk mapping for malaria parasites and vectors in Colombia and Guyana, combining the development of molecular assays, the development of surveillance systems to monitor the impact of migration on the spread of malaria in the region, and the development of analytical tools for epidemiological risk mapping to support national malaria control and elimination efforts.

The successful candidate will work closely with Dr. Daniel Neafsey (Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and the Broad Institute), Dr. Caroline Buckee (Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health), and Dr. Bronwyn McInnis (Broad Institute), to i) manage and coordinate research teams, ii) provide administrative oversight of the project including both laboratory and computational aspects, as well as data sharing agreements and IRB protocols, iii) coordinate research output in the form of academic manuscripts (including authorship contributions) and reports to public health agencies in South America and to the funding agency. This project represents a collaborative effort between Harvard TH Chan School, the Broad Institute, the Guyana Ministry of Public Health, the University of Bogota, and Caucaseco Research Institute.

The successful candidate will hold a PhD in a relevant field (for example, epidemiology, global health, bioinformatics, malaria parasite biology) and have excellent project management skills. The ideal candidate will know how to get things done. This includes having excellent organizational and time management skills, flexibility, and a willingness to work in a dynamic and fast paced environment. The candidate will be detail-oriented, able to juggle multiple tasks and priorities, and to work proactively and independently. Ideally the candidate will have a strong appreciation of the academic research environment and related administrative processes, and prior project coordination experience. A key role of this post is supporting our collaborative research activities in South America by ensuring strong communication, facilitating travel and shipments, managing budgets, and tracking deliverables.

Responsibilities:

• Work with team members, collaborators, administrators to support research activities
• Review, monitor and track progress towards completion of projects; identify bottlenecks and propose solutions.
• Coordinate exchange of materials and information between collaborating institutions.
• Ensure ethical compliance of research activities both at Harvard and at the Broad Institute: prepare study protocols for Institutional Review Boards, material transfer agreements and data access agreements, and other required documentation.
• Independently prepare scientific reports, briefs and project updates. This requires liaising with stakeholders and funders.
• Track grant expenditures with financial administrators.
• Contribute to the scientific administration and information management, this includes meeting facilitation, organization and logistics for strategic and scientific activities.
• Coordinate training of visiting researchers and capacity building at local and international sites.
• Strong work ethic and willingness to take ownership for wide-ranging responsibilities.
• Undertake other responsibilities as required.

Basic Qualifications

• PhD, MSc or MPH preferred
• 3-4 years experience in project/program management in a research setting preferred. Prior experience in malaria or global public health is a plus
• Experience preparing grant reports and budgets
• Experience in working across a range of academic research administrative structures, including HR, finance, grants and contracts.
• Ability to work independently and proactively, as well as to work in and support a multidimensional team
• Demonstrated success working in a highly collaborative and complex environment
• Willingness to travel internationally, including to South America (~2 times/yr)
• Ability to be flexible, to multitask and to work in a fast-paced and challenging environment
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the demonstrated ability to influence others and to build working relationships at all levels
• Excellent communication skills (oral and written)

Additional Qualifications

Spanish fluency strongly desired.

Contact Information

Please contact Daniel Neafsey by email: neafsey@hsph.harvard.edu with your CV, letter of interest, and names of at least three references.

Contact Email

neafsey@hsph.harvard.edu

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.