LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
(University of London)
FACULTY OF INFECTIOUS AND TROPICAL DISEASES
DEPARTMENT OF DISEASE CONTROL
OVERSEAS LECTURER IN EPIDEMIOLOGY / DEMOGRAPHY / PUBLIC HEALTH TANZANIA
FURTHER PARTICULARS
1. ADVERTISEMENT
Every year, over 3 million newborns continue to die, most from preventable or treatable
causes. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is seeking an overseas Lecturer
to be based in Tanzania to coordinate the Improving Newborn Survival In Southern Tanzania
(INSIST) trial, a multi-disciplinary study which will evaluate the impact of a community-based
intervention on newborn survival.
The successful applicant will be physically based at the Ifakara Health Institute in Mtwara,
Tanzania, where they will be responsible for day to day management and co-ordination of
the study and mentoring of Tanzanian scientific staff.
The ideal candidate would hold a doctoral degree from in epidemiology or demography, and
have proven experience in the design and management of large-scale household surveys in
a rural African setting. They would have experience of statistical analysis of health research
studies, experience of postgraduate teaching and mentoring research students, an ability to
work with people from a range of disciplinary and cultural backgrounds, the ability to
communicate effectively and to write and present clear scientific reports to a wide range of
audiences, excellent management, organization and problem solving skills, be willing to live
in Mtwara, Tanzania, and have excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
Knowledge of Swahili and experience of living and working in east Africa would be an
advantage, as would peer-reviewed publications in design, monitoring and evaluation of
public health interventions, or clinical trials.
The post is a full-time appointment until April 2013 and the salary is £37,990 per annum
inclusive plus overseas allowances and benefits if applicable.
Applications should be made on-line via our website at jobs.lshtm.ac.uk. The reference for
this post is JSOL01. Applications should include the names and email contacts of 2
referees who can be contacted immediately if shortlisted. Any queries regarding the
application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an equal
opportunities employer
2.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is one of Europe’s leading schools of
Public Health and a leading postgraduate institution worldwide for research and
postgraduate education in global health.
Part of the University of London, the London School is the largest institution of its kind in
Europe with a remarkable depth and breadth of expertise encompassing many disciplines.
The School was ranked one of the top 3 research institutions in the country in the Times
Higher Education’s 'table of excellence', which is based on the 2008 Research Assessment
Exercise (RAE). In 2009, the School became the first UK institution to win the Gates Award
for Global Health.
The School’s environment is a rich multicultural one: there are almost 4000 students from
100+ countries following 22 taught masters courses delivered either in London (~650) or
through distance learning (~2700), and undertaking research degree training (~400). Over
40% of these students are from non-European countries. The largest growth has been in
distance learning students (>40% over 3 years), though the London-based student
population (where accommodation limits growth) is at its highest level ever. Alumni are
working in more than 180 countries. The School has about 1400 staff drawn from over 60
nationalities.
There are research collaborations with over 100 countries throughout the world, utilizing our
critical mass of multidisciplinary expertise which includes clinicians, epidemiologists,
statisticians, social scientists, economists, molecular biologists, immunologists,
ophthalmologists, anthropologists, virologists, pharmacologists and nutritionists. At any one
time around 100 School staff are based overseas, particularly in Africa and Asia. We have a
strong commitment to partnership with institutions in low and middle income countries to
support the development of teaching and research capacity.
The School has expanded greatly in recent years. Its research funding now exceeds £67M
per annum, much of it from highly competitive national and international sources. The
commitment of staff to methodological rigour, innovative thinking and policy relevance will
ensure that the School continues to occupy a leadership position in national and global
health, adapting quickly to new challenges and opportunities.
Mission
The School's mission is to improve health in the UK and worldwide through
excellence in public and global health research, teaching and knowledge translation,
working in partnership.
Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases
The Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases encompasses all of the laboratory-based
research in the School as well as that on the clinical and epidemiological aspects of
infectious and tropical diseases. It is headed by Simon Croft, who is Professor of
Parasitology. The range of disciplines represented in the faculty is very broad and interdisciplinary research is a feature of much of our activity. The spectrum of diseases studied
is wide and there are major research groups with a focus on malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS
and other sexually transmitted diseases, vaccine development and evaluation, and vector
biology and disease control. The Faculty is organised into four large research departments
comprising: Pathogen Molecular Biology, Immunology and Infection, Disease Control, and
Clinical Research. There is close interaction between scientists in different research teams.
The Faculty has strong overseas links, which provide a basis for field studies and
international collaborations in developed and developing countries.
The teaching
programme includes MSc courses, taught in-house and by distance learning, which are
modular in structure, a variety of short-courses and an active doctoral programme (PhD and
DrPH).
Department of Disease Control (Head: Dr Mark Rowland)
This multidisciplinary Department includes epidemiologists, entomologists, anthropologists
and social scientists, clinical scientists, public health engineers, and geographers. This
range of expertise provides us with a battery of tools for focusing on the control of diseases
that are insect-borne, water-borne or associated with poor hygiene – mostly in developing
countries. Much of the research can be categorised as: evaluating disease control
interventions; investigating implementation strategies - including working with the private
sector; understanding the factors underlying household behaviour in relation to family health;
or determining how control resources can be targeted most efficiently. Particular attention is
paid to research directed at current health policy issues, including the gap between policy
and practice. The DFID Resource Centre for Water and Environmental Health (WELL) and
the Hygiene Centre make up the Department’s Environmental Health Group, which plays a
leadership role in research and operational support for hygiene promotion, water supply and
sanitation. The Department also houses the largest research group in LSHTM working on
malaria control, including the DIFD Team for Applied Research to Generate Effective Tools
and Strategies for communicable disease control (TARGETs) and the Malaria Capacity
Development Consortium (MCDC). The Department’s valuable mosquito colonies are used
for testing repellent products and insecticides in the laboratory. The Department also
includes a major grouping of researchers using spatial analysis in public health.
Teaching
The School offers 22 one year full-time taught courses leading to the Master of Science
(MSc) degree of the University of London and the Diploma of the London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine (DLSHTM). The Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases runs or
contributes substantially to ten of these courses and the “Immunology of Infectious
Diseases” course is run from within the Department of Immunology and Infection. In addition,
the Faculty is responsible for the three-month Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
(DTM&H) and offers a range of specialist short courses lasting usually one or two weeks.
Three MSc courses are also offered by Distance-based Learning, including one on Infectious
Diseases.
Teaching requirements
To contribute to the Faculty teaching programme, up to 15% of your time per annum, subject
to the policy of any funding agency (by agreement, some staff may make a greater
contribution than this).
Research Training
The School offers two doctoral training programmes. The MPhil/PhD degrees are designed
for those who wish to go on to a full time research career. The DrPH is directed towards
those who expect their careers to be more in the practice of public health.
3.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Post:
Overseas Lecturer in Epidemiology, Demography or Public health
Grade:
Lecturer
Responsible to:
Dr Joanna Schellenberg, LSHTM
Department:
Disease Control
Main duties and responsibilities:
1. Planning, day-to-day management and co-ordination of a large-scale household
survey to evaluate the effect of an intervention to improve newborn survival in rural
southern Tanzania, based at Ifakara Health Institute (IHI)
2. To ensure activities are carried out in line with plans and budgets
3. To support the implementation of a strategy for home-based counselling in
pregnancy and the early newborn period in rural Tanzania
4. To co-ordinate the reporting of progress and findings.
5. Through mentoring, to strengthen the capacity of other members of the IHI project
team to conduct health research.
6. To contribute to the School’s postgraduate teaching programme.
7. To contribute appropriately to the life of IHI and to the academic life of LSHTM
4.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Applicants must have:
1.
A postgraduate degree, ideally at doctoral level, in epidemiology, demography, or
a related discipline.
2.
Proven experience of design and management of household surveys in a rural
African setting.
3.
Experience of statistical analysis of health research studies
4.
Experience of post-graduate teaching and mentoring research students.
5.
Ability to work with people from a range of disciplinary and cultural backgrounds.
6.
Excellent management, organizational and problem solving skills
7.
Ability to communicate effectively, and to write and present clear scientific reports
for a range of audiences.
8.
Ability to work independently and as a member of a multidisciplinary scientific
team.
9.
Willingness to live in Mtwara, Tanzania.
10.
Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
The following would be an advantage:
5.
1.
Peer-reviewed publications in design, monitoring and evaluation of public health
interventions, or clinical trials
2.
Knowledge of Swahili.
3.
Experience of living and working in East Africa
SALARY AND CONDITIONS OF APPOINTMENT
Salary is on the Academic Pathway Salary scale £37,990 per annum inclusive plus overseas
allowances will be provided as appropriate. Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per
year for all staff (pro-rata for part-time staff). In addition to this there are 6 fixed-date
"Director's Days".
6.
APPLICATIONS
Applications should be made on-line via our website at http://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk The reference
for this post is JSOL01. Applications should also include the names and email contacts of 2
referees who can be contacted immediately if shortlisted. Any queries regarding the
application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk.
The supporting statement section should set out how your qualifications, experience and
training meet each of the selection criteria. Please provide one or more paragraphs
addressing each criterion. The supporting statement is an essential part of the selection
process and thus a failure to provide this information will mean that the application will not be
considered. An answer to any of the criteria such as “Please see attached CV” will not be
considered acceptable.
Please note that if you are shortlisted and are unable to attend on the interview date it may
not be possible to offer you an alternative date.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an equal
opportunities