FACULTY OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND POPULATION
HEALTH
Data Manager & Documentalist, full-time
(based Mwanza, Tanzania)
The Population Studies Department is seeking a full-time Data Manager and Documentalist
to support the ALPHA collaborative network for data analysis in African-community-based
longitudinal HIV studies. This is a new post, based in Mwanza, Tanzania.
The ALPHA network aims to maximise the usefulness of data generated in communitybased longitudinal HIV studies in sub-Saharan Africa for national and international
agencies involved in designing or monitoring interventions and epidemiological forecasting.
The project links existing African HIV cohort studies and runs training workshops to
facilitate replication of analyses of demographic correlates and consequences of HIV
infection. Comparative studies and meta-analyses are undertaken on comparable data
sets, imposing a common format on data collected and stored in a variety of ways.
The ALPHA network is funded by The Wellcome Trust and is in its second phase (201015).
The person appointed to this new post will be responsible for managing the common data
resource and for keeping it up-to-date as further rounds of data collection are undertaken.
S/he will also be responsible for documentation of the data set with a view to making it
accessible to outside users. Applicants should have a higher degree in demography, field
epidemiology or data management, together with experience of managing longitudinal
survey data; be proficient in the use of database management software and have
experience of working in developing countries.
The starting salary will be £27,427 per annum (Professional Support Pathway Grade 5). A
displacement allowance of £3,487 per annum is payable. Excellent conditions include 30
days annual leave plus an additional 6 fixed 'Director's Days' and pension scheme. The
post is available immediately until March 31st 2015.
Applications should be made on-line via our website at http://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk and the
reference for this post is BZ-4. Applications should include the names and email contacts
of two referees who can be contacted immediately if shortlisted. Any queries regarding the
application process may be addressed to jobs@lshtm.ac.uk. Closing date for the receipt of
applications is Monday 6 June 2011.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is an equal opportunities employer.
FURTHER INFORMATION AND JOB DESCRIPTION
THE SCHOOL
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), ahead of the London School of Economics, Oxford, Imperial and
University College, London. The institution also achieved the largest increase in ranking
compared with 2001, of any of the top 10 institutions in the RAE rankings. 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, 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
m£62.4 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 contribute to the improvement of health worldwide
through the pursuit of excellence in research, postgraduate teaching and advanced
training in national and international public health and tropical medicine, and
through informing policy and practice in these areas."
THE FACULTY
The Faculty of Epidemiology & Population Health (EPH) houses a large group of
epidemiologists, demographers, statisticians and nutritionists working on issues of major
public health importance in the UK and globally. EPH has approximately 294 staff
members organised into five research departments:
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Department of Population Studies
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Department of Medical Statistics
Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology
Department of Nutrition and Public Health Intervention Research
The Faculty has a teaching programme consisting of nine MSc courses: Epidemiology,
Demography and Health, Medical Statistics, Public Health in Developing Countries (run
jointly with the Faculties of Infectious & Tropical Diseases and Public Health & Policy),
Public Health Nutrition, Reproductive & Sexual Health Research, Veterinary Epidemiology
(run jointly with the Royal Veterinary College), and the Distance Learning courses in
Epidemiology and Clinical Trials. The Faculty also has approximately 149 research
students studying for an MPhil, PhD or DrPH degree. The Head of Faculty is Professor
Laura Rodrigues.
THE DEPARTMENT
The Department of Population Studies (PSD) is engaged in the measurement and
explanation of population trends and the analysis of the health and other consequences of
population changes. With 28 academic and academic-related staff and over 25 research
students, PSD represents one of the largest UK research groups concerned with
demography, reproductive health research, and related disciplines. The Department is
active in research both on Britain and other developed countries and in research on mid
and low-income regions. Most staff work in London, but a few members of staff are based
overseas, in Tanzania.
PSD provides much of the teaching for the MSc in Demography and Health and the MSc in
Reproductive and Sexual Health Research. The Department is a long-established
Economic and Social Research Council outlet for postgraduate training and currently has
several 1+3 ESRC studentships.
PSD hosts the Centre for Longitudinal Study Information and User Support (CeLSIUS).
The Department is based in the School's main building in Keppel Street.
THE PROJECT
The objective of the ALPHA network is to maximise the usefulness of data generated in
community-based longitudinal HIV studies in sub-Saharan Africa for national and
international agencies involved in designing or monitoring interventions and
epidemiological forecasting.
The project links existing African HIV cohort studies and runs training workshops to
facilitate replication of analyses of demographic correlates and consequences of HIV
infection. Comparative studies and meta-analyses are undertaken on comparable data
sets, imposing a common format on data collected and stored in a variety of ways.
The ALPHA network is funded by The Wellcome Trust and is in its second phase (201015). Its members are:
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Nairobi urban cohort study operated by the Africa Population Health Research Centre;
CDC/KEMRI study site in Kisumu, Kenya
Karonga Prevention Study in Northern Malawi, managed by LSHTM
Umkhanyakude cohort in Hlabisa district, managed by Africa Centre in KwaZulu Natal,
South Africa
Agincourt study in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa
Kisesa open cohort managed by the TAZAMA programme at NIMR, Mwanza, Tanzania
Kilombero cohort operated by the Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania
Kyambulibwa general population cohort managed by MRC/UVRI in Masaka district,
Uganda
Rakai study, managed by Makerere University, Uganda and Johns Hopkins School of
Public Health
Manicaland study in Eastern Zimbabwe, managed by Imperial College and the Blair
Research Training Institute
The person appointed to this new post will be responsible for managing the common data
resource as it grows in size and complexity, and for keeping it up-to-date as further rounds
of data collection are undertaken by each site. The post-holder will also be responsible for
documentation of the data set, with a view to making it accessible to outside users. The
post holder will need to familiarise themselves with the DDI 3 documentation system, and
work with data managers at the sites to document source data used to produce the shared
resource, and to document data manipulation procedures used to convert them to the
pooled format. They will join the project team led by Professor Basia Zaba, the PI, (based
in London) and Jim Todd (based at NIMR, Mwanza, Tanzania). The project team also
includes two London-based researchers. The post-holder will also work closely with
Benjamin Clark, IT Support Manager for a second Wellcome-funded project led by
Professor Zaba in Tanzania.
THE POST
POST
GRADE
FACULTY
DEPARTMENT
START DATE
HOURS
LOCATION
DURATION
RESPONSIBLE TO
Data Manager and Documentalist
Professional Support Pathway Grade 5
Epidemiology and Population Health
Population Studies
The post is available immediately; start date by negotiation.
Full-time, 35 hours per week
Mwanza, Tanzania
Until 31 March 2015
Jim Todd
Data Manager & Documentalist:
The post-holder will:
Data management
1) Aid member sites to develop data extraction routines and methods for producing
harmonized multi-site ALPHA datasets.
2) Support data users to transform and produce analytical files from the multi-site
harmonized ALPHA datasets
3) Aid member sites to address data quality issues. This may involve assisting
member sites with data quality audits, development of data quality metrics and
methods for producing them. Assisting in developing data quality improvement and
quality assurance projects.
4) Supply data support to all ALPHA workshops and activities. This includes specifying
any data required for an APLHA workshop or activity.
5) Manage and maintain the pooled harmonized multi-site ALPHA datasets. This will
entail the development of procedure and policies that govern the data management,
storage and access.
6) Manage all data distribution. This will involve the creation of public use datasets
and the policies and procedures for gaining access to them. Then managing and
reporting on their use.
7) Engage with site data managers to identify common issues and problems that could
be addressed at a network level to strength overall data management at sites such
that network involvement is a net benefit to member sites.
Documentation
1) Develop DDIv3 tools to document member sites’ questionnaires and data
structures.
2) Document the pooled harmonized multi-site APHA datasets including the
harmonization schemes.
3) Support member sites in their data documentation projects
4) Provide expertise to member sites on the use of DDIv3 to document site data
5) Support ALPHA workshops and activities with human readable documentation for
the data used.
General
1) Travel to member sites and attend meetings and workshops in Eastern and
Southern Africa
2) Engage in professional development by enrolling in further professional or
academic study
Person specification:
Education, essential
1) Higher degree in demography, field epidemiology or data management;
2) First degree in computer science, statistics or other quantitative subject;
Experience, essential
3) Proven experience in managing longitudinal survey data;
4) Proficiency with data base management software such as SQL or Access;
5) Advanced use of operating systems software and office applications software;
6) Experience of working in developing countries with limited technical support;
Experience, desirable
7) Experience of working at an African Demographic Surveillance Site;
8) Familiarity with African field epidemiology studies;
9) Knowledge of data documentation systems;
10) Experience with developing data specifications and preparing data sets for analysis.
SALARY AND CONDITIONS OF APPOINTMENT
The appointment will commence as soon as mutually convenient and is funded until 31
March 2015. The appointment will be made on LSHTM’s Professional Support Pathway,
Grade 5. The starting salary will be £27,427; in addition, a Displacement Allowance of
£3,487 per annum is payable. The post will be subject to the LSHTM terms and conditions
of service. The post-holder will be entitled to 30 days annual holiday and an additional 6
fixed 'Director's Days'. The School has a pension scheme.
APPLICATIONS
Applications should be made on-line at our website at http://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk. The closing
date is Monday 6 June 2011 and the reference for this post is BZ-4. Online applications
will be accepted by the automated system until 10pm of the closing date. 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 unavailable
for telephone interview on the interview date it may not be possible to offer you an
alternative date.
Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Basia Zaba (+44 (0)20 7299 4622) or to
Benjamin Clark (+255 (0)766 241 549) in Mwanza.
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an equal
opportunities employer.