🇸🇱 Job Vacancies @ Welbodi Partnership – Project Manager

Job Description

BACKGROUND:

Welbodi Partnership (WP) is a UK-registered charity working to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity in Sierra Leone. Since 2008, Welbodi Partnership has worked in partnership with hospital management, health facility staff, and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to improve maternal and child health outcomes in the Western Area of Sierra Leone. We do this through a range of health system strengthening activities, staff training, hospital improvement projects, and community engagement.

Our vision is that all women and children in Sierra Leone will have access to effective essential healthcare services characterised by respect and dignity for all, including patients, communities and staff. Our mission is to build the capacity of the health system in Sierra Leone to reduce the number of women and children who are sick, suffer, or die unnecessarily. Ola During Children’s Hospital serves a crowded and deprived local population, is in easy reach of around 1 million people (1/7 of the population) and is the only national referral centre for paediatrics. Similarly, Princess Christian Maternity Hospital is the only tertiary referral maternity facility in Sierra Leone and only healthcare facility providing Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal services (C-EmONC) across the Western Area District. Based here, we implement capacity building activities to catalyse improvements in maternal and child-care delivery.

For further information about our work, please see: www.welbodipartnership.org

ABOUT CRADLE-B RESEARCH PROJECT:

Pregnancy is a stress-test of cardiometabolic health. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are associated with subsequent risk of chronic hypertension (CHT) and premature cardiovascular disease (CVD), especially in women of African ancestry. HDP affect 10% of pregnancies and CVD is leading cause of death in women worldwide. However, data on postnatal prevalence of CHT after HDP and associated hypertensive-mediated-organ-damage in LMICs are limited.  Early postnatal care provides a unique opportunity to detect and manage CHT through evidence-based interventions.

However, effective care is challenging due to limited knowledge, poor healthcare access, and low levels of trust in healthcare systems, particularly among vulnerable groups. Our approach builds on our successful foundational work supporting management of HDP in Sub-Saharan Africa, including community engagement initiatives, co-development of materials for communities and healthcare professionals and point-of-care diagnostics.

CRADLE-B is a programme of work comprising four workstreams:

WS 1:  Community sensitisation, mapping, intervention development;

WS 2:  An observational cohort study to establish the prevalence of postnatal chronic hypertension and hypertension mediated organ damage;

WS 3: Type 2 hybrid implementation effectiveness cluster randomized controlled trial and process evaluation

WS 4: Strengthening local research capacity.

The overall aim is to co-develop and evaluate a targeted community-based postnatal intervention for women with HDP to facilitate earlier detection, improved hypertension management and prevention of hypertension-mediated organ damage in Sierra Leone, Zambia and South Africa.

The project is funded by the National Institute of Health Research.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Project Manager is the accountable lead for the delivery of the CRADLE-B Project in Sierra Leone. We require an experienced research project manager, preferably with a clinical background in maternal health, with an interest in clinical mentorship, education and clinical research with an interest in mentorship and clinical research to lead a team of research assistants and data collectors. This is a full-time post, the post-holder will be based in Freetown but will be expected to travel to study sites in other districts of Sierra Leone.

JOB SUMMARY

The post holder will join the CRADLE-B study research team in Sierra Leone.  This role will involve project administration, supervision of other CRADLE-B team members (research assistants / data collectors) and oversight over the coordination and delivery of the four project workstreams in Sierra Leone.

With guidance and support from a team of maternal health researchers at King’s College London, WP team, the CRADLE B co-investigators and the principal investigator at Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (Freetown), the role of the Project Manager will be to facilitate the smooth and effective running of the CRADLE-B project in Sierra Leone.

Key roles and responsibilities 

Specific responsibilities are listed below but the role may include other duties necessary for the success of the project:

• Overall responsibility for ensuring that the project is delivered to a high standard, deliverables are met, and activities are implemented in a manner in keeping with the organization’s values;
• Overall responsibility for the delivery of timely and high-quality project data reports where relevant;
• Supports local recruitment of the research team
• Training and supporting research assistants, data collectors, community hub members, and ensure that their approach and attitude to work remains aligned with organization’s values;

• Responsible for ensuring that programme staff have appropriate objectives, appraisals, support and training, and dealing with grievances and disciplinary issues when necessary;
• Establishes and maintains close working relationships with hospital and health facility managers, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, key health sector stakeholders, partners at health care facilities, other NGO representatives and donors and Kings College London Co-Investigators.
• Responsible for ensuring the safety and security of all project staff and participants.
• Financial accountability- oversees project spending against relevant budgets. Supports the delivery of timely and high-quality financial reports for donors, in collaboration with the Finance Manager.

LOCATION:

The work be based in Freetown, Sierra Leone, including Princess Christian Maternity Hospital.  It will also involve travel to peripheral health facilities and communities outside of Freetown (exact locations TBC).  Travel and accommodation costs will be reimbursed where necessary to facilitate this.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:

• A recognized professional degree in medicine, midwifery/ nursing, public health (or other qualified clinician appropriate for role).
• A minimum of 2 years’ experience in relevant training environment.
• Evidence of research or teaching experience.
• Experience supervising a culturally diverse team.
• Computer skills in Microsoft Word and Excel
• Excellent written and spoken English

PERSON SPECIFICATION

GENERAL POLICIES PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES

In addition to the key job responsibilities detailed in this job description all employees and volunteers at Welbodi Partnership are expected to comply with the general duties outlined below and detailed in full in our policies.

SAFEGUARDING

Welbodi Partnership is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff and volunteers are therefore expected to behave in such a way that supports this commitment. Applicants for this position should be aware that if successful, they will be requested to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, or equivalent in countries other than the UK. The Welbodi Partnership complies fully with the DBS Code of Practice.

DATA PROTECTION 

Welbodi Partnership complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

Welbodi Partnership is committed to a comprehensive policy of Equal Opportunities in volunteering and employment in which individuals are selected and treated on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities and are given equal opportunities within the organisation. It is the Welbodi Partnership’s policy as an employer to treat all people equally irrespective of race, ethnic origin, nationality, sex, marital or parental status, gender, sexual orientation, creed, disability, age or political belief.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Welbodi Partnership operates in tertiary and primary healthcare facilities in one of the world’s poorest countries. Consequently, working conditions can be challenging, including many things we take for granted in other working environments, such as running water, power, communications, staff competency and regular supplies of essential medicines and equipment – many of these things are not a given in the environments where we work. Whilst every reasonable effort is made to ensure a safe working environment, this is a challenging context, much of which is out of our control. Welbodi Partnership places a strong emphasis on staff health and well-being and strives to ensure staff comfort at all times.

JOB REVISION

This job description should be viewed as a guide to the duties required and is not definitive or restrictive in any way. The duties of the post may be varied from time to time in response to changing circumstances.

SALARY/BENEFITS 

Based on job competency alignment to internal pay scales. The full remuneration package will be discussed with shortlisted candidates.