Research scientist, Morogoro , Tanzania

A new way of volunteering with VSO: 4 weeks per year, for the project cycle of 3 years.

Background

The St. Francis Referral Hospital (SFRH) is located in Ifakara, Southern Tanzania and has a capacity of 400 beds and attracts approximately 700,000 referral patients per year from Kilombero and other neighbouring districts. The hospital is connected historically and operationally to a number of other health institutions. All the local partner institutions depend on each other in order to be able to act as a platform for health care, training and research. Through the support of volunteers there is real potential to strengthen Ifakara as a centre of excellence in healthcare, training and research.

In order to allow the hospital to fulfill its role as a regional referral and teaching hospital, quality of services need to be improved through better infrastructure, strengthening of the financial and human resource management and by ensuring availability of qualified staff, equipment and drugs. Swiss Development Cooperation and VSO are supporting the SFRH to improve its quality of healthcare services in a sustainable way by offering accessible and affordable quality services to the population and providing excellent training and research opportunities to the local partner institutions. Based in the hospital as a Research Specialist, you will support hospital management to identify priority areas for research to improve the quality of care.

What does the role involve? • Facilitating conduction of research for specific issues indentified by the hospital administration • Coordinating collaboration between the hospital departments and Ifakara Health Institute to develop a research culture by carrying out research relating to improved patient care e.g./ infection control, monitoring patient outcome, hospital revenues • Guiding capacity building of departmental staff ability to interpret research results and use it to guide decision-making and patient care management.

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You can apply for this role if you are a qualified a research scientist with a degree in any field of health and masters-degree in any field of science, plus a minimum of 5 years experience as a research scientist. It is desirable but not essential to have worked in Africa. You will need to be available for the period of project, up to 3 years or a minimum of 2 years, with the flexibility and availability to travel and come to train for 12 weeks in a year, (2 weeks every 2 months). We are looking for someone who is a team worker with good social and interpersonal skills and networking abilities. You should be able to handle conflicts in a constructive consultative way and have a flexible personality, adapting easily to new situations, and being able to set realistic expectations on working in a hospital in the tropics.

And the rest....

Ifakara in the south of Tanzania is an authentic savannah grassland area that is green during the rainy season and brown in the dry season. Daytime temperatures vary between 32-39 degrees Celsius throughout the year. Southern Tanzania is home to some of Africa's best national parks and game reserves. There is some good hiking around Mbeya, the largest town in the southwest, but it's the country's two largest parks, Ruaha National Park and Selous Game Reserve that provide the most awe-inspiring encounters with lions, elephants and wildebeests. Mikumi is a smaller national park, but its proximity to Dar es Salaam makes it handy for those without the time for the full safari but who still want to see some wildlife. While on placement, we’ll ask you to commit to 12 weeks per year for up to 3 years to make a sustainable contribution. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training including language classes before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll support you to resettle.

How to apply:

To find out more about volunteering with VSO or to apply go to http://www.vsointernational.org/volunteer/and quote T0785/0019/0001 on your application. On average it takes a minimum of 4 months to go through the application process so apply now for departure as soon as possible.