Research Manager

• Department: Research
• Employment Type: Full Time
• Location: Remote – Worldwide
• Compensation: Commensurate with experience

The Research Manager will provide effective and rigorous oversight to the full portfolio of Medic’s research and evaluation activities. This team member should be driven by a commitment to ensure a robust Research program, and they will derive satisfaction from creating and socializing systems and processes to advance an innovative R&D pipeline.

The Research Manager will report to the Director of Research and contribute to a team that is widely recognized as a leader in human-centered design, and for having made seminal contributions to how our field understands the impact of digital health in lower-income settings. Our team has undertaken ethnographies, systematic and scoping literature reviews, participatory design research, cross-sectional surveys, randomized trials, and a range of ad-hoc data analysis projects. Since the launch of Medic Labs in 2020, incubating breakthrough ideas in data science and precision health has become an important and exciting part of our work. The Research Manager will need to thrive in this multidisciplinary environment, help nurture a culture of scientific and operational excellence, and ensure Medic’s research endeavors are in service of advancing an open-source community of practice.

Key responsibilities

Research Project Management 40%

• Work with the Chief Research Officer, Director of Research and Research team members to define and communicate what success looks like for particular research initiatives;
• Oversee the management of Medic’s full research portfolio, including tracking in a systematic and visible way all research & evaluation activities, data workflows, and timelines for deliverables and reporting;
• Identify barriers and bottlenecks in research and evaluation activities, bring them to the attention of leadership as needed, and directly oversee action to resolve these challenges;
• Understand, identify, and manage interdependencies across teams within and outside of the Research team. Be accountable for their effective management leading to on-time delivery;
• Support the design and pretesting of tools and instruments for research and evaluation activities;

Research Partnerships 25%

• Support existing relationships, and cultivate new ones, with researchers and leaders at partner organizations;
• Ensure effective internal communication among Research team members, partners, and funders regarding timelines and ongoing activities of all research initiatives;
• Identify relevant research RFAs that are a good fit for Medic, and support the writing of grant and scientific award proposals in collaboration with the External Affairs team;
• Coordinate with the External Affairs team to manage post-award processes, including but not limited to: post-award budget management, subaward materials as they pertain to Research team/members, and reporting out of research and evaluation deliverables;

Research Systems 20%

• Manage and maintain all research systems, materials, and processes, including, but not limited to, app deployment evaluation templates, Research team SOPs and one-pagers, go/no-go systems for potential research collaborations, and Research slides/slide decks that can be used for teams across the organization;
• Manage IRB submissions and approvals across all research studies: this includes supporting the preparation of human subjects protocol materials, and owning any continuing reviews, modifications, and reporting requirements for specific protocols, as needed;
• Design and execute an academic publication strategy for Medic’s Research team, including helping to identify best-fit journals for the timely write-up and publication of results from studies conducted by Medic and with Medic’s partners;
• Create and be directly responsible for an ethical and inclusive authorship policy that satisfies International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria, while simultaneously taking into consideration the relevant programmatic contributions that team members across the org have made to the work, which may warrant inclusion in scientific manuscripts;
• Support alignment among Medic’s Research, Product, and Programs roadmaps, and ensure that Research activities are productively embedded within deployments, and are accountable to implementer priorities.

Knowledge Management and Team Development 15%

• Cultivate a deep understanding of the digital global health, data science, and precision public health fields, including staying up to date on new and relevant evidence, best practices, literature, and policy documents that shape and inform the context in which Medic conducts its work and research;
• Conduct literature reviews as needed to contextualize research designs and initiatives, and bring relevant data to bear on the design and implementation of CHT apps.
• Support the Director of Research and Chief Research Officer in professional development opportunities for Research team members, including identifying and systematically tracking relevant opportunities.
• Identify and track conferences and convenings relevant to Medic’s Research team initiatives and ensure an equitable approach to participation.
• Help foster opportunities to celebrate the growth and contributions of the many people – across teams at Medic and among our partners – who play important roles in our community’s research agenda.
• Support onboarding for new Research team members;
• Devise and lead the strategy for Research team file management and communication systems, and socialize these systems within and outside of the team;

The above list of responsibilities may be amended in consultation with the Director of Research and Chief Research Officer.

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

Core Competencies

1. Content expertise/research methods: Understanding of research methods and/or a track record of delivering research that is insightful, easily digestible, and actionable
2. Detail-oriented
3. Organizational + planning aptitude
4. Results oriented: projects are delivered on time and within budget (not sure to what extent they manage budget)
5. Relationship building with Internal teams and external partners
6. Process oriented: work backwards from project completion (some end state), proactively anticipate challenges and articulates a roadmap/process
7. Financial acumen/ Budget management
8. Analytical: able to synthesize literature, contribute to design and pre-test of research study tools/instruments
9. Fluent and compelling verbal and written communication skills: clear and timely communication both for internal teammates and external partnerships; discerns what needs to be shared with whom, when keeps all parties abreast of issues — (coauthor- do lit review, have to be able to write well)

Candidate Qualifications and Skills

• Master’s degree in Public Health/ Social Science or a closely related field (we may consider exceptional candidates without a Master’s degree who have extensive experience in research).
• At least 3 years of professional experience
• Strong communication skills in English, both written and oral
• Excellent organizational skills, detail-oriented, and ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Experience with research in developing countries
• Experience managing partnerships with an implementing organization.
• Experience managing projects (experience managing research projects desired)
• Strong interest in and commitment to Medic’s mission
• Flexibility and adaptability to project needs and schedules

About Medic

Medic is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2010 to advance health and human flourishing with and for the hardest-to-reach communities. We envision a more just world in which health workers are supported as they provide care for their neighbors, universal health coverage is a reality, and health is a secured human right. Practically, we have advanced our mission by building, implementing, and supporting open-source digital tools that support Community Health Workers, managers, and facility-based health workers. Along with our partners, we build and apply software that helps health workers deliver high-quality, equitable care in redesigned health systems. Our team and partners support more than 28,000 frontline health workers caring for an estimated 15 million people in 18 countries across Africa and Asia.

Each member of our team was drawn to this mission and emboldened by a vision of global health equity. Our diversity of skills and experiences helps us tackle complex challenges – we look forward to hearing from you and exploring ways to work together.