The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is leading African-based, African-led international research institution headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya with a Regional Office in Dakar, Senegal. APHRC conducts policy-relevant research on population, health, education, urbanization and related development issues in sub-Saharan Africa.

APHRC seeks to recruit a highly motivated and talented Post-Doctoral Research Scientist to work within the West Africa Regional Office (WARO) in Dakar. The candidate will join a growing team that develops local, national and international spatiotemporal models for environmental determinants of health, such as air pollution, climate related covariates and built environment that can be used for studies of their health effects. The ideal candidate should have strong quantitative, environmental science and epidemiology background, and is seeking experience in the application of advanced methods, such as machine learning/Artificial Intelligence and novel statistical methods in exposure science research.

This is a new role arising from the implementation of the current five-year strategic plan which has, subsequently triggered tremendous growth in our programs.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Conduct research on the intersection between climate change and health, which may include desk-based and community-based research.
• Lead or contribute to study conceptualization and design, project management and coordination including development of research tools for use in data collection, field staff recruitment coordination, training and supervision of field staff, data management, data analysis and report writing.
• Conduct data collection, cleaning and processing and take responsibility for data quality, programming. Carry out statistical analyses with quantitative statistical packages (e.g. STATA or R)
• Apply novel statistical approaches to research work.
• Collaborate with scientists with diverse backgrounds in the execution of various tasks.
• Support ethical approval process from national ethics committees for research projects.
• Contribute to proposal development.
• Lead and contribute to scientific paper writing.
• Mobilize and sensitize the community about research projects.
• Assist in the translation of project documents from English to French and vice versa.
• Prepare periodic activities and project reports.
• Participate in the dissemination of research findings and dialogue on action items with appropriate audiences.
• Prepare policy briefs and fact sheets based on project results.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• PhD in Epidemiology, Population Health or Public Health, Environmental Health, Climate Change and Health or related fields.
• At least 2 years of professional experience following completion of PhD degree, preferably in a research setting.
• Strong quantitative skills (managing, analyzing and interpreting data), with extensive expertise in medical statistics, biostatistics, computer science, modelling and projections, GIS and geospatial analysis.
• Good analytical and computational skills.
• A good record of publications on relevant areas in sub Saharan Africa.
• Ability to work on concurrent projects, prioritize and balance multiple tasks.
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team with people from diverse cultures.
• Ability to manage field staff, research teams and partnerships.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational and time management skills with ability to meet tight deadlines.
• Strong work ethic and ability to work under pressure.
• Excellent oral and written communication in English and French.
• Should have work experience in Francophone West Africa.

Desirable

• Experience with work on climate change and health intersection including linking heat impact on health.
• Experience with geospatial analysis, GIS, and data science.
• Experience with advanced statistical methods used in environmental health
• Experience with high performance computing cluster environments.
• Experience in analyzing spatial data.
• Disposition to work in multicultural and multidisciplinary teams.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their application in English, and include:

  1. A letter of application;

  2. A statement of research interests and goals (1-2 pages); and

  3. CV with contact details of three referees

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates will be required to have a Police Clearance Certificate.

Special Notice

APHRC is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.