Context
Thanzi La Mawa Programme
The Thanzi La Mawa (TLM) programme is led by Imperial College London (PI: Professor Tim Hallet) with partners based in the UK and Malawi. The programme’s primary objective is to improve population health and reduce health inequalities in Malawi, by enhancing the efficiency and equity of national health care provision through data-informed prioritization of resource allocation. Model development forms one of the three major themes of the TLM study and is jointly led by Prof Tim Hallett (Imperial College London) and Prof Andrew Phillips (UCL, Institute for Global Health).

Institute for Global Health
These posts will be based within the UCL Institute for Global Health (IGH) which is at heart of UCL’s Grand Challenge of Global Health. IGH’s vision is for a world where international policy on global health is informed by world class research. Directly employing 160 research, teaching and professional support staff, IGH extends its impact across UCL and with our international partners through trans-disciplinary research. IGH
generates an annual income in excess of £11M and teaches 280 students each year with global health modules and undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. IGH’s global connections offer numerous research and funding opportunities as well. Our research links in Europe, South-East Asia, Africa, China and South America are particularly strong.
These posts will be based primarily within the IGH Centre for Clinical Research, Epidemiology, Modelling and
Evaluation (CREME) and the IGH Centre for the Health of Women, Children and Adolescents.

Job Description
Research Fellows (x2) in Health System Modelling (Maternal & New-born Health or Child & Adolescent Health)
Grade: UCL 7 (£36,770 - £44,388 per annum inclusive of London Allowance)
Full time: 1 FTE (36.5 hours per week)
Department: Institute for Global Health Duration: Both posts are available immediately for 3.5 years in the first instance.
Location: Royal Free Campus and GOSInstitute of Child Health, Institute for GlobalHealth, UCL.

LONDON’S GLOBAL UNIVERSITY
Centre for Clinical Research, Epidemiology, Modelling and Evaluation (CREME)
The Centre for Clinical Research, Epidemiology, Modelling and Evaluation aims to apply a diverse range of multi-disciplinary research methodologies to generate a real understanding of problems and their solutions, to inform potential improvements in population health and policy direction. We work locally, nationally, and internationally to realize this goal. The Centre has a growing involvement in work in sub-Saharan Africa, thus far mainly in the area of HIV. This includes modelling to inform World Health Organisation guidelines for HIV prevention, testing and treatment, collaborations with the Centre for Sexual Health and HIV Research in Zimbabwe, the STAR (Self Testing Africa) programme and has also worked on joint projects with Medicin Sans Frontier.

Centre for the Health of Women, Children and Adolescents, Institute for Global Health
The Centre aims to improve the health of women, children, and adolescents in low-, middle-, and high-income countries through inclusive engagement with community members, healthcare service providers, academics, and policymakers. Ongoing research focuses on the development and evaluation of interventions to improve maternal and new-born health, child growth and development, adolescent nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, mental health, protection for vulnerable children, and community mobilization to reduce violence
against women and girls.

Main purpose of these jobs
The Research Fellows in Maternal & Newborn/Children & Adolescent Health Modelling will build on work already completed on antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, postnatal care, pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and malnutrition to build version 2.0 of the TLM programme model using new data from Malawi on health system resource use and intervention delivery.

Duties and responsibilities
Research and Modelling:
• Take responsibility for the maternal and new-born health components, or child and adolescent health components within the overall individual-based simulation model. This will include keeping informed of literature relating to risk factors, disease burden, intervention implementation and intervention effects, keeping the model structure and calibration updated as needed, and coding in Python
• Take responsibility for other components of the model as the need arises throughout the duration of the project.
• To input into new data collection tools and procedures on health system resource use and delivery in Malawi.
• Conduct literature reviews to determine how each health system resource should be modelled structurally and how parameter values should be determined.
• Undertake extensive epidemiological and health economic analyses related to maternal and new-born health/child and adolescent health using the individual-based simulation model.
• Write up as lead author of peer reviewed journal publications and produce other research outputs in line with expertise and personal objectives
• Contribute to other project dissemination activities including scientific conference abstracts, webinars and engagement with stakeholders

Teaching and supervision:
• Contribute to teaching at IGH on relevant topics e.g. tutorials, lectures, marking if appropriate.
• Supervise or assist with the supervision of undergraduate or taught postgraduate (Masters) students where appropriate.
• Supervise junior research assistants (ad hoc) and student affiliates e.g. medical student projects and volunteer researchers where appropriate.

Staff Development:
• In collaboration with the line manager, develop a plan for your personal and professional development.

Additional Duties:
• Proactively engage and liaise with staff within the Institute for Global Health, the Faculty of Population Health Sciences and UCL to ensure academic quality, project management, staffing procedures and code of conduct is maintained
• Participate in departmental and faculty seminars aimed at sharing research outcomes and building interdisciplinary collaboration within and outside IGH.
• Attend staff meetings and training as required
• Undertake relevant training to keep informed of current issues, policies, procedures and legislation
• Maintain awareness and observation of Fire, Health and Safety Regulations
• Adopt and promote awareness of UCL’s Environmental Sustainability Policy and other related initiatives
• Commitment to UCL’s policy of Equal Opportunity, and the ability to work harmoniously with colleagues and students of all cultures and backgrounds
• The post holder will be required to carry out any additional duties as may reasonably be required within the scope and level of the post
This job description is not intended to be exhaustive, and it is likely that duties and responsibilities may be altered from time to time in the light of changing circumstances.

Person Specification
Criteria Essential (E) or Desirable (D)
Assessment method (Application/Interview)

Qualifications, experience and knowledge
PhD or equivalent qualification/experience in a relevant subject area (e.g modelling, epidemiology, biostatistics, mathematics) E Application
Knowledge of maternal and new-born health or child and adolescent health and health systems in low- and middle-income countries E
Application/Interview
Experience and knowledge of health in Malawi in particular D Application/Interview
Experience in epidemiologic mathematical modelling. E Application/Interview
Experience in programming in Python or C++ or similar E Application/Interview
Experience of writing papers for peer-reviewed journals E Application/Interview
Experience of conducting and interpreting a wide range of statistical analyses E Application/Interview
Interest in health economic analysis E Application/Interview

Skills and abilities
Ability to work independently and within a multidisciplinary team E Application/Interview
Good presentation skills E Application/Interview
Good time-management skills, administrative and organisational skills with the ability to prioritise effectively E Application/Interview
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including diplomacy and discretion, and the ability to liaise appropriately and effectively with staff and external individuals at any level of seniority E Application/Interview
Proven ability to deliver quality outputs to demanding deadlines E Application/Interview
Excellent IT Skills including in use of MS Office programme E Application/Interview

Personal Attributes
Self-motivated and proactive problem solver E Application/Interview
Commitment to personal and professional development E Application/Interview
Interest in working as part of a team on an ambitious joint model with high potential for long-term utility E Application/Interview

Apply
To apply for this position visit:
ucl.ac.uk/jobs (full link: https://atsv7.wcn.co.uk/search_engine/jobs.cgi?amNvZGU9MTg4MzU3NSZ2dF90ZW1wbGF0ZT05NjUmb3duZXI9NTA0MTE3OCZvd25lcnR5cGU9ZmFpciZicmFuZF9pZD0wJnBvc3RpbmdfY29kZT0yMjQ%3D&jcode=1883575&vt_template=965&owner=5041178&ownertype=fair&brand_id=0&posting_code=224

For informal enquiries about the role, please contact
Prof Tim Colbourn by email to t.colbourn@ucl.ac.uk

For queries about the recruitment and application process, please contact the IGH HR Team on IGH.HR@ucl.ac.uk