RESEARCHER (Maternal, Infant and Child Nutrition)

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

APHRC seeks to recruit a Researcher to work in the Nutrition and Food Systems Unit within the Research Division, mainly focusing on research on maternal, infant and child nutrition.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Conduct research on nutrition and related areas which may include community-based, school based or desk-based research. Tasks may include study conceptualization and design, project management and coordination including training of field workers, supervision of field work and data management, data analysis, report writing.
• Develop and test strategies to inform policy & practice to optimize breastfeeding, maternal & child nutrition, adolescent nutrition, and food security as appropriate.
• Lead and contribute to proposal development.
• Lead and contribute to scientific writing.
• Supervise, mentor and train junior research staff at the Center.
• Lead policy engagement, knowledge translation and communication to appropriate audiences.

 Qualifications, Skills, and Experience 

• PhD in Nutrition, Public Health or closely related fields.
• Strong writing skills and good record of publications on relevant areas in sub- Saharan Africa.
• At least three years’ post-doctoral experience in research in maternal, infant and young child nutrition/nutrition in the first 1000 days plus and nutrition of children under five years.
• Experience in developing proposals and attracting research grants, particularly in maternal, child and adolescent nutrition.
• Demonstrated experience in managing research teams and partnerships.
• Proven experience in conducting household surveys.
• Strong quantitative skills (managing, analyzing and interpreting data), with extensive familiarity with quantitative statistical packages (e.g. STATA, SAS or SPSS).
• Computer literacy in Microsoft packages (e.g. MS Word, MS PowerPoint and MS Excel).
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills and ability to work in a culturally diverse team.

Desirable

• Expertise/experience in adolescent nutrition.
• Expertise in nutrition of school going children.
• Expertise in human-rights based approach to food systems.
• Experience with work on climate change including linking climate change and nutrition and health.
• Expertise in qualitative methods, including familiarity with qualitative analysis software packages (e.g. NVivo).

The successful candidate may be appointed at Associate Research Scientist (3-5 years after PhD), Research Scientist (6-11 years after PhD) or Senior Research Scientist (12+ years after PhD) levels depending on experience and track record. These positions are classified under Internationally Recruited Positions (IRP), Grades II to V in our scales.

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

through our recruitment portal https://aphrc.org/vacancies/. 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. Cover letters should be addressed to:

The Human Resources Officer

African Population and Health Research Center, Inc

APHRC Campus, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, Kitisuru

P.O Box 10787-GPO, Nairobi

Website: www.aphrc.org

APHRC is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the protection of vulnerable persons