Background

Established in 1989, Ethiopian Public Health Association (EPHA) has been implementing national and continental projects/programs for the last 32 years with the aim to promote better health services for the public and uphold professional standards through advocacy, active involvement and networking. According to the new proclamation number 1113/2011 EPHA has re-registered by the Ethiopian Agency for Civil Society Organization (ACSO) as a local non-governmental organization.

As part of its mandate to strengthen public Health Researches, the Association would like to employ one Institutional Review Board (IRB) Administration Officer to support protocol review, management and regulation.

Job Summary

The IRB Administration Officer will support the IRB of EPHA by ensuring a good and timely implementation of IRB activities including but not limited to: (a) managing the IRB office activities, (b) archiving documents, (c) coordinating IRB meetings and implementation decisions, and (d) communicating with IRB stakeholders under the supervision of the IRB chairperson.

Duties and Responsibilities

• At a minimum, the responsibilities of the IRB Administration Officer will be:
• Informing and advising the principal investigators, sponsors, and new IRB members of applicable regulations, guidelines, processes and procedures;
• Managing the timely progress of protocol review through initial and continuing contacts with Principal Investigators. This includes identifying and requesting missing documentation in applications and preparing the completed file for review;
• Preparing the meetings of the IRB, including the distribution of relevant documentation to the members, scheduling the meetings, and ensuring the quorum;
• In close collaboration with the chairperson of the IRB, preparing applications that will be evaluated through expedited review;
• Following-up with tasks that the IRB requests the principal investigators to perform such as progress reports, final reports, corrective actions, amendment of the approved protocol or consent documents etc;
• With the guidance from chairperson of the IRB, preparing minutes of IRB meetings;
• With the guidance from the chairperson of the IRB, preparing reports of IRB meetings and annual reports of IRB activities. The annual report includes information about sources of funding and expenses of the IRB;
• With the guidance from the chairperson and members of the IRB, seeking grants to support the activities of the IRB;
• Record keeping, including maintaining research protocols and all correspondence in relation to their review, as well as records of any continuing oversight that may be required after approval. The Officer ensures that the confidentiality of IRB records is maintained;
• Facilitating access to literature and educational programs useful to the members of IRB;
• Updating information about IRB membership, including declarations of potential conflicts of interests;
• Annual plan preparation
• Devise a strategy to improve
• Performing other duties as assigned by the Executive Director (immediate supervisor) or the IRB Chairperson, as appropriate in light of the IRB Officer’s training, expertise, capacity, and resources. Such responsibilities may include keeping abreast of developments in research ethics and regulation, engaging in trainings and community outreach, serving as a liaison between the IRB and the research community, and facilitating implementation of quality improvement and quality assurance programs.

Accountability and expected outcome

• The IRB Administration Officer is responsible for reporting on activities to the chairperson of the IRB and the Executive Director of EPHA.
• The IRB Secretariat Officer will improve the performance and timely delivery of IRB tasks and projects in particular in the fields of communication and administrative management.

Qualification

• Education: Master’s degree in health sciences;
• Professional Experience: At least two years of work experience in the area of research coordination. It is desirable if the candidate has prior experience working in research ethics or related committees;
• Languages: Fluency in written and spoken English is essential; ability to work in other Ethiopian languages is an asset.

Job Requirement / Competencies

• Planning: Ability to identify priority activities and assignments, allocation of appropriate amount of time and resources for completing given tasks;
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• Experience in using communication tools: Good computer skills;
• Curiosity and open-mindedness: ability to ask questions to clarify, exhibit interest in having two-way communication, and demonstrate openness in sharing information and keeping people informed;
• Teamwork: ability to work collaboratively with IRB stakeholders to achieve IRB goals, willingness to learn from others, ability to work in a multi-cultural environment, capacity to work with transparency, and capacity to build trust in colleagues.

Other Skills

• Able to foster cooperation among research team and relevant stakeholders;
• Excellent command of communications programs and software (graphic design, etc.);
• Excellent computer skills are required in the complete Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Publisher, Access). Knowledge of Adobe software (Photoshop) will be an advantage.