Vacancy Announcement
Organisation: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union)
No. of Positions – 4 (1 in each location)
Type of Employment: Consultancy, Full-Time (Home based)
Location: Nepal – Kathmandu, Bhutan, Sri Lanka - Colombo, Indonesia - Denpasar
Duration: 12 months
Travel: 40% travel
Remuneration: Based on experience and location
Organisation background:
The Union is a global membership, technical and scientific organisation. We were established in 1920 and are led by people who are committed to our vision, mission and values. Our members are organisations and individuals from all parts of the world. We are made up of government and non- government agencies, charities, donors and funders, professional groups, patient groups and civil society organisations. We bring together clinicians, managers, policy makers, front-line workers and implementers, scientists, patients and survivors, advocates and civil society.
The Union’s Vision: A healthier world for all, free of tuberculosis and lung disease
The Union’s Mission: The Union strives to end suffering due to tuberculosis and lung disease by advancing better prevention and care. We seek to achieve this by the generation, dissemination and implementation of knowledge into policy and practice. We aim to ensure that no-one is left behind, people are treated equally and we have a focus on vulnerable and marginalised populations and communities.
The Union’s Values:
- Quality: we deliver our services and products to the highest possible standards.
- Transparency: we are open and direct in our dealings.
- Accountability: we are responsible stewards of resources, deliver on our commitments, and are accountable to our stakeholders.
- Respect: we recognise people’s intrinsic value and have due regard for the welfare, beliefs, perceptions, customs and cultural heritage of those we deal with.
- Independence: we seek to pursue our mission free from interference by conflicts of interest.
The Union’s activities
The South East Asia region (SEAR) contributes 43% of the total global TB burden. Considering the huge burden of TB in the region, there is an immense urgency to strengthen the national TB programs in the region in various priority areas and advocate an integrated approach in TB care and prevention. Most countries in the region are also low-and-middle income countries, indicating the limited resources, economic challenges, and the social bottlenecks. To achieve the goals of the new WHO End TB Strategy of reducing the tuberculosis incidence rate to less than ten infections per 100000 by 2035, management of TB infection needs to be scaled up effectively
The Comprehensive Strategy for Retention in TB Infection Cascade of Care (CRITIC) Project has been designed study to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goals in global south (Africa, South Asia and South-East Asia) by mutual exchange of innovation in alignment with Gates Foundations’ breakthrough goals.
With the target to End TB by 2030 in sight, this study aims to fill the knowledge gap of the impact of an integrated person-centered approach using innovative user-friendly strategies and surveillance tools on the TB infection cascade care in high-risk groups in the SEAR countries. The novelty of this study lies in the systematic approach toward management of TB infection under programmatic settings in the high-risk groups using novel techniques like hand held /portable X-rays, Cy-TB test for TB infection testing, shorter TPT regimens, digital adherence tools, enhanced counselling, and real time mobile based surveillance system for accelerated action in improving the cascade of care for TB screening and TPT.
The study is being undertaken in selected districts of five countries (India, Bhutan, Indonesia, Nepal & Sri Lanka), supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), South East Asia Region Regional Research Platform (SEAR RRP), and International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) through funding from the Gates Foundation. The project is for a period of 3 years from October 2023 to September 2026.
Job Summary:
Reporting to the Director Programme, the Technical Consultant will support the roll out of the project at different sites and streamline the implementation processes in coordination with the NTP team of the Country. 1 Consultant will be placed at each of the sites in the 4 Countries - Bhutan, Indonesia (Denpasar), Sri Lanka (Colombo), Nepal (Kathmandu)
Key Responsibilities
- Establish a robust coordination with the NTP team of the Country and Principal investigators of the study sites.
- Support the countries to implement the research studies as per the plan prepared, obtain ethics approval, coordinate the field work, collect data, coordinate data entry and validation, analyse the data using appropriate statistical software, write research reports and manuscripts for publication.
- Conduct research and analysis based on activities’ data to improve project
- outcomes.
- Develop a monitoring and evaluation plan for the intervention strategies during all the phases of implementation including pre and post implementation period. Execute work plans to meet goals and objectives of the project.
- Support the countries in development of SOPs/training materials with respect to local program practices and guidelines
- Coordinate with the Red Cap team for any trouble shooting or data related queries
- Prepare the agenda and facilitate sessionsin coordination with all sites for quarterly meetings and annual reviews.
- Travel to implementation sites for project oversight and support research team members in project implementation, build their capacity in research, ensuring quality and ethics, adherence to timelines.
- Share progress of on-going activities of the project and future plan in line with the project plan with the Supervisor and seek guidance.
- Liaise with Admin, Finance, and HR teams to take support in order to make project activities as per budget.
- Coordinate Governance meetings, trouble shoot issues and proactively engage with all study sites on a regular basis
- Provide a monthly report and an end-of-assignment report in the prescribed formats on activities, achievements, challenges and recommendations
- Ensure timely submission of reports from the study sites to The Union as per the formats shared
- Any other task as assigned by the supervisor in the interests of the programme.
(Note: These terms of reference may be modified, as required, from time to time, in the interests of the project).
Qualifications and Skills
- MBBS and Post Graduate Diploma/ Post Graduate Degree (MD/DNB/ MPH) (Chest and TB/Internal Medicine Pediatrics/ Community Medicine/ Preventive & Social Medicine/ Medicine/ Tropical Medicine/ Epidemiology/ Public Health) from a recognized university
- Minimum 5 years of experience in public health programmes/projects of which at
- least 2 years are in NTP
- Experience of working with international donor funded projects
- Experience of scaling up TB preventive services at provincial/ State/ National level will be preferred.
- Good writing and communication skills
- A team player who supports social inclusiveness and cultural diversity
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office package
- Proficient in Local language and English
Additional Information
- The role will require flexibility with hours, especially attending meetings can occur outside of standard business hours.
- The position often involves coordination with various departments and external agencies to ensure seamless execution of the work.
To apply
Please send your CV and a covering letter explaining how your skills and experience fit the position to: career@theunion.org.
Interviews will be held remotely. Deadline for applications: 9 April 2025, 12:00 (IST)
The Union is an equal opportunity employer. For more details about the organisation please refer to our website https://theunion.org/.