Fellow at ICAP

Job Summary:

This fellowship is designed for Tanzanian part-time students or recent graduates with Master’s degrees or higher in Public Health, Social Work, Economics, Statistics, Education, or related fields who are seeking to start or develop their careers in public health. The program allows fellows to contribute to the implementation science agenda, develop grant proposals, identify business opportunities in diverse health initiatives, and cultivate partnerships with other potential organizations. Additionally, fellows will enhance ICAP’s research, implementation, and analytic capabilities in Tanzania, promoting institutional collaborations and bolstering ICAP’s reputation in research and innovation.

Fellowship Objectives

The fellowship program aims to build local capacity in technical expertise, program leadership, and management of public health programs in Tanzania.

Specific objectives are to:

• Strengthen the capacity of individual fellows in technical and managerial skills.
• Build fellows’ competencies in public health program management, program evaluation, operational research and communication through experiential learning and hands on training and opportunities.
• Provide opportunities for mentorship, training, and networking within the public health and development sector in Tanzania.

 

Projects and Areas of Focus

Throughout the program, fellows will be required to develop their skills and assist with a wide variety of research/technical related tasks and activities, as specified in project-specific roles and responsibilities which will be developed and tailored for each Fellow. Each fellow will be assigned a senior-level supervisor who will mentor the fellow to develop their skills and exposure in a wide variety of research/technical related tasks and activities. Due to this intensive mentorship and commitment on the part of the organization, the Fellowship Program requires a minimum one-year commitment period, renewable subject to need and availability of funds.

Examples of fellowship project areas of focus include:

• Research & surveys
• Monitoring & evaluation
• Informatics & analytics
• Grants & budget management
• Communications & knowledge management
• Quality improvement & trainings
• Laboratory sciences
• Implementation science

Current projects implemented by ICAP in Tanzania include:

• FIKIA Plus: a five-year grant with funding from President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the FIKIA+ Project is dedicated to accelerating and enhancing HIV prevention, care, and treatment to meet the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets in target councils. FIKIA+ aims to expedite ART initiation, boost treatment continuity, and enhance viral load monitoring to improve HIV viral load suppression among those living with HIV. Additionally, FIKIA+ supports implementation of high-quality prevention interventions like voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC), DREAMS programming, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and condom access to vulnerable and at-risk populations.
• Tanzania HIV Impact Survey (THIS): The THIS is a national population-level HIV impact assessment (PHIA) conducted with funding support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and technical assistance through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and ICAP at Columbia University. THIS is being led by the Government of Tanzania (GoT) through the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) and Zanzibar AIDS Commission (ZAC), and the Ministries of Health (MoH) of Mainland and Zanzibar, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Office of Chief Government Statistician (OCGS), and the President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG). NBS, OCGS, and ICAP implement the survey in collaboration with local partners, including the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), the Zanzibar Institute of Health Research (ZAHRI), Public Health Laboratories, the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP), and the Zanzibar Integrated HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program (ZIHHTLP). The survey is currently in the post data collection phase.
• Biobehavioral survey (BBS): ICAP in Tanzania in collaboration with CDC, National Institutes of Medical Research (NIMR), Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), National AIDS Control Program (NACP) and other partners implements the bio-behavioral survey (BBS) among key populations in selected regions of Tanzania. The survey aims to develop a deeper understanding of the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis, syphilis, and the behavioral characteristics among the key populations owing to the established correlation of risk behaviors with increased susceptibility to these infections.
• Laboratory Governance (C19RM): ICAP supports the Ministry of Health in Tanzania under the Global Fund COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) Technical Assistance (TA) Project to address the laboratory governance gap in supporting surveillance activities in the country. Through this TA, ICAP assists the Ministry of Health (MOH) in developing policy documents that will define the role of the laboratory in surveillance activities. In addition, the TA is also expected to result in the development of the laboratory response network to optimize the existing nextgeneration sequencing capacity. Through this TA, ICAP has dedicated local subject matter experts who work hand in hand with the MOH officials and benefit from shortterm TA from ICAP’s pool of global expertise. This project aims to provide high-quality TA to the Ministry of Health in Tanzania to strengthen laboratory networks’ role in public health surveillance.

Location

Fellows may be placed at the central office located in Dar es Salaam or at field offices, depending on the specific goals of the individual fellowship program, which will be tailored to individual interests and organizational/project needs. Travel may or may not be required.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Recent Masters/PhD/DrPH or current Masters/PhD/DrPH student (must be available full time) in relevant fields such as public health, sociology, epidemiology, biostatistics, etc.
• Creativity and innovative thinking, with demonstrated analytical skills and attention to detail
• Strong quantitative background is essential: experience in data collection, analysis, management, and presentation
• Proficiency using statistical software and Microsoft Office Suite
• Experience in protocol development and in writing technical reports
• Strong interest in public health, global health, epidemiology, research, monitoring & evaluation, or other related fields
• Ability to work in a team environment as well as independently
• Strong interpersonal skills coupled with excellent communication skills: verbal, written, listening, presentation, and facilitation
• Ability to multi-task: flexible and capable of working under pressure and tight deadlines with demonstrated ability to prioritize across multiple projects and relationships
• Willingness to travel and work in rural settings if necessary
• Fluent in written and spoken English and Kiswahili
• Must be a Tanzanian citizen