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Jobs in South Africa
Jobs in South Africa

Vital Strategies helps governments strengthen their public health systems to contend with the most important and difficult health challenges. We design solutions that can scale rapidly and improve the lives of millions of people. Our mission is to work in partnership to reimagine evidence-based, locally driven policies and practices to advance public health.

Job Information:

  • Job Title: Principal Technical Advisor, Research
  • Country: South Africa
  • City: Johannesburg
  • Office: Vital Strategies in Johannesburg
  • End Date: December 10, 2025

Job Purpose:

The Principal Technical Advisor, Research, CODA, will lead and coordinate all research activities under the CODA project. This includes setting and managing the research agenda, ensuring technical and methodological rigor across all phases, producing high-quality knowledge products, and adhering to timelines. The Principal Technical Advisor, Research, CODA, will report to the Project Director, Consortium Lead, CODA, and will work closely with consortium partners, Centers of Excellence, the Scientific Advisory Committee, and Technical Working Groups to ensure that CODA research meets international standards, informs product development, and accelerates adoption at scale.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Working closely with the Project Director, Consortium Lead, CODA, and other consortium partners, the Principal Technical Advisor, Research will have the following specific responsibilities:

Consortium Engagement & Representation –

  • Engage with the Scientific Advisory Committee and TWGs, ensuring that these bodies are updated on research progress and findings and that their technical advice informs project implementation;
  • Work closely with consortium partners, Centers of Excellence, and experiment country stakeholders on issues related to research.

Research & Technical Leadership –

  • Supported by the Senior Project Manager, lead the development of the overall CODA research agenda, aligned with project goals, user needs, and donor priorities;
  • Lead the site selection process for experimentation phases of the project;
  • Coordinate direct-funded research at experiment project sites, supporting study teams to ensure the timeliness of implementation and the quality, comparability, and relevance of research outputs;
  • Lead the development of study protocols for the experimentation phase, including design, sampling, and analysis plans, ensuring COE and SAC input and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval;
  • Monitor the progress of each consortium partner’s research agenda development and metrics gathering;
  • Provide technical insights and contribute to the strengthening of the AI models and algorithms for cause-of-death assignment;
  • Manage the project budget for experimental research;
  • Provide project implementation support as needed by the Project Director;
  • Contribute to progress monitoring and reporting on the project’s research and knowledge management activities.

Ethics & Data Governance –

  • Lead the development of ethical guidelines and standards for CODA research;
  • Contribute to the development of data governance and sharing agreements;
  • Ensure adherence to ethical standards, IRB processes, and national regulations;
  • Oversee data governance, privacy, and security protocols, including development of informed consent statements.

Knowledge Generation & Management –

  • Supported by the Senior Project Manager, promote feedback loops to ensure research findings directly inform iterative product development;
  • Lead knowledge management efforts, including global stakeholder engagement and journal supplements;
  • Develop communication materials that summarize and convey the strength of the research agenda and summarize results for public scrutiny;
  • Supported by the Senior Project Manager, coordinate publication strategy and supervise the production of peer-reviewed manuscripts, reports, and conference presentations for directly funded research;
  • Ensure funded manuscripts, research findings, and de-identified data are placed in the public domain and disseminated;
  • Represent the project at conferences and expert panels.

Capacity Strengthening –

  • Support COEs in building regional capacity for CODA-related research and dissemination;
  • Lead stakeholder engagement for co-hosted dissemination events, national workshops, and donor-facing presentations.

Other –

  • Support the development of a consortium proposal for funding of pilot testing as a follow-on grant;
  • Participate in annual meetings and other convenings as required;
  • Lead TWG(s) as required;
  • Other duties as assigned by the Project Director, Consortium Lead, CODA.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education and Degree

  • Minimum of a Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., public health, epidemiology, public policy, demography).

Skills and Abilities

  • Ability to set and drive a comprehensive research agenda aligned with project goals and timelines;
  • Strong analytical and methodological skills to ensure rigor and credibility in research design, implementation, and reporting;
  • Capacity to synthesize complex data and research findings into clear, actionable insights for diverse audiences;
  • Strong leadership and coordination skills in complex, multi-stakeholder, interdisciplinary projects, ideally in a product or software research context;
  • Demonstrated expertise in mortality measurement, cause of death assignment, or health information systems;
  • Deep knowledge of research design, statistical analysis, and implementation of research methods, ideally in a product or software research context;
  • Familiarity with ethical and regulatory frameworks for health data in LMICs;
  • Strong written and oral communication skills;
  • Proven ability to facilitate collaboration across consortium partners, Centers of Excellence, and technical advisory groups;
  • Ability to foster innovation while adhering to international research standards and ethical guidelines;
  • Ability to provide leadership and coordination to an inter-agency collaboration representing diverse perspectives;
  • Comprehensive project management skills, with the ability to make sound, informed judgments;
  • Ability to navigate various interests and operate in a dynamic and complex political environment;
  • Near native fluency in oral and written English, proficiency in other languages will be an advantage;
  • Experience with knowledge management and strategies to ensure effective dissemination of program lessons and influence on policy and practice;
  • Ability to build strong, ongoing, impactful relationships across a diverse range of cultural, ethnic, and social backgrounds;
  • Demonstrated commitment to an inclusive working and learning environment.

Experience

  • Minimum 15 years’ experience in health research, with significant leadership in multi-country projects;
  • Proven experience leading complex, multi-partner research initiatives in global health, development, or related fields;
  • Demonstrated expertise in designing, managing, and executing rigorous research agendas, from conceptualization through dissemination;
  • Strong technical knowledge of research methodologies, including both quantitative and qualitative approaches, with the ability to ensure scientific rigor across all phases;
  • Ability to translate research findings into actionable insights for policy, program implementation, and large-scale adoption;

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should send their application through Online [Apply-Now]. For more details visit official website: www.vitalstrategies.org