Researcher - Epidemiology

The Department of Public Health of the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp (ITM) conducts public health research of international standing, delivers postgraduate education of high quality, and engages in service delivery to advance public health. The department is organized into multidisciplinary research groups, including public health specialists, epidemiologists, and social scientists. Within the Department of Public Health, the Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) group aims to contribute to the improvement of sexual, reproductive, and maternal health of populations primarily (but not solely) in low resource settings, by collaborations in innovative research, advanced education, policy support and capacity strengthening. In our research, we use quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods inter-disciplinary approaches (e.g. (social) epidemiology, sociology, anthropology, psychology, demography) to understand risks and vulnerability and how to address these vulnerabilities.

The SRH Group has two units: the HIV and Sexual Health unit and the Maternal and Reproductive Health unit. Within the dynamic and interdisciplinary HIV and Sexual Health unit, there is an exciting opportunity for a junior researcher in epidemiology to support ongoing projects in sexual health and to contribute to teaching on basic epidemiology and statistical methods in epidemiology.

Assignment:

A key focus of this post will be to support the impact evaluation of an intervention to deliver integrated HIV/NCD services for men in Zambia. The intervention will be delivered over two years following a period of formative research. The intervention aims to improve men’s knowledge of their HIV status and access to NCD screening services. The assignment therefore involves:

• Providing high quality, epidemiological support to studies on sexual health in various settings, including questionnaire development, protocol writing among other tasks. On

• Providing support in processing and analysing epidemiological data, including routine service delivery data

• Developing manuscripts for publication in scientific journals

• Organizing and delivering teaching on basic epidemiology and statistical methods for epidemiology

Profile:

• MSc degree in epidemiology or public health (with evidence of having completed courses on epidemiology and statistics for epidemiology)

• 1-3 years of experience in the conduct of epidemiological studies

• Experience handling complex epidemiological data, including data management and analysis.

• Proficient in scripting with R (or other programming languages) for epidemiological data analysis

• Experience teaching basic epidemiology and/or statistics for epidemiology.

Other skills

• Excellent knowledge of English.

• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, written and orally

• Good organisational and analytical skills

• Team-player who can work across cultures respectfully, and are open-minded

• Experience in sexual health research is desirable 

• In possession of the necessary permits to start as soon as possible

We offer you:

The Institute of Tropical Medicine is committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive institute. We strive for excellence and relevance, integrity, sustainability, persistence and fairness. Your assignment contributes to the socially relevant mission of the ITM. We value human dignity and diversity, academic creativity and a critical spirit, solidarity and cooperation. We take care of the well-being of employees, students, patients and clients.

• A full-time position 100% with a contract of unlimited duration depending on available funding. Starting date: as soon as possible in 2025.

• A collegial working environment with attention to work-life balance and individual growth and development.

• A workplace in the centre of the vibrant city of Antwerp, easily accessible by public transport.

• A salary set according to the pay scales of ITM and to your work experience with some supplementary benefits, such as private pension scheme and meal voucher subscription.