Post-doctoral Health Economist (OUCRU)

Background

The Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) is a large-scale clinical and public health research unit, with sites offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam, Jakarta in Indonesia and Kathmandu in Nepal. In Vietnam, we are hosted by the Hospital of Tropical Diseases (HTD) in Ho Chi Minh City, and the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases (NHTD) in Hanoi. OUCRU Nepal has partnerships with the Patan Academy of Health Sciences and Patan Hospital, and OUCRU Indonesia exists in partnership with the University of Indonesia. As a Wellcome Trust Africa Asia Programme, we have received considerable support from the Wellcome Trust since our establishment in 1991.

OUCRU’s vision is to have local, regional and global impact on health by leading a locally driven research programme on infectious diseases in Southeast Asia. Priority is given to health issues important to the hospitals where we work, and to the countries as a whole where we operate: Vietnam, Indonesia and Nepal. All work is intended not only to benefit the patients seen daily at our host hospitals, but also to help improve patient care.

OUCRU employs approximately 320 people across Viet Nam and has an average annual budget of USD 12mil. Please see more information on OUCRU Website: www.oucru.org

Job Details

Position: Post-doctoral Health Economist (JDHAN_0723_010)
Department: Research
Location: OUCRU-VN offices at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases – 78 Giai Phong, Dong Da, Ha Noi
Hours of work: Full time: Monday – Friday, 37.5 hours per week, extra hours may be required.
Tenure: Initially for 01 years, including a 02 month probation period, with possibility of extension based on annual performance appraisal and Research approval
Reporting to: Director of OUCRU Ha Noi

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced, self-motivated, analytically-minded post-doctoral Health Economist to join OUCRU in Ha Noi. They would be expected to help build OUCRU’s health economics capacity and develop their own research and career. They will join OUCRU Hanoi – where much of the work is on Antimicrobial Resistance, including with national level stakeholders – and work with the principal investigators there, but will also be expected to work with the groups in Ho Chi Minh city on health economics aspects of the research conducted there, especially clinical and community trials. They will engage strongly with Vietnamese policymakers and stakeholders to support their role and OUCRU’s mission.

Randomised controlled trials of interventions to improve the diagnosis and treatment of infectious disease are central to OUCRU’s scientific and public health mission. We need to be able to determine whether such interventions are cost-effective.

Another major research focus at OUCRU includes laboratory and epidemiological studies on infectious disease. Much of the epidemiological research is translatable into public health policy in the form of vaccination timing, treatment deployment, or prevention measures. Health economic analyses of these public health policies are critical for adoption, roll-out, and improvement at the national scale.

The post-holder would be expected to lead or contribute to these analyses.

Health economics was established in the OUCRU programme only 6 years ago, but there is currently no in-house health economist. Therefore, an important component of the post will be to help re-establish health economics within OUCRU and, in particular, to rebuild in-house capacity to design and perform health economic analyses linked to our research.

In addition to the activities describe above, the postholder will be expected to establish their own research programme. They will be eligible to apply for core funds to support the development of their research and career and expected to apply for external funding sources to increase their research capacity and outcomes.

Leadership training and career development support will be available to the post-holder through OUCRU’s existing and bespoke personal development programme.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks

The post holder will report to the Hanoi unit director and will be responsible for:

Leading OUCRU’s health economic research programme
Providing health economic support to the clinical and scientific research at OUCRU
Developing their own research programme
Producing original high quality publications, conference presentations and other relevant reports
Presenting research findings through talks at international conferences and publications in international scientific literature
Leading, supervising, and contributing to the writing of applications for competitive external research funding
Supervising PhD and MSc students and other junior researchers including clinicians
Mentoring junior researchers
Participating in meetings, team briefing sessions, as required
Participating in and supporting OUCRU’s public and policy engagement work
Actively engaging with OUCRU’s hosts and main collaborators to formulate relevant research questions
Maintaining and developing contacts with national and international collaborators
Participating in and supporting OUCRU’s training programme
Other duties as required by the Unit Director

Selection Criteria

Essential:

A PhD in Health Economics or a related discipline
Expertise in health economic analysis, particularly cost-effectiveness analyses
Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage with both senior and junior staff
A proven ability to work collaboratively
A strong publication record
Proven ability to work well under pressure, be self-motivated and to work collaboratively across disciplines
Experience of managing and motivating research staff
Fluent Vietnamese

Desired:

Experience of supervising MSc or PhD students
Experience of working with policy makers and other stakeholders
Existing connections with Vietnamese policy makers
Ability to acquire external funding
Experience of conducting research within southeast Asia or a similar resource-limited setting

Benefits

Contracted salary: Negotiable (depending on actual experience and education).
Optional insurance: In-patient and out-patient medical coverage; Personal accident insurance coverage
Two months’ salary for annual bonus and clothes
Annual leave 18 days each year for the first year
Other responsibilities and benefits are based on Viet Nam Labor Law.

How to Apply

Interested qualified candidates are invited to send their detailed resume and cover letter in English, including copies of relevant degrees, certificates by email to Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Hoa – Operations Manager: hoaptt@oucru.org

* The cover letter should detail:

What part of your education, training or employment history has best equipped you for this position and why you would be a good candidate?
Contacts of two referees who are your latest HR/ line manager and can provide details of relevant work experience and attitude