The Malawi – Liverpool – Wellcome – Research Programme (MLW) is an internationally recognized centre for research and training, funded by the Wellcome Trust in collaboration with our key partners, the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KuHeS), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and University of Liverpool (UoL) among others. We are committed to promoting research and training led by Malawian & International scientists, with the aim of improving the health of people in Malawi and elsewhere in the Region.

Our vision: To be Africa’s’ based beacon of excellence leading impactful research that drives innovation, policy and practice globally.

Our mission: To conduct high quality research and train the next generation of researchers and leaders to benefit health.

Job Purpose:

The role provides an excellent opportunity for a post holder to work and provide statistical support to the various research groups while based in the Data Science, Computation and Modelling Unit (DSCMU) within the core programme. The post holder will be reporting to the head of the DSCMU. The broad function of the position is to provide statistical support and training to MLW research projects, to contribute to the unit’s applied statistical research agenda and to strengthen MLW’s engagement with the wider statistical community in Malawi. The position will allow the post-holder to develop their career as a biostatistician, and she / he will be supported in this professional development.

Responsibilities or duties

• Provide statistical support to research groups: give advice on study design, sample size considerations, draft statistical analysis plans, advise on, help with or do data analysis and statistical modelling.
• Deliver short courses, workshops and tutorials on statistical design, methods and software, both at MLW and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS).
• Contribute to the DSCMU’s applied statistical research agenda and lead or contribute to research grant applications as principal or co-investigator or collaborator, including personal fellowships.
• Liaise with MLW researchers, the clinical research support unit, data management staff, laboratory staff and MLW operational departments as required.
• Present work at national or international seminars, meetings and / or conferences.
• Develop academic leadership skills by, among other things, supervising MSc students at UNIMA or KUHeS or interns at MLW depending on the alignment of the students’ research and your own research interest.
• Deputize the head of the unit at institutional strategic meetings (such as monthly heads of department meetings) where necessary.
• Maintain a log file recording both the projects and the time spent working on them for the purpose of invoicing recharges to projects and audit trail.
• Help with DSCMU administrative tasks such as entering requisitions or approving purchase orders on MLW’s finance system and liaising with the facilities team at MLW when needed.

Qualifications or requirements 

• Ph.D. (or equivalent) degree in statistics, biostatistics, medical statistics or equivalent.
• Competency in the use of the R environment for statistical computing is essential, and experience of other statistical software (e.g. Stata, SAS) is a bonus.

Experience needed

• At least 2 years’ experience of applying and / or researching statistical methods.
• At least 2 years’ experience in data analysis and / or management.
• Professional experience of working with biomedical data, such as clinical trials or epidemiological studies.
• Experience of working in a health-related research environment.
• Experience of working with high performance computing systems is highly desirable.

• Provide statistical support to research groups: give advice on study design, sample size considerations, draft statistical analysis plans, advise on, help with or do data analysis and statistical modelling.
• Deliver short courses, workshops and tutorials on statistical design, methods and software, both at MLW and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS).
• Contribute to the DSCMU’s applied statistical research agenda and lead or contribute to research grant applications as principal or co-investigator or collaborator, including personal fellowships.
• Liaise with MLW researchers, the clinical research support unit, data management staff, laboratory staff and MLW operational departments as required.
• Present work at national or international seminars, meetings and / or conferences.
• Develop academic leadership skills by, among other things, supervising MSc students at UNIMA or KUHeS or interns at MLW depending on the alignment of the students’ research and your own research interest.
• Deputize the head of the unit at institutional strategic meetings (such as monthly heads of department meetings) where necessary.
• Maintain a log file recording both the projects and the time spent working on them for the purpose of invoicing recharges to projects and audit trail.
• Help with DSCMU administrative tasks such as entering requisitions or approving purchase orders on MLW’s finance system and liaising with the facilities team at MLW when needed.

• R environment for statistical computing
• Stata
• SAS
• High performance computing systems

• Ph.D. (or equivalent) degree in statistics, biostatistics, medical statistics or equivalent.