Project Research Scientist I Non-Medical/ Consultant
Craft a career
story that makes you proud! Every human, after all, is a greater possibility!
Project
Research Scientist I Non-Medical/ Consultant
Number
of Vacancies- 3 (1 Community
Process,1 Facilities Coordination, 1 System Support)
Primary Location: Varanasi
What is Community Empowerment
Lab?
We, at Community Empowerment Lab,
love to watch our people write their own stories – stories of success and
challenges, stories of connecting with communities, of serving mothers and
children. Stories of serving our nation.
So, who are we exactly? We are a Not
for Profit Research Organization working on the frontiers of maternal and
neonatal health, serving some of the most vulnerable through innovations and
leveraging cutting-edge scientific approaches in public health. We are driven
by scientific evidence, national priority, and global public health challenges!
Our mission revolves around empowering communities by providing them with
evidence-based solutions to address their needs, thereby bridging the gap
between communities and scientific knowledge. We adopt a grounds-up approach,
engaging with communities to understand their requirements and co-designing
solutions with scientific rigor. These solutions undergo trials and
implementation research to ensure efficacy. The insights gained are then scaled
up to influence state, national, and global policies and practices. Our focus
lies at the intersection of newborn survival and maternal health, health system
strengthening, and early childhood development, aligning all our initiatives to
tackle both local and global challenges faced by newborns and mothers.
We are the Collaborative Centre of Excellence for Indian Council of Medical
Research, joining hands with several scientific research organizations
pan-India to address numerous national priorities and build a future scientific
workforce for the country! We are also
an ICMR - Centre for Advanced Research
for Neonatal and Maternal Health working on solutioning newborn survival.
In Uttar Pradesh, we support the UP National Health Mission as a newborn
survival specialist through UP TSU (Uttar Pradesh Technical Support Unit).
For more information please visit our website
What defines us as a team?
We are young, collegial, committed,
and sensitive- a bunch of creative people who love to do science with a
compassionate heart. We believe in human goodness, unending capacities to grow
as leaders, and finding meaning through their consistent efforts that often
meet success (and failure too!). We believe in learning by doing! We believe in
soiling our hands, doing science in the midst of the community, and keeping the
community at the center of our work! We are not merely desktop researchers. We
value high-impact research publications and simultaneously bring solutions to
the doorstep of those who need them most!
Our people drive the organization and
contribute to mutual growth. Some bright public health scientists, tech talent,
management mavens, community organizers, and volunteers have kept us going for
over twenty years now. We are ambitious, and growing and we need many more of
our tribe now. At CEL, we encourage people to pursue a career and a passion for
public health service. What do you get when you join CEL? The freedom to
express your talent, the joy of watching the difference your work makes to our
nation, and the reward of working with a vibrant, joyful team.
Who are we looking for?
We are looking for three scientists,
with demonstrated experience in bringing together communities, health
facilities, and the larger health ecosystem to design solution space in order
to address issues of neonatal health and survival, as well as the health of
mothers. We need:
- A Community Design
scientist will systematically develop interventions and strategies to
address challenges of newborn survival, in close consultation with
stakeholders in the community.
- A Health Facility Design
Scientist who will work towards engineering solutions at health facility
operations, improving its functionality effectively to address challenges
of newborn and sick newborn care. This position will be responsible for seeding our research findings
in institutional settings.
- A Systems Design
Scientist will work across with government agencies like the NHM and
district health administration and beyond health agencies ( like -
Panchayat Raj System, Education System, Rural Development, District
Administration, and Political leaderships) to continuously synergies and harmonize solutions that will strengthen
actions towards newborn health and survival.
Scope of Work
● Conduct a comprehensive
review of existing literature, data, and initiatives related to neonatal
mortality and solution designing
● Identify key
stakeholders including healthcare providers, policymakers, and community
leaders, for insights and strategize stakeholder onboarding
● Analyze demographic
trends, healthcare infrastructure, health facility operations, cultural
factors, and socioeconomic conditions and various influencing neonatal health
outcomes.
● Plan, design and facilitate
design thinking workshops involving cross-disciplinary teams to generate
innovative solutions.
● Utilize human-centered
design methodologies to empathize with end-users (mothers, families, health
workers, and other stakeholders), define problem areas, ideate potential
interventions, prototype solutions, and delineate testing protocol.
● Develop social design
strategies that consider the socio-cultural context, community norms, and
behavioral factors influencing neonatal care practices.
● Design interventions
that empower and engage communities, leveraging local resources and knowledge
to foster sustainable solutions
● Explore the integration
of technology such as telemedicine, mobile health applications, or wearable
devices to enhance neonatal healthcare delivery and monitoring.
● Ensure technological
solutions are accessible, user-friendly, and compatible with the local
infrastructure and resources.
● Collaborate closely with
cross-functional teams, including public health experts, clinicians, designers,
and policymakers, government agencies, private professional bodies and
non-health players to integrate diverse perspectives and co-develop holistic
solutions.
● Bridge disciplines and
sectors to leverage complementary expertise, resources, and networks in support
of shared goals and collective impacts.
● Establish metrics and
indicators to measure the effectiveness and impact of implemented
interventions.
● Document the design
process, learnings, and outcomes to create a knowledge repository. Share
insights, best practices, and successful case studies through reports,
presentations, and publications to contribute to the broader discourse on
neonatal health
Qualification, Experience and
Skills
● First Class Post Graduate Degree, including the integrated PG degrees,
in Public Health/ Epidemiology/Social Sciences/Engineering/ IT/ CS or a related
field, with a focus on maternal, newborn, and child health with three years’
Experience OR PhD.
● ICMR age norms will apply and applicants (age - 40 years or below)
● Proven experience applying human-centered design principles and
methodologies to address social challenges, preferably in the context of public
health or community development.
● Strong analytical skills with proficiency in qualitative and
quantitative research methods, data analysis, and interpretation.
● Excellent communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills, with
the ability to engage diverse stakeholders and build consensus across multiple
perspectives.
● Demonstrated commitment to social justice, equity, and community empowerment,
with a track record of advocacy, activism, or community organizing.
● Experience working in interdisciplinary teams and navigating complex
systems to drive collaborative action and systems change.
● Prior experience in implementation research is desirable.
● Willingness to travel
extensively to the study sites.
● Strong interpersonal
skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary
teams and stakeholders.
● Experience in ethical use
of AI tools in research (chatGPT etc.)
● Proficiency in Hindi and
English is required.
Compensation: As per ICMR norms.
Application Procedure:
If you find this opportunity aligning
with your skills and passion, we welcome you to apply by following these steps:
Ø Apply on this link
Ø Craft a brief yet impactful cover letter, around 500 words, that details
your motivation for applying, your interest in Maternal and Newborn Health, and
your enthusiasm for contributing to the work of Community Empowerment Lab.
Ø Attach your updated resume
with a recent photograph.
Ø We kindly request that you
include your current and expected salary details, along with your anticipated
start date, in your cover letter
Requirements
● First Class Post Graduate Degree, including the integrated PG degrees,
in Public Health/ Epidemiology/Social Sciences/Engineering/ IT/ CS or a related
field, with a focus on maternal, newborn, and child health with three years’
Experience OR PhD.
● ICMR age norms will apply and applicants (age - 40 years or below)