Ethics & Regulatory Capacity Volunteer (Funded)

The Function

King’s Global Health Partnerships works with partners in countries across Africa to strengthen health systems and provide people with high quality health care. Our work in Sierra Leone is a long-term capacity building partnership between King’s College London and key partner institutions in Sierra Leone. We aim to help strengthen Sierra Leone’s health system by improving training, clinical services, policy, and research. Key partners include University of Sierra Leone Teaching Hospitals Complex Connaught Hospital (USLTHC), the College of Medicine & Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS) and the Ministry of Health & Sanitation (MOHS).

Research capacity strengthening has been a key area of work for KGHP, in collaboration with COMAHS, the Sierra Leone Ethics and Scientific Review Committee (SLESRC) and the national regulatory authority (Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone, PBSL). This consortium has recently been awarded a grant by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trial Partnership (EDCTP) to work on strengthening national ethics and regulatory governance and practice in Sierra Leone over the next 2 years. In doing so, this project aims to ensure research is conducted in contextually appropriate and rigorous manner, to protect the rights of participants and promote positive impact of research. The project will be comprised of three work packages:

• Ethics and regulatory governance – developing policies, guidelines, and SOPs to govern the work of SLESRC and PBSL
• Technical expertise – developing the technical expertise of reviewers and regulators across and enhancing local institutional training capacity
• Operational capacity – developing systems and expertise in administrative and financial management

KGHP are seeking a motivated individual with an understanding of ethics and regulatory affairs to support the implementation of this project, in close collaboration with Investigators and project managers. The successful candidate will be embedded in the KGHP team in Freetown and will work closely with COMAHS, SLESRC and PBSL.

The Role

This role will comprise of working with key partners from COMAHS, SLESRC, PBSL and KCL to support:

• Design and implementation of the baseline evaluation (literature review and key informant interviews)
• Analyse and present the findings to stakeholders
• Design workshops to identify and agree upon the specific interventions (guidelines, SOPs, training curriculum, financial and administrative improvements)
• Draft guidelines, SOPs, and training materials
• Design, implementation, and evaluation of training
• Contribute to donor reporting

Person Specification

• Qualifications: Undergraduate and postgraduate degree in relevant discipline (candidates with significant work experience in a relevant field without a postgraduate qualification will be considered)
• Experience: It would be beneficial if the candidate had experience conducting literature reviews and qualitative research, designing, and organising workshops, drafting policy briefs and guidelines. Experience working in bioethics or regulatory affairs in LMICs an asset.
• Skills: Excellent written and spoken English; strong IT skills (particularly MS Office; database skills an asset)
• Personal Characteristics: Excellent interpersonal and intercultural skills, as well as confidence working within a multicultural team and with senior staff from partner institutions; skilled at multitasking and prioritising, working independently with minimal supervision, and leading and designing projects autonomously; an appreciation of the philosophy behind a long-term co-development health partnership.

Support Provided to Volunteers

This is a 6-12 month funded volunteer position, the post holder will be provided with:

• Return flights to and from initial post, plus one paid leave flight to and from Freetown for every six months in post
• £500 monthly stipend for living expenses, paid in local currency
• Multi-entry visa, residency permit & professional registration
• Vaccinations & antimalarials
• Insurance
• Accommodation in a shared KGHP house