LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
FACULTY OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND POPULATION HEALTH
DEPARTMENT OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGY
THE SCHOOL
The London School of Hygiene &Tropical Medicine is a world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and global health. Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice.
Founded in 1899 by Sir Patrick Manson, the School has expanded in recent years at its two main sites on Keppel Street and Tavistock Place. The School’s multidisciplinary expertise includes clinicians, epidemiologists, statisticians, social scientists, molecular biologists and immunologists, and we work with partners worldwide to support the development of teaching and research capacity.
Research income has grown to over £85 million per year from national and international funding sources including the UK government, the European Commission, the Wellcome Trust and philanthropic sources.
Education programmes have grown to more than 1,000 London-based Master’s and Research students, 2,900 studying Master’s by distance learning and 1,000 on short courses and continuous professional development. We have also launched a series of free online courses, and more than 15,000 people registered on the first of these, Ebola in context. Our staff, students and alumni work in more than 150 countries in government, academia, international agencies and health services.
The School is highly ranked in various university league tables. It was named the world’s leading research-focused graduate school in the Times Higher Education World Rankings in 2013. In 2014, it was ranked in the top 10 universities in the world for citation rate by the new EU-supported U- Multirank database, fourth in the world for impact in medical sciences by the Leiden Ranking and third in the world for social science and public health in the US News Best Global Universities Ranking. According to the results of the UK government’s Research Excellence Framework, published in December 2014, the School was ranked second overall (after the Institute for Cancer Research) on the key measure of impact.
THE FACULTY
The Faculty of Epidemiology & Population Health (EPH) houses a large group of epidemiologists, demographers, statisticians and nutritionists working on issues of major public health importance in the UK and globally. EPH has approximately 400 staff members organised into four research departments.
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology
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Page 1 of 6 Department of Medical Statistics Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology Department of Population Health
The Faculty has a teaching programme consisting of ten MSc courses: Epidemiology, Demography and Health, Medical Statistics, Public Health in Developing Countries (run jointly with the Faculties of Infectious & Tropical Diseases and Public Health & Policy), Nutrition for Global Health, Reproductive & Sexual Health Research, Veterinary Epidemiology (run jointly with the Royal Veterinary College), Global Mental Health (run jointly with Kings College London - Institute of Psychiatry) and the Distance Learning courses in Epidemiology and Clinical Trials. The Faculty also has approximately 120 research students studying for an MPhil, PhD or DrPH degree.
The Dean of Faculty is Professor John Edmunds.
THE DEPARTMENT
The Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology (Head: Dr Veronique Filippi) has over 80 academic staff who conduct research on the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases of public health importance. Work is carried out both in developing countries and in industrialized countries including the United Kingdom. Research ranges from ecological studies of variations in disease frequency in different populations, through observational case-control and cohort studies to define risk factors for disease, to randomised controlled trials to test the impact of specific preventive and curative interventions.
The Department has major field research programmes in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, Brazil and Europe and numerous collaborative projects in other countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Major interests are in the epidemiology and control of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis and other mycobacteria, malaria and other tropical parasites, hepatitis, measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases, respiratory diseases and gastro- intestinal infections. The Department is home to the MRC-funded Tropical Epidemiology Group, and a large research programme on maternal and perinatal health. The Department includes both medical and statistical epidemiologists, and there is considerable interest in methodological work, including research on statistical methods, transmission models, genetic epidemiology and immune-epidemiology. There are strong collaborative links with other Departments across all three Faculties, including with the Clinical Research and Immunology Departments. The Department has an active research degree training programme, with over 40 PhD students.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title: Senior Programmer - Data Warehouse Developer - - Malawi Project
Department: IDE Faculty: EPH
Location: Lilongwe, Malawi
Reports to: Mia Crampin (Deputy Director), IT consultant
Responsible for: Developing a data warehouse for KPS/MEIRU data
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Page 2 of 6 Full Time/Part Time/Casual: 1.0 FTE Hours (if less than full time): FT
Grade: 6
Overall Purpose of the job Under the technical supervision of the consultant, and with assistance from the Senior Data Manager and Senior IT Officer/Programmer be responsible for developing data models to ultimately construct the data warehouse, this will include:-
Interviewing users to determine the data reporting and other requirements Using the requirements and the results of the data profiling exercise to develop an initial list of dimensions and measures Prototyping the model of dimensions and measures and refine in collaboration with the users Developing the full physical implementation of the dimensions and measures Developing the procedures and processes needed to populate the implementation from the source data Training and user support Managing a Data Documentalist, and also a Data Manager at a later stage in the work
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
Communications Communicate on a daily basis with the line managers, Senior Data Manager and Senior IT Officer/Programmer and other data and IT staff at KPS/MEIRU and LSHTM Interview users to determine the data reporting and other requirements Communicate with KPS/MEIRU scientists, analysts and other data users Review and discuss data specifications prepared Training of staff and visitors Provide the technical consultant with detailed technical specifications/reports for data models Produce high quality technical documentation of databases, standard operating procedures and source material using an agreed standard based on outline requirements produced by project managers
Teamwork and Motivation Assist the Senior Data Manager and Senior IT Officer/Programmer in setting goals and identifying what needs to be done, by those who use the project database, such as data managers, report writers and analysts Management of a Data Documentalist and a Data Manager
Liaison and Networking Liaise with project staff in KPS/MEIRU and LSHTM to make sure that data are available in the right format Prototype the model of dimensions and measures and refine in collaboration with the users Build relationships and contacts with users of the databases to facilitate the future requirements of the data warehouse and user interface, both internally and externally Liaise with researchers and data managers to ensure appropriate level of data linking are maintained
Service Delivery Respond to requests for help with data from MEIRU Data Managers and the Data Documentalist
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Page 3 of 6 Respond to requests for information about project data from internal users and external collaborators Be proactive in exploring and understanding the needs of data users
Decision Making Under the guidance of the technical consultant take decisions as to the dimensional model(s) to adopt in order to construct a data warehouse Assist the technical consultant, Senior Data Manager and Senior IT Officer/Programmer in decisions about data cleaning, storage and extraction Participate in collaborative decisions on presentation of the data warehouse to internal and external users
Planning and Organising Under the direction of the technical consultant plan, prioritise and organise his/her own work in developing the KPS/MEIRU data warehouse In liaison with the technical consultant plan and organise the iterative steps required to build the data warehouse
Initiative and Problem Solving With the supervision of the technical consultant develop data models to ultimately construct a data warehouse Under the guidance of the technical consultant develop the full physical implementation of the dimensions and measures With the support of the Senior Data Manager and Senior IT Officer/Programmer develop the procedures and processes needed to populate the implementation from the source data
Analysis and Research Contribute to project presentations, posters and publications by commenting on drafts produced by project research staff and external collaborators Analyse and review all current data and documentation relating to data Liaise and assist the Data Documentalist in the data profiling exercise
Generic duties and responsibilities of all LSHTM employees
This job description reflects the present requirements of the post but may be altered at any time in the future as duties and responsibilities change and/or develop providing there is full consultation with the post-holder. The post-holder will carry out any other duties, tasks or responsibilities as reasonably requested by the line manager, Dean of Faculty, Head of Department or Director of Professional Service. The post holder will be responsible and accountable for ensuring all School policies, procedures, Regulations and employment legislative requirements are adhered to including equality and diversity and health and safety.
This job description is not a definitive or exhaustive list of responsibilities but identifies the key responsibilities and tasks of the post holder. The specific objectives of the post holder will be subject to review as part of the individual performance review (appraisal) process.
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Page 4 of 6 PERSON SPECIFICATION
This form lists the essential and desirable requirements needed by the post holder to be able to perform the job effectively.
Applicants will be shortlisted solely on the extent to which they meet these requirements.
Job Title: Senior Programmer - Data Warehouse Developer - Malawi Project
Department/Division: EPH/DIDE
Competency Evidence E/D
E Education, Qualifications A degree in Computer Science or Information Technology and Training related field
Substantial experience of data warehousing E Experience development D Database management experience in a research setting D Experience of dimensional modelling techniques D Experience in open access data and managing associated D confidentiality Experience of Open Data Kit (ODK) Knowledge Good organisational and problem solving skills, with an E ability to identify and resolve issues and prioritise workloads D Knowledge of PostgreSQL and Microsoft Access Personal Qualities Willingness to be based in Lilongwe, Malawi with travel to Karonga, Malawi and the UK E Excellent interpersonal skills and communication skills, including a proven ability to establish and maintain E effective working relationships with individuals from different backgrounds Legal right to work and/or reside in SADC countries D
E-Essential: Requirement without which the job could not be done D-Desirable: Requirements that would enable the candidate to perform the job well
SALARY AND CONDITIONS OF APPOINTMENT
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Page 5 of 6 The post will be based in our offices in Lilongwe, Malawi, with frequent visits to our rural Karonga site and to London to work with the LSHTM programmers. The position is available to start as soon as possible and is funded by the Wellcome Trust until 31 August 2017. The appointment will be made on the Professional Support Pathway Grade 6 (scale £37,477 - £42,560 per year depending on qualifications and experience). The post is subject to LSHTM’s terms and conditions of service. Membership of the Universities Superannuation Pension Scheme (USS) is available.
ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION
It should be noted that, as this post will be based solely in Malawi, that the School will not provide assistance for a successful candidate to obtain a work visa or other legal right to work in the UK if such candidate does not already have it. If required, administrative assistance and advice will be provided in order to enable the successful candidate to obtain a work permit for Malawi in order to comply with relevant immigration and resident laws in Malawi.
APPLICATIONS Applications should be made on-line via our website at http://jobs.lshtm.ac.uk. Applicants should include a CV and the names and email contacts of 2 referees who can be contacted immediately if shortlisted. Interested applicants are invited to contact Dr Mia Crampin ([email protected]) for further information.
The supporting statement section should set out how your qualifications, experience and training meet each of the selection criteria. Please provide one or more paragraphs addressing each criterion. The supporting statement is an essential part of the selection process and thus a failure to provide this information will mean that the application will not be considered. An answer to any of the criteria such as "Please see attached CV" will not be considered acceptable. Please note that if you are shortlisted and are unable to attend on the interview date it may not be possible to offer you an alternative date.
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