Project Research Scientist I Non -Medical/ Consultant

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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 https://www.celworld.org

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:

1. A Community Design scientist will systematically develop interventions and strategies to address challenges of newborn survival, in close consultation with stakeholders in the community.
   


2. 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.
   


3. 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 https://www.celworld.org/work-with-us

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)