Position Description and Background
The Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health seeks to hire a Research Associate for the India Health System project. The India Health System Reform project is a large-scale effort to advance India’s goal of universal health coverage – providing affordable and equitable access to good quality care for all without major financial hardship – through rigorous research, executive training and mentoring for promising junior health policy/system researchers in India, and other activities. The work portfolio includes in-depth engagement with interested states in India to conduct evidence-based assessments of health system performance and experimentation of innovative models of health financing, health care delivery, strategic purchasing, and governance. Led by the principal investigator, Professor Winnie Yip, the India Health System project brings together a vibrant team of faculty and researchers with disciplinary expertise in economics, evaluation science, health policy and management, clinical medicine, organizational behavior, and political science. The project is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Specific responsibilities
This Research Associate will develop and execute a research agenda together with Professor Winnie Yip and other team members.
- Design and conduct health system performance assessment in interested states, including but not limited to empirical analysis of large survey data sets, interviews, and routinely collected administrative data that represent the health care delivery system in both public and private sectors.
- Contribute substantially to the design, implementation, and evaluation of experiments in innovative models of financing, health care delivery, strategic purchasing and/or governance.
- Contribute substantially to the design and execution of studies analyzing the roles of public and private sectors in primary care financing and delivery.
- Ensure smooth running of research studies and fieldwork in India by developing and maintaining regular communications with field partners and donor agency representatives, apprising the Harvard team leadership of problems and solutions related to the progress of project deliverables.
- Participate in capacity-building and training activities for Indian researchers/analysts on health system and policy research and innovation.
- Guide and supervise Boston-based research assistants in relevant areas of expertise.
- Write-up research results, including contributing to project reports and co/lead-authoring scientific papers and publishing in leading journals.
- Actively engage in dissemination activities and deliver effective presentations as part of policy analysis and dialogue with interested stakeholders including government officials and donor agencies.
Basic Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have a combination of experience that includes having conducted field research in India as well as having completed an academic doctorate related to health systems reform. Specific qualifications include:
- At least two years of field experience directly involved with health policy and reform in India.
- At least two years of experience managing relationships related to internationally-funded development organizations in India, such as the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
- Doctoral qualification in fields related to health policy/health systems with strong disciplinary training in social science, especially in the fields of health economics, industrial organization, organizational behavior, political economy, or public health.
- At least three years of postdoctoral research or equivalent experience.
- Demonstrated ability to conduct collaborative research and work independently in the design and monitoring of research studies and interventions.
- Evidence of research management expertise, including the supervision of research staff.
Additional Qualifications
- Ability to travel and work independently
- Experience conducting field research in other lower- and middle-income countries
Additional Considerations
- The appointment is two years.
- Research Associate level appointments require a minimum two years of post-doctoral experience. Appointment as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow may also be possible for appropriately qualified applicants with less years of experience.
- Depending on public health conditions, significant opportunity to travel and work in India exists (up to 35%) to work with local partners and liaise with stakeholders.
- Please apply online via https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/11581.