Multiple Vacancies at Ifakara Health Institute

 

IFAKARA HEALTH INSTITUTE (IHI)

VACANCIES ANNOUNCEMENT

Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) is a leading research organization in Africa with a strong track record in developing, testing and validating innovations for health. Driven by a core strategic mandate for research, training and services, the Institute's work spans biomedical and ecological sciences, intervention studies, health-systems research, service delivery and policy translation.

IHI invites applications from suitably qualified, competent and motivated candidates to fill the following vacant positions:

1. RESEARCH OFFICER – 1 POSITION

Work Station: Bagamoyo Office
Reporting To: Head of Transmission Unit

Key Responsibilities:

• Ensure mandatory compliance with safety protocols within a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) laboratory facility.
• Assist with laboratory experiments analysing DNA, RNA and protein under supervision.
• Apply molecular biology methods such as PCR, DNA/RNA sequencing and gel electrophoresis in transgenesis studies.
• Perform routine malaria parasite culture maintenance, including thawing, expansion, passaging and cryopreservation.
• Prepare and manage malaria parasite culture reagents, including media, supplements and buffers.
• Support researchers in experimental setup, sample preparation and basic biological assays.
• Prepare solutions and reagents, clean and maintain laboratory equipment, manage waste and ensure biosafety compliance.
• Manage laboratory organization and inventory, including stock control and ordering consumables.
• Assist in implementing and maintaining laboratory SOPs.
• Maintain clear and accurate documentation of laboratory activities and experiments.
• Assist in direct and standard membrane feeding assays and mosquito dissection under supervision.
• Contribute to optimizing experimental protocols and maintaining laboratory equipment.
• Participate in literature reviews and preparation of research findings for publication.
• Participate in laboratory meetings and present research findings.

Skills:

• Knowledge of safety protocols and laboratory practices in molecular biology research.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Experience conducting laboratory assays such as ELISA, PCR and insecticide susceptibility testing.
• Proposal and report writing skills.
• Study/experiment design skills.
• Computer skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Knowledge of STATA and R Studio is an added advantage.

Qualification:

• Bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology, Genetics, Biotechnology or a related field.

Experience:

• Hands-on experience and a strong background in molecular biology techniques are an added advantage.

Language:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Swahili.

2. BUDGET AND GRANTS OFFICER – 1 POSITION

Work Station: Dar es Salaam
Reporting To: Senior Budget and Grants Officer

Key Responsibilities:

• Support development, review and monitoring of project budgets.
• Ensure financial terms comply with funding partner requirements, organizational standards, financial procedures and legal obligations.
• Assist with partner contract development, negotiation and close-out procedures.
• Maintain effective working relationships with funding partners and stakeholders.
• Track finances, manage budget adjustments and maintain accurate grant documentation.
• Support project teams in meeting scientific, financial and donor reporting requirements.
• Collaborate with finance, procurement and program departments.
• Support optimization of budgeting, reporting and compliance workflows.
• Assist in coordinating with external stakeholders, auditors and regulatory bodies.
• Perform other duties assigned by the supervisor.

Skills:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly advanced Excel skills.
• Familiarity with ERP or similar accounting software.
• Strong knowledge of budget management, grants administration and financial operations.
• Knowledge of financial regulations, compliance standards and donor-funded project reporting.
• Strong analytical and financial record-keeping skills.
• High ethical standards, transparency and integrity.
• Commitment to IHI core values: Integrity, Initiative, Equity, Excellence and Accountability.

Qualification:

• Bachelor's degree in Accountancy, Finance, Economics or another related field.
• CPA qualification is an added advantage.

Experience:

• Minimum of 3 years' experience in finance, project budget and grants management or related roles.

Language:

• Excellent communication skills for engaging with diverse stakeholders, donors and internal teams.

3. CLINICAL OFFICER – 9 POSITIONS

Work Station: Dodoma
Project: MOOVE-TZ Project
Reporting To: Principal Investigator

Key Responsibilities:

• Coordinate clinical-related activities at the study site.
• Manage data collection and ensure properly completed CRFs.
• Ensure informed consent processes are properly observed according to SOPs.
• Ensure study materials are available and ready for use.
• Compile summaries of generated data and submit them to the study site coordinator.
• Maintain communication with the study site coordinator.
• Ensure the study follows the working protocol and ICH Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Guidelines.
• Report adverse events and other study conduct issues.
• Work professionally and ethically with competence, accountability and integrity.
• Perform other duties assigned by the Principal Investigator/Coordinator.

Skills:

• Computer skills in Microsoft Word, Access, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience using ODK, Kobo Collect, REDCap or similar data collection tools.
• Flexibility in working hours.
• Good teamwork and ability to work with members of the public.
• Experience in GCP-compliant medical research.
• Self-motivation and strong focus.
• Good verbal and written communication in English and Kiswahili.
• Ability to work accurately, diligently and independently.

Qualification:

• Certificate/Diploma in Clinical Medicine.
• Valid GCP training certificate not older than two years.

Experience:

• At least 2 years' experience working in clinical research.

4. CLINICAL OFFICER – 1 POSITION

Work Station: Bagamoyo Office
Project: EAVI Project
Reporting To: Project Leader

Key Responsibilities:

• Support clinical trial site preparation and ensure compliance with study protocols, SOPs, GCP and regulatory requirements.
• Screen, recruit, enroll and follow up study participants.
• Obtain informed consent and collect clinical data.
• Maintain accurate study documentation.
• Monitor, document and report adverse events and serious adverse events.
• Perform clinical procedures, including blood sample collection, labelling, handling and processing.
• Participate in community engagement activities.
• Ensure adherence to ethical standards, GCP and study procedures.
• Contribute to research reports, scientific presentations, publications and training of junior staff.
• Perform other duties assigned by the Project Leader or Principal Investigator.

Skills:

• Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Data entry and records management.
• Time management.
• Leadership and management skills.
• Meeting coordination and conflict-resolution skills.
• Good interpersonal skills.

Qualification:

• Diploma in Clinical Medicine or a related field.
• Current GCP training for substantial clinical trials.

Language:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English and Swahili.

5. CLINICAL RESEARCH COORDINATOR – 1 POSITION

Work Station: Bagamoyo Office
Reporting To: Head of Facility

Note: This is an internal advert; internal applicants are encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities:

• Operate the BCTF staffing-control, training, competence, controlled-procedure and embedded-QC systems.
• Supervise and support trial-specific Clinical Trial Coordinators.
• Coordinate deviations, root-cause analysis, CAPA, change control and implementation of approved improvements.
• Support facility-wide and trial-specific audits, inspections and oversight visits.
• Coordinate readiness, documentation, responsible personnel, responses and follow-up actions.
• Coordinate BCTF interfaces with RQA and relevant IHI departments.
• Track agreed actions and escalate unresolved staffing, training, process, documentation or compliance deficiencies.
• Verify trial staffing, training, delegation, controlled documents, processes and quality controls.
• Coordinate trial-specific Clinical Trial Coordinators during trial setup, conduct, close-out and inspection readiness.
• Reassess readiness following significant protocol, staffing, process, system or risk changes.

Skills:

• Strong knowledge of GCP, quality management systems and clinical-trial operations.
• Competence in staffing control, training management and competence assessment.
• Proficiency in controlled document and procedure management.
• Competence in process QC, deviations, root-cause analysis, CAPA and change control.
• Strong audit and inspection readiness skills.
• Ability to coordinate trial teams and institutional support departments.
• Strong organizational, documentation and records-management skills.
• High attention to detail, independence, accountability and problem-solving ability.

Qualification and Experience:

• Relevant degree or professional qualification in Health Sciences, Clinical Research, Clinical Medicine, Biomedical Sciences or a related field. A CRA certificate is preferred.
• Current GCP training.
• Substantial clinical-trial coordination or clinical-research management experience.
• Demonstrated competence in staffing controls, training and competence systems, SOP lifecycle management, document governance and embedded QC.
• Demonstrated competence in deviations, root-cause analysis, CAPA and change control.
• Experience supervising or supporting Clinical Trial Coordinators.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary departments and technical units.
• Experience coordinating readiness for sponsor, regulatory, ethics and internal audits or inspections.

Language:

• Strong communication skills in Swahili and English.

6. LABORATORY TECHNOLOGIST – 1 POSITION

Work Station: Bagamoyo Office
Project: EAVI Project
Reporting To: Project Leader

Key Responsibilities:

• Perform malaria parasitology, immunology and molecular laboratory testing according to approved protocols and SOPs.
• Receive, process, document and test clinical specimens while ensuring specimen integrity and traceability.
• Conduct immunological assays including ELISA and intracellular cytokine staining.
• Conduct molecular assays including PCR, RT-PCR and qPCR for malaria parasites and viral pathogens.
• Record, verify and maintain accurate laboratory data and study documentation in compliance with GCLP.
• Maintain laboratory equipment, reagents, consumables and specimen inventories.
• Support laboratory quality assurance and quality control activities.
• Ensure compliance with biosafety, biosecurity and laboratory safety procedures.
• Participate in development and implementation of study SOPs.
• Support project meetings, monitoring visits and audits.
• Contribute to data analysis, report writing, scientific publications and dissemination of research findings.
• Train and mentor junior laboratory staff on laboratory procedures, GCP/GCLP and SOPs.
• Perform other duties assigned by the Principal Investigator/Laboratory Manager.

Skills:

• Immunological and molecular laboratory analysis.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge of Good Clinical Practice and Good Clinical Laboratory Practice.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to independently manage workflow.

Qualification:

• Bachelor's degree in Laboratory Science, Molecular Biology, Immunology or a related field.

Language:

• Excellent communication skills in English and Swahili.

7. MEDICAL DOCTOR SPECIALIST – 1 POSITION

Work Station: Bagamoyo Office
Reporting To: Head of Biomedical Research and Clinical Trials

Note: This is an internal advert; internal applicants are encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide overall operational leadership and accountability for BCTF capability, trial readiness and safe facility operation.
• Ensure implementation of ICH-GCP and local regulatory and ethical requirements.
• Integrate scientific, clinical, participant, quality and resource functions of BCTF.
• Identify and address significant risks, capability gaps and institutional support requirements.
• Operate an approved BCTF governance structure.
• Report significant capability, safety, quality and resource risks.
• Review workforce, operating budget, infrastructure, equipment and investment requirements.
• Prioritize resource needs based on safety, compliance, trial pipeline and operational demand.
• Review regulatory and ethical requirements and require documented readiness assessments.
• Monitor implementation and evidence status.
• Restrict, postpone or suspend BCTF activities where participant safety, data integrity, compliance or capability is compromised.
• Assess proposed trials, PIs and research teams before facility approval.
• Monitor delivery and escalate failures affecting participant safety, data integrity, compliance or operational continuity.

Skills:

• Independent trial risk assessment and mitigation.
• Strong ethics and ability to multitask and meet deadlines.
• Protocol and proposal development.
• Resource prioritization, budget and investment review.
• Quality assurance management and audit.
• Trial design and clinical risk assessment.
• Ethics, regulatory and assurance oversight.
• Strong teamwork, integrity and ability to work in a multicultural environment.

Qualification:

• Medical degree with postgraduate qualification in Medicine, Health, Clinical Research, Public Health, Health Service Management or a related field.
• Professional registration.
• Current GCP training.

Experience:

• More than 3 years' clinical research experience.
• Strong understanding of clinical trials.
• Substantial leadership experience in clinical trials or regulated clinical research.

8. MEDICAL DOCTOR SPECIALIST (PHYSICIAN) – 1 POSITION

Work Station: Bagamoyo Office
Project: SINCEP-Africa Project
Reporting To: Project Leader

Note: This is an internal advert; internal applicants are encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities:

• Ensure emergency assessment, resuscitation, stabilization and hospital-transfer procedures are operational.
• Ensure referral hospital, ambulance, out-of-hours medical and escalation arrangements are current and accessible.
• Verify clinical monitoring, medical cover and emergency-readiness requirements.
• Review emergency trolley configuration, dosing-bed suitability, alarm coverage and emergency access.
• Lead emergency-scenario programmes and ensure corrective actions are documented.
• Review clinical-readiness deficiencies and escalate unresolved risks.
• Review trial risk assessments and determine whether clinical and emergency capabilities are sufficient.
• Specify additional monitoring, rescue treatment, specialist support, staffing and emergency arrangements.
• Ensure referral pathways, transfer information, emergency equipment and clinical cover are appropriate.
• Verify completion of required risk mitigations before trial activation and dosing.
• Ensure appropriate personnel conduct medical-history review, clinical assessment, monitoring, dosing-day medical cover and participant safety review.

Skills:

• Strong knowledge of resuscitation, stabilization, referral and hospital-transfer requirements.
• Clinical-trial risk assessment and participant-safety oversight.
• Advanced clinical judgment and emergency-response competence.
• Ability to evaluate emergency equipment and facility readiness.
• Ability to lead emergency simulations.
• Strong knowledge of GCP, delegation and PI oversight requirements.
• Strong leadership and multidisciplinary coordination skills.
• Clear written and verbal communication.
• High attention to detail, accountability and commitment to participant safety.

Qualification:

• Medical Doctor Specialist (Physician) with current professional registration.
• Current GCP and recognized advanced life-support certification or approved equivalent.

Experience:

• Relevant clinical-trial and recent emergency-management experience.
• Competence in resuscitation, stabilization, transfer, clinical risk assessment, emergency-cover planning and readiness verification.

Language:

• Clear written and verbal communication in English and Swahili.

9. PHARMACIST – 1 POSITION

Work Station: Bagamoyo Office
Project: SINCEP-Africa Project
Reporting To: Project Leader

Note: This is an internal advert; internal applicants are encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities:

• Operate BCTF regulatory and ethics stakeholder-engagement and approval-follow-up functions.
• Establish and maintain effective engagement with institutional, national, regional and international regulatory and ethics stakeholders.
• Provide investigators with specialist regulatory and ethics advice from concept development through study completion.
• Develop and maintain Regulatory and Ethics Pathway Advisories.
• Facilitate pre-submission engagement with authorities, committees and permit bodies.
• Support navigation of submission portals and resolution of procedural barriers.
• Follow up outstanding acknowledgements, reviews, queries, decisions, approvals, permits and closure outcomes.
• Identify and troubleshoot barriers that may delay approvals.
• Coordinate access to appropriate scientific, clinical, ethical, legal, financial and technical expertise.
• Interpret review questions, decisions, conditions, restrictions, permits and post-approval obligations.
• Maintain records of regulatory advice, stakeholder engagement and follow-up.
• Review regulatory and ethics pathways for proposed studies.
• Identify required approvals, clearances, permits, insurance arrangements and other permissions.
• Review submission packages for major gaps and pathway risks.
• Follow up submission and approval delays.
• Advise on approval conditions required before trial activation.
• Ensure pharmaceutical activities are assigned to appropriately qualified personnel, including investigational-product preparation, dispensing, accountability and rescue-medicine management.

Skills:

• Investigational-product or medicine preparation skills.

Qualification:

• Postgraduate or Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy, Public Health, Clinical Epidemiology, Epidemiology, Clinical Research, Clinical Trials, Clinical Pharmacology or a demonstrably related field.

Experience:

• More than 3 years' clinical research experience with strong understanding of drug/vaccine clinical trials in humans.
• Current GCP training and substantial clinical-trials experience.
• Experience with clinical-research regulatory and ethics approval pathways.
• Demonstrated experience with Tanzanian regulatory, ethics and research-permit requirements.
• Experience using electronic regulatory, ethics and permit submission portals.
• Experience engaging investigators, sponsors, CROs, regulators, ethics committees and other stakeholders.

Language:

• Clear written and verbal communication in English and Swahili.

10. RESEARCH OFFICER – 2 POSITIONS

Work Station: Dar es Salaam Office
Project: Map EA Node Project
Reporting To: Senior Research Scientist

Applicants from Africa, especially females and those from malaria-endemic countries, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities:

• Undertake and support literature reviews, data searches and data extraction.
• Obtain, manage and conduct preliminary processing and analysis of datasets.
• Use Excel, ArcGIS/QGIS, STATA, R, Python and other software to examine, manipulate, analyze and process data.
• Create graphs, reports, maps and other visualizations.
• Select, follow and adapt data extraction and manipulation protocols.
• Promote best practices in data use and analytics.
• Maintain backups and documentation of data-processing procedures.
• Identify workplace hazards and apply appropriate controls.
• Report workplace injuries, illnesses and near misses.
• Abide by institutional policies and procedures.

Skills:

• Strong computer, organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent numerical and data-analysis skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Proven project and time-management abilities.
• Ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary teams with minimal supervision.
• Understanding of epidemiology of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and other infectious diseases.
• Ability to write code in R Studio, develop packages and dashboards.
• Proficiency in R/Python, STATA or other statistical and data-visualization applications.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Interest in career development, including MSc or PhD studies in advanced modelling.

Qualification:

• Minimum Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Data/Computer Science, Engineering or a similar quantitative discipline.

Experience:

• Experience managing, analyzing, interpreting, wrangling and manipulating data using different software platforms.
• Experience with R software is essential.
• Experience developing and/or delivering training for different audiences.
• Experience working with spatial data and geometry files using GIS tools.

Language:

• Ability to communicate verbally and in writing in English.
• Knowledge of French, Spanish or Portuguese is an advantage.

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• An attractive and competitive remuneration package shall be offered to successful candidates in accordance with IHI salary scales.
• Ifakara Health Institute is an equal employment opportunity employer.
• IHI is committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment.
• Employment decisions are based solely on job requirements, merit and individual qualifications, in compliance with the labor laws of Tanzania.
• Ifakara Health Institute does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process.
• Applicants should disregard any written or oral request for payment for a job offer or interview that appears fraudulent or suspicious.

APPLICATION DEADLINES

For positions 1–9: Opening Date: 03 August 2026
Closing Date: 14 August 2026

For Research Officer – 2 Positions: Opening Date: 10 August 2026
Closing Date: 23 August 2026

HOW TO APPLY

Interested and qualified candidates should apply online through the Ifakara Health Institute recruitment portal.

Official Application Portal: https://recruitment.ihi.or.tz/ihicareers/Career.aspx?ext=7&cc=jDjnpaqYiKk%3d

Applicants are advised to carefully review the requirements for their preferred position and submit their applications before the respective deadline.

Source: Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) Careers Portal.

APPLY HERE NOW