Student Researcher Needed on China's Health Aid to Africa

CHINA’S HEALTH AID TO AFRICA: ACHIEVEMENTS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
JOB DESCRIPTION: STUDENT RESEARCHER

Background
As part of the project, China’s Health Aid to Africa: Achievements, Challenges and Opportunities, supported by the President’s Global Innovation Fund, ICAP Columbia and Mailman School’s Global Health Initiative (GHI) are seeking to recruit a student researcher who will analyze and evaluate China health investments in the context of public
health priorities in Africa and specifically in target countries (to-date, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia). This is a unique opportunity for students interested in developing careers in global health, increasing their overseas field experience, and interfacing with key public health leaders in China and Africa.

Key Responsibilities
 Student researcher will gather and support the analysis of data related to China health aid to Africa
 He/she will conduct key informant interviews/discussions that seek to explore concepts that center on policy frameworks, health imperatives, motivation, scope and prioritization processes for aid projects, selection and orientation of Chinese health teams, placement of Chinese teams in-country, orientation at site of work, integration within health services in-country, among other concepts.
 He/she will work with CU faculty who will supervise work and oversee the data analysis and the identification of emergent themes to inform further work and to structure planned scholarly reports. Such themes will inform the outline of a research agenda.

Activities
 In-depth reviews, inclusive of gray and peer-reviewed literature focused on relevant information on China’s health aid to target countries in Africa and the region more broadly
 Development of survey instruments used to conduct in-depth key information interviews and focus group discussions in China and select African countries
 Possible data gathering and documentation of learnings from project planning session in China Africa Health Forum in 2015
 Potential site visits to settings where Chinese medical teams have worked or to other Chinese sponsored health development project sites
 Interviews with key informants such as: Chinese health care workers who have worked in Africa as part of
medical teams, their African health colleagues, managers of health systems in African countries, and African consumers of the health services

Qualifications and Experience
 Priority consideration is given to Columbia University doctoral or Masters students in Public Health, African Studies, East Asian Studies, Anthropology, Journalism, Health Promotion, International Policy and Public Affairs, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology or a discipline related to the project’s objectives
 Excellent communication and facilitation of informant interviews
 Strong writing, research and interpersonal skills and capacity to communicate with a variety of audiences
 Experience in writing scientific manuscripts in the field of health, health systems, epidemiology, or other relevant fields
 Strong understanding of health contexts of target countries or comparable experience in other sub-Saharan countries
 Demonstrated experience in data collection and quantitative analysis methods
 Good project management and organizational skills
 Proven ability to work collaboratively and collegially with a wide range of groups and individuals

Application:
Please email cover letter, résumé or CV (2 page max), 1 writing sample (4 page max) to Melissa Reyes at [email protected] . The position will remain open until filled.