PhD Trainees (Ref: Health Economist PhD Intern 04.13) X 2 required | HSRC

PHHSI seeks to appoint two PhD trainees, with an interest and specialisation in Health Economics for a period of three years. The successful candidates will be based in Pretoria or Cape Town.

The Internship Programme in the HSRC is meant to provide the successful candidates with an opportunity to further develop their research expertise by working with subject experts and project specialists. The internship experience is intensive and requires mature individuals who are able to work under supervision and participate effectively in a team. The successful individuals will be required to balance their day to day duties and responsibilities in PHHSI and the HSRC with their PhD studies related work and complete their thesis within 3 years. Time is set aside for this purpose.

Key responsibilities will include:

In addition to completing their PhD degrees within three years, the PhD  trainees are required to participate in all aspects of the research process as they work with staff on research projects related to health care financing and health systems research. Among other duties they will participate in the following activities under supervision:

• Conceptualisation and execution of research projects;
• Writing funding proposals for funding applications;
• Collection and analysis of data;
• Producing peer reviewed research articles that appear in accredited scientific journals
• Write up of research results including workshops and conferences presentations, high quality research reports and manuscripts for submission to accredited scientific journals;
• Developing own personal academic competencies through formal and informal training activities;
• Assist with administrative matters in the research environment.

Key requirements:

• For a PhD Internship, applicants must be in possession of a Master’s degree (or equivalent qualification) and be registered for, or about to register for, a PhD with a registered South African University;
• Have an interest and some experience in Health Economics and any other of the priority research areas of PHHSI (e.g. infant, child and maternal health including reproductive health; nutrition; social determinants of heath such as smoking, alcohol and stress; health promotion and disease prevention, and gender in health and development);
• Experience in and understanding of quantitative and qualitative research approaches will be a strong recommendation;
• Proficiency in or working experience with some or all of the following programmes:  MS Access, Excel, Word, SPSS, STATA, Nvivo, AtlasTI or other relevant statistical packages;
• Sound knowledge of data management and data analysis or statistical skills will be advantageous;
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment;
• Good communication and leadership skills.

The HSRC offers attractive, market-related packages depending on qualifications and experience.

Applications: In your application, please include: your CV, a letter of motivation, the advert reference, the details of three recent referees (with telephone, fax and e-mail contact details), and photocopies of up to three of your sole or first-authored publications.  The HSRC will only consider applications that comply with the above requirements.  Applicants may be required to undertake a written exercise in the competencies required for the position.

Please submit your application to: : The HR Generalist, Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000 or hand deliver it to the HSRC, Ground Floor Reception, Plein Park Building, Cape Town. E-mailed and faxed applications will not be accepted.  For further enquiries, please contact Professor Demetre Labadarios on +27(0)21 466 7802.

The HSRC is committed to accelerating the improvement in the proportion of its senior managers, research leaders and support staff who are black, female or disabled.

Closing date: 13 May 2013. We encourage applicants to submit prior to that date. Applicants who have not been contacted within eight weeks should assume that their application has been unsuccessful. Only candidates who are interviewed will be advised of the outcome of the interview.

APPLICATIONS FROM AGENCIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.