Research Specialist (One Health Coordinator)

Research Specialist (Provincial - One Health/GHS)- Community Health Sciences

Location:
Assigned project district, Sindh, Pakistan, with travel to programme sites and other locations as required

Introduction

Aga Khan University chartered in 1983 as Pakistan's first private international university, is committed to the provision of education, research, and health care of international standards relevant to Pakistan and the region. The affiliated Aga Khan University Hospital provides state-of-the-art clinical facilities and well-equipped diagnostic services. The University currently has teaching sites in Pakistan, East Africa, the United Kingdom, and Afghanistan, and is a major component of Aga Khan Development Network.

As an equal opportunity employer, AKU believes in promoting a diverse and inclusive culture and is committed to adopt appropriate standards for safeguarding and promoting a respectful relationship with and between diverse workforce of its faculty, staff, trainees, volunteers, beneficiaries, wider communities, and other stakeholders with whom it works, including children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees/trainees and partners to share this commitment.

The Department of Community Health Sciences (CHS) is the leading unit of its type in Pakistan, recognized regionally and internationally for the relevance, quality, and extent of its work in support of public health and the development of primary health care systems. It comprises of five major operational sections: Epidemiology & biostatistics, Health policy & management, Population & reproductive health, Environmental health & climate change, and non-communicable diseases & mental health.

This is a grant funded contractual position.

Responsibilities:

You will be responsible to:

• lead and standardize provincial and district-level hazard, vulnerability, capacity, and readiness assessments, including development of methodologies, tools, analysis, and district risk registers
• assess and analyze case-based, community-based, and event-based surveillance systems, including reporting pathways, notification processes, Rapid Response Team (RRT) readiness, and response performance
• lead assessments of laboratory systems, including diagnostic capacity, specimen referral pathways, biosafety, workforce, equipment, quality standards, and operational gaps
• develop research protocols, assessment tools, questionnaires, interview guides, data-collection templates, indicator definitions, and data-verification procedures
• provide technical oversight for the implementation and evaluation of surveillance initiatives, including case-based surveillance, community based surveillance, private-facility IDSR inclusion, event-based surveillance, RRTs, and other surveillance pilots
• analyze data completeness, timeliness, quality, and performance trends and identify system bottlenecks and areas requiring corrective action
• support field testing and evaluation of reporting tools, digital surveillance systems, dashboards, automated alerts, performance scorecards, and M&E tools
• lead analytical documentation of Incident Action Reviews (IAR), Simulation Exercises (SimEx), After Action Reviews (AAR), and 7-1-7 detection, notification, and response performance
• establish and maintain quality-assured programme and milestone documentation, including notification logs, RRT/PHEOC records, laboratory/referral evidence, exercise reports, and other supporting records
• supervise and mentor District Research Specialists and review and consolidate district-level submissions and findings
• prepare technical briefs, presentations, analytical reports, and evidence-based recommendations for government and project decision-making
• participate in field visits, technical meetings, consultations, and other project activities as required.

Requirements:

You should have:

• Master’s degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Sciences, Statistics, Social Sciences, or another relevant discipline
• minimum three years of relevant experience in public health research, disease surveillance, field assessments, programme monitoring, or health-system strengthening
• experience working with district health authorities, surveillance systems, health facilities, laboratories, or laboratory programmes will be preferred
• experience in quantitative and/or qualitative data collection and analysis
• experience in developing research protocols, assessment tools, data-collection instruments, and technical reports will be an advantage
• experience in evidence generation and documentation for public health programmes will be preferred
• strong research, analytical, and evidence-generation skills
• good understanding of public health surveillance, outbreak preparedness and response, and health-system strengthening
• ability to design and implement assessments, research protocols, and data-collection tools
• strong quantitative and/or qualitative data analysis skills
• ability to assess data quality, completeness, timeliness, and performance trends
• strong technical report-writing, presentation, and documentation skills
• strong coordination and communication skills with government, technical, district, and project stakeholders
• ability to supervise, mentor, and support district-level research staff
• strong attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate and high-quality programme documentation
• ability to work independently and deliver outputs within agreed timelines
• willingness and ability to undertake regular field travel within Sindh

Comprehensive employment reference checks will be conducted.

Primary Location

Pakistan-Karachi

Organisation

Aga Khan University Pakistan

Employee Status

Regular

Job Type

Standard

Job Posting

14/09/2026, 10:48:45 AM

Closing Date

21/09/2026, 6:59:00 PM