The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is ramping up its support in Honduras, working alongside the Ministry of Health to combat malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). CHAI, a global health organization founded in 2002, is dedicated to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low- and middle-income countries. The organization operates at the invitation of governments, supporting them and the private sector to build and maintain high-quality health systems.

Over the past two decades, CHAI has broadened its scope to include infectious diseases such as COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. The organization also addresses non-communicable diseases like cancer, diabetes, and hypertension.CHAI is actively involved in accelerating vaccine rollouts, reducing maternal and child mortality, combating chronic malnutrition, and increasing access to assistive technology.

CHAI emphasizes lasting impact at scale, ensuring that governments lead the solutions, programs are designed for national scalability, and learnings are shared globally. The organization invests in horizontal approaches to strengthen health systems through programs in human resources, digital health, and health financing.

Focus on Latin America and the Caribbean

As 2014, CHAI has been active in the Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) region, supporting Ministries of Health in their efforts to eliminate malaria.CHAI’s work has expanded to include digital health, dengue, essential medicines, and medical oxygen, providing support to countries such as the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, and Ecuador.

The LAC Malaria & Neglected Tropical Diseases program provides direct technical and operational support to strengthen vector-borne disease programs and reduce the burden of malaria, dengue, and other ntds.

In Honduras, CHAI is assisting the government in scaling up effective interventions for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance to achieve malaria elimination and reduce the incidence and mortality of dengue.

New Research Associate Role

To bolster its efforts, CHAI is seeking a highly motivated research Associate to coordinate epidemiological surveillance and analytics work in Honduras. This individual will collaborate with the Ministry of Health and partners to improve case-based malaria surveillance, data analysis, mapping/GIS activities, and operational research studies.

The aim of this support is to ensure that the national malaria program uses robust evidence to inform their strategic and operational decision-making.

The Research Associate will work closely with CHAI’s Global and Regional Malaria Teams, translating epidemiological evidence to malaria programs and other partners. Strong relationship management skills are essential,as the role involves leading projects with the Ministry of Health and third-party organizations.

The Research Associate will report to CHAI’s Senior Technical Advisor for Analytics based in Panama and CHAI’s Program Manager based in Honduras, with additional technical guidance from a Health Information Specialist.

Key responsibilities include:

• Planning and conducting analyses of malaria and NTD data.
• Strengthening the quality, use, and analysis of epidemiological, entomological, and programmatic data.
• Designing, implementing, analyzing, and disseminating operational research projects.
• Synthesizing results and translating them to government partners to support evidence-based decision-making.
• Supporting and implementing surveillance projects related to malaria and NTDs.
• Supporting the rollout and monitoring of surveillance processes and platforms.
• Contributing to the formulation of relevant disease programs documents.
• Providing technical supervision and training to staff members involved in analytics and surveillance activities.
• Representing CHAI at external technical meetings.
• developing and maintaining strong working relationships with key stakeholders.

Qualifications and Advantages

Candidates should possess a Master’s degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, or a related field, along with two years of relevant experience.Strong project management skills, knowledge of malaria and NTDs, and experience conducting epidemiological surveys are essential.

additional qualifications include:

• Experience in monitoring and evaluation of surveillance systems.
• Familiarity with disease surveillance and strengthening information systems.
• Proficiency in data entry, data management, and statistical analysis using software like R or Stata.
• Experience working with government officials and external partners.
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office and internet applications.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a multicultural team.
• Extraordinary written and oral dialog skills in English and Spanish.
• Willingness to travel to malaria-endemic regions.

Advantages include experience in fast-paced environments, qualitative research methods, resource-limited settings (especially in Latin America), decentralized teams, and programming or data visualization tools.

CHAI’s Commitment

CHAI emphasizes that our people are our greatest asset. The organization values diversity and inclusion, recognizing that its mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people with diverse experiences, backgrounds, and cultures.CHAI is an equal Chance Employer committed to providing an environment of fairness and mutual respect.

How to Apply

Interested candidates can apply for the epidemiologist, Research Associate position in Honduras through the CHAI careers website: Epidemiologist, research Associate, Honduras.