Research Officer/Ethics Executive officer

Summary about this job

Detail information about job Research Officer/Ethics Executive officer. Terms and conditions vacancy

Ashfield location

Part Time Permanent Position (32 hours/week)

Position Overview

The Research Officer/Ethics Executive Officer will provide timely, confidential executive and administrative support to the Family Planning NSW Ethics Committee.

This position will also be actively involved in Family Planning NSW research and evaluation activities and projects.

Selection Criteria

Essential

• Relevant postgraduate qualification in a health-related field (e.g. public health)

• Experience in health-related research and evaluation

• Knowledge of the NHMRC ethical guidelines and demonstrated experience with research ethics processes

• Proven experience in writing literature reviews, research proposals and ethics applications

• Demonstrated ability to collate data/information from disparate published and unpublished sources and the ability to effectively track and manage data, versions and updates, and data sources

• Understanding of Australian health data sets and data sources.

• Experience in the design and management of evaluations of health promotion or education interventions and activities

• Proven experience in qualitative and/or quantitative data analysis

• Ability to work concurrently on a number of different projects and to coordinate projects within time and budget constraints

• Strong analytical and problem solving skills

• Proven high level organisational skills and oral and written communication skills

• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a task-oriented team and multi- disciplinary team

• Intermediate to advanced level computer literacy in MS Office 

Values

• Must be pro-choice which includes a women’s choice to terminate a pregnancy 
• Must support the Family Planning NSW values:
  • Human rights focus - promoting the rights of all people to reproductive and sexual health
  • Integrity - maintaining a strong ethical base, being accountable and transparent
  • Inclusiveness - valuing and respecting diversity without judgement
  • Equity of access - ensuring access to our services for all including priority populations
  • Client  centred - placing the needs of the whole person at the centre of our work
  • Commitment to excellence - ensuring high standards in all our work

Other requirements

• A Criminal Record Check  and/or Working With Children Check is/are required prior to commencement in this role

Key Responsibilities

Research Officer

• Liaise with stakeholders and organisations engaged in gathering reproductive and sexual health data
• Identify key data sources and organisations and request data not publicly accessible
• Conduct focus group discussion and/or surveys to identify learning needs, data collection reporting gaps
• Follow up on data collection requests
• Perform data cleaning, data collation, data manipulation and data analysis.
• Develop project specific materials for all phases of the project (e.g. desk top review report, workshops, data definitions)
• Undertake literature reviews, report writing and research grant application submissions as required
• Liaise with education, clinical, research,  health promotion senior staff and Executive in order to support their information needs
• Assist the Director Research Centre in the implementation of FPNSW ethical considerations guidelines including  writing of ethics applications, consent forms, participant information sheet and other relevant ethics documents
• Provide secretariat for related project committees and working groups.
• Contribute to the planning, design, implementation, research and evaluation of Family Planning NSW activities including workshop design, focus groups planning, questionnaire design, data collection and analysis and report writing.
• Pursue and develop relevant research and evaluation grants or other external funding for Family Planning NSW as required.
• Coordinate relevant FPNSW research projects and prepare qualitative research articles for peer reviewed journals and government reports.
• Assist staff in the development or review of papers to be presented at health conferences as required.
• Other duties as required by Director Research Centre to ensure the efficient functioning of the Research Unit

Ethics Executive Officer

• On behalf of the Ethics Committee Chairperson, act as the first point of contact for communication with Principal Investigators and all other queries relating to ethics.
• Act as Secretary to the Family Planning NSW Ethics Committee to support the conduct of research which meets high ethical standards.
• Review all research proposals and amendments submitted to the Committee for ethical review to ensure that proposals meet an appropriate standard.
• Receive  and  review all  other  documentation  in  preparation for attending  the
• Family Planning NSW Ethics Committee meetings.
• Prepare agenda  items  for  Ethics  Committee  meetings  including  all  business arising, incoming and outgoing correspondence, general business, new projects, adverse event notifications and organisational matters.
• In consultation with the Committee Chairman, allocate and redirect submissions to appropriate Ethics Committee members, Scientific Review Panel and/or Family Planning NSW staff for the preparation of responses in line with Standard Operating Procedures.
• Record and prepare the minutes of the Family Planning NSW Ethics Committee meetings in line with the Standard Operating Procedures and forward to the Chair for review in a timely manner.
• Coordinate the circulation of the agenda papers, previous meetings minutes for ratification  and  other  key  documents  to  the  Ethics  Committee  to  ensure  all relevant information is provided prior to Ethics Committee meetings.
• Attend the Family Planning NSW Ethics Committee meetings which are held on Tuesday evenings every six weeks.
• In consultation with the Ethics Committee Chairperson, prepare outgoing correspondence reflecting the minutes of the meeting to the Chief Investigators. Outgoing correspondence must be sent within 10 working days of the Ethics Committee meeting.
• Co-ordinate  the  completion  and  submission  of  all  reporting  requirements  as indicated  by  the  NH&MRC,  the  NSW  Privacy  Commission  and  the  Family Planning NSW Ethics Committee Terms of Reference.
• Co-ordinate  the  review  and  update  of  the  Family  Planning  NSW  Ethics Committee Terms of Reference, Standard Operating Procedures and Ethics Committee membership at least every three years or as required.
• Ensure the currency of template documents such as the “Annual Compliance Report” form, research approval correspondence and other pertinent documents as required.
• Liaise with NH&MRC as required.
• Participate in Ethics Committee recruitment activities, including preparation of all relevant paperwork, as directed by the Director Research Centre
• Perform other activities relating to ethics as required by Family Planning NSW Ethics Committee Chairman and/or Family Planning NSW Chief Executive Officer or their delegate.

Financial and resource management / administration

•  Maintain appropriate resource allocation, and effective management and administrative practices, in accordance with organisational policies, processes and delegations of FPNSW.