Project Scientist-I

Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research; New Delhi; On-site; INR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Collaborative Environment

Academic Excellence

Research Opportunities

Ethical and Patient Centered

Job summary

Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research invites applications for Project Scientist-I in New Delhi. This full-time, non-clinical research role focuses on field operations, household listing, consent, enrollment, data capture and field supervision.

The ideal candidate holds a Master’s in public health or a related field, with 3 years in community-based research, experience supervising field teams, and willingness to engage with local languages including Hindi.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in public health / nutrition / Dietetics / Community Health/Social Sciences or an allied discipline.

Responsibilities

• Manage field operations in an assigned set of clusters, reporting to the Project Scientist-II.
• Conduct and supervise household listing at cluster entry and its rapid update at crossover, screen for eligibility and enroll dyads.
• Provide participant information, obtain informed consent from caregivers, enrol dyads and co-ordinate baseline and follow-up visit schedules.
• Administer dietary diary records and CPI at baseline and follow-ups.
• Deliver SWAAD-CF counselling sessions across clusters and maintain materials.
• Coordinate urine specimen collection and cold-chain transfer to the laboratory.
• Review electronic data capture, flag missing data and document protocol deviations.
• Support refinement of counselling package and engage with communities and local bodies.
• Ensure protocol compliance and refer ill infants to health services as needed.
• Supervise Health Visitors and project staff and report progress weekly.
• Any other task assigned by the PI or Project Scientist-II.

Job description

Project Scientist-I

New Delhi | Full Time | Non-Clinical

Responsibilities

• Manage field operations in an assigned set of clusters, reporting to the Project Scientist-II.
• Conduct and supervise household listing at cluster entry and its rapid update at crossover, screen for eligibility (infants aged 6-11 completed months, resident in the cluster) and achieve the target of 22 enrolled dyads per cluster within the cluster s baseline window.
• Provide participant information, obtain written informed consent from caregivers, enrol dyads and co-ordinate baseline and follow-up visit schedules.
• Administer the 24-hour dietary diary record with structured probes and exposure checklists in the local language at baseline and at the 3-, 6- and 9-month follow-up visits, and administer the CPI at baseline and endline.
• Deliver the SWAAD-CF counselling sessions in clusters that have crossed over - 4-6 fortnightly sessions across the intensive three-month phase followed by brief maintenance reinforcement contacts - using flip charts, cue cards, caregiver booklets and recipe guides adapted to the cluster s cultural pocket.
• Co-ordinate urine specimen collection in the 200-dyad biomarker subset: scheduling at baseline/startline, midline and endline, caregiver coaching, labelling, aliquoting, chain-of-custody documentation and cold-chain transfer to the laboratory.
• Review electronic data capture regularly, flag and resolve missing or out-of-range entries, and document protocol deviations.
• Support human-centred refinement of the SWAAD-CF counselling package and Cultural Tailoring Matrix based on field feedback, and assist in community sensitisation and engagement with cultural associations and local bodies.
• Ensure compliance with the approved protocol, SOPs, ICMR guidelines and informed consent procedures at field level, and ensure referral of infants with acute illness, severe undernutrition or other health concerns to appropriate health services.
• Supervise the Health Visitors and Project Technical Staff and report weekly progress to the Project Scientist-II.
• Any other task assigned by the Principal Investigator or Project Scientist-II.

Essential qualification

Master s degree in public health / nutrition / Dietetics / Community Health/Social Sciences or an allied discipline.

Desirable

Experience in supervising field teams, 24-hour dietary recall and infant anthropometry, electronic data capture, and working knowledge of Hindi.

Experience

3 years experience in community-based or field research or infant nutrition.

Why Join Us

• Collaborative Environment
• Academic Excellence
• Research Opportunities
• Ethical and Patient Centered