Archives Manager NGO Careers – Medical Research Council (MRC UK) /UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit
Organisation: Medical Research Council (MRC UK) /UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit
Duty Station: Entebbe, Wakiso, Uganda
Reports to: Head of Data Management
Position Code: AM-920
About US:
The Medical Research Council (MRC UK) is an internationally recognised centre of excellence with dominant research themes in the areas of HIV and emerging infections, vaccines and immunity, and chronic diseases and cancer. Through a multidisciplinary approach, intersecting basic science, epidemiological research, social-behavioural research and the conduct of new intervention evaluation studies, the Unit contributes knowledge on changing epidemics and diseases, the evaluation of innovative health care options, treatment and prevention and the development of health policy and practice in Africa and worldwide. Following the signing of strategic transfer agreements between the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Medical Research Council (MRC UK), the Unit formally joined LSHTM on 1st February 2018. The exciting new partnership will boost research capacity into current and emerging health issues in Africa and throughout the world. The Unit is based at the UVRI Entebbe campus with established outposts in Kalungu, Masaka, Wakiso and Kampala Districts.
Job Summary: The Archives Manager will support MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit (The Unit) achieve its mission “To conduct research to add knowledge and improve the control of infectious and non-communicable diseases in Uganda, in Africa and globally” by improving and managing an effective, modern, and professional records archival infrastructure and establishing and managing an electronic data and digital archive system, based upon recognized archival procedures. They are responsible for overseeing and managing compliant storage of Unit physical and electronic record archives.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
General Responsibilities
- Be responsible for the development and management of the day-to-day running of the Archives in all stations;
- Develop, implement and maintain policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) related to the acquisition, arrangement, description, processing and preservation and retrieval of records;
- Support the proper storage and indexing of all records at the Unit (e.g. clinical, operations, regulatory, biorepository, laboratory, among others;
- Establish an agreed (internationally recognised) retention policy for records. This will avoid the possibility of records being stored unnecessarily or destroyed prematurely;
- Set up robust procedures for destroying all confidential research records no longer needed to be maintained in the archive and across the unit;
- Establish and/or reinforce SOPs in compliance with applicable standards such as Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) or ISO 15189 with the help of research staff so that proper records creation procedures are put in place, and a completed, final version of a research dataset is archived at the electronic data archive in accordance with the department’s procedures;
- Create and chair the Unit’s Data Archives Committee (DAC);
- Help to bring about a cultural change, working with and through the Heads of Programs in the way that MRC Research Staff view data, to ensure the understanding that records do not belong to individuals but to the Institution. Hence, records must be made available as a resource to the institution for maintenance and sharing after projects have finished.
- Oversee the smaller archive facilities at the Unit’s field stations;
- Advise on the ongoing organisation and storage of records in order to encourage the Unit to plan for the future;
- Spearhead the Archives Digitisation project;
- Directly line manages a team of staff including Archives Assistants to deliver effective and compliant services at the Unit; and,
- Facilitate training sessions on archival procedures to internal and on occasion external stakeholders.
Archives Management Systems
- Develop and implement digital archiving systems to enable existing paper records to be digitally archived using modern scanning systems;
- Facilitate the development/implementation of a computerized system to enable scanned records and electronic research data (datasets) to be easily stored, accessible and searchable to MRC researchers and collaborators;
- Work with Data Managers to ensure that upon database lock, research data is archived successfully as per the department’s set procedures; and,
- Facilitate remote access to electronic records by maintaining user-friendly, computer- aided search systems.
Line Management Responsibilities
- The post holder is line managing and directing a team of Archives Assistants to achieve the
- overall objectives of the post. As such, the Head of Archives is responsible for ensuring thefollowing:
o Staff are enabled to perform their assigned duties as expected;
o Staff professional development is nurtured in line with the Unit’s and LSHTM’s capacity building goals;
o There is a positive and supportive work environment in the department;
o Staff feel included and valued and their professional feedback and proposals are heard and considered;
o Staff expectations are clearly communicated;
o Staff performance is regularly monitored;
o Potential conflicts are resolved promptly and decisively, involving HR support where needed;
o Formal appraisals are conducted within the departments in line with the Unit’s schedule;
o Applicable LSHTM and Unit HR policies are being followed at all levels; and,
o Participate in the development of equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The ideal candidate must hold a Bachelor of Records and Archives Management /BSc in Information Management / Information Systems / Records and information Management or related fields, or significant experience working at a senior level in Archival or Information/Records Management;
- At least three years of experience dealing with data and records handling;
- Experience working in a medical research setting is desired;
- Experience of working at a junior management level within a large organisation with a
- proven record of delivering required results within a customer focused organisation;
- Knowledge or experience of Digital archiving;
- Knowledge of research records management;
- Knowledge of SQL server; and,
- Familiar with governmental regulations and legal requirements related to archives and experience in compliance with them.
How to Apply:
Follow the link below to fill a form and submit your application documentation:
Filling the form more than once will lead to automatic disqualification. High level of integrity while filling the form is required and will be considered during shortlisting.
The applications should be addressed to:
The Head of Human Resources,
MRC/ UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit,
P.O. Box, 49,
Entebbe, Uganda.
Deadline: 2nd October 2020
Consider your application unsuccessful if not contacted within eight (8) weeks after the closing date of the advert. Any form of lobbying at any stage will lead to automatic disqualification. By submitting your personal information, you consent to the MRC/ UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit holding and using it in accordance with its recruitment policy and procedure. The Unit reserves the right to verify documents attached with the relevant awarding institutions to authenticate their validity.
NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interview. This position is open to Ugandan nationals only. Strictly follow the application procedure as failure to do so will lead to automatic disqualification.