Research Manager, Owo - M/F - NIGERIA

ALIMA PRESENTATION

ALIMA ETHOS: ALIMA’s purpose is to save lives and provide care for the most vulnerable populations without any discrimination based on identity, religion, or politics, through actions based on proximity, innovation, and the alliance of organizations and individuals. We act with humanity and impartiality in accordance with universal medical ethics. To gain access to patients, we undertake to act in a neutral and independent manner.

Our CHARTER defines the VALUES and PRINCIPLES of our action:

1. The patient First
2. Revolutionising humanitarian medicine
3. Responsibility and freedom
4. Improve the quality of our actions
5. To trust
6. Collective intelligence
7. Environmental responsibility

ALIMA promotes and defends the principles of fundamental human rights. ALIMA has a zero-tolerance approach towards people guilty of acts of gender-based and sexual violence as well as towards inaction in the face of alleged or proven acts of violence. The protection of those benefiting from and impacted by our intervention is our top priority in everything we do. Anyone collaborating with ALIMA agrees to:

• Respect the charter, the code of conduct, the institutional policies, including the policy of protection against abuse of power and sexist and sexual violence, the policy of prevention of corruption and fraud;
• Report any violation of the policies, framework documents and procedures to a superior or a referent.

CARING - INNOVATING - TOGETHER:

Since its creation in 2009, ALIMA has treated more than 13 million patients and today deploys its operations in 12 African countries and extended to support the emergency in Haiti. In 2022, we developed 62 humanitarian medical response projects to meet the needs of populations affected by conflicts, epidemics, and extreme poverty. All of these projects are carried out in support to national authorities through nearly 511 health facilities. Whenever possible, we work in partnership with local NGOs to ensure that our patients benefit from the best and most relevant expertise wherever it is, whether within their own country or in the rest of the world. In addition, to improve the humanitarian response, we are carrying out operational and clinical research projects, particularly in the fight against malnutrition and viral hemorrhagic fevers on the field.

THE WORK WE DO:  Primary and Secondary Health Care, with a main focus on children and women - including treatment and prevention of Acute Malnutrition, Maternal Health, Pediatric Care, Mental Health, response to Epidemics (Ebola, Cholera, Measles, Dengue, Lassa Fever), Surgery, Displaced Populations, and Gender-Based Violence, Covid-19.

COUNTRIES WHERE WE WORK: Mali, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Sudan, Mauritania, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Haiti.

ALIMA IN NIGERIA 

ALIMA has been operating in Nigeria since 2016, providing medical and nutritional support amid security challenges, particularly in North-East (Borno, Yobe), North-West (Katsina), and Ondo State.

ALIMA responded to COVID-19, cholera, diphtheria, and measles outbreaks over the last years. We work closely with the Ministry of Health, conducting clinical research on Lassa fever, Nutrivax, and Optima.

Our focus is on vulnerable populations, including IDPs and host communities, delivering outpatient and inpatient care. In 2024, we supported over 235,000 beneficiaries with around 7,91582.35 million, mainly from EU funds. Our team includes 26 expatriates, 322 national staff, and 1,300 MoH incentive staff. Key priorities for 2025 include stabilizing operations, improving pharmacy management, and emergency response. We face challenges like policy compliance, recruitment, and funding diversification. Our mission aims to strengthen resilience and expand sustainable health interventions.

Emerging Infectious Diseases

Our objectives are to fight Lassa Fever, improve patient care and treatment, as well as the living conditions of communities affected by this disease, and reduce mortality. 

Our mission is to develop appropriate, interdisciplinary and innovative operational research, bringing together healthcare providers, humanitarian actors, national and local health decision-makers, researchers, and communities. Our projects contribute to the development of actions to facilitate policy change for access to medicines in Africa. 

ALIMA is leading the INTEGRATE consortium, run through its research platform, in partnership with several international institutions as well as hospitals in Nigeria, such as the Federal Medical Centre of Owo (FMCO), the Irrua Specialist Hospital (ISTH) and the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Teaching Hospital. The INTEGRATE clinical trial is a multinational, multicenter, controlled, randomized, adaptive phase II-III platform superiority trial with open-label parallel arms.  The primary objective of the trial is to compare the efficacy of interventional medical products (IMPs) to standard of care drugs (SCD) on the prevention of death or organ failure in hospitalized participants with confirmed Lassa Fever. 

In Ondo State, ALIMA is supporting the FMCO with case management for free care, active case detection, public awareness campaigns, and reinforcement of the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures among health workers in the different hospital structures of Ondo State. 

Maternal and child health 

ALIMA conducts clinical and operational research projects in maternal and child health in Nigeria, aimed at generating evidence to improve program implementation. These include child nutrition and health research initiatives such as NutriVax in Yobe State and OptiMA in Katsina State. NutriVax is a cluster randomized control trial testing whether the preventive food SQ-LNS (small quantity lipid-based nutritional supplements) incentivizes increased vaccine uptake. OptiMA is a prospective observational cohort testing whether a simplified, combined treatment protocol increases coverage. Another project is OptiCrypto in Borno State which will evaluate the effectiveness of treatments for Cryptosporidium-induced diarrhea in children aged 1–3 years.

MISSION LOCATION AND OBJECTIVES

In close collaboration with the Project Coordinator, the Research team in France, the Research Coordinator in Abuja, the Research Manager of the ALIMA Owo Project is the ALIMA representative and responsible for the implementation and follow-up of the clinical trial on the inclusion site, in compliance with the protocol and Good Clinical Practice (GCP). He/She will also work closely with the Medical Coordinator to ensure the quality of care provided to patients at the Lassa center.

He/She is the linkage between the field team, researchers, coordination, and community. He/She will cultivate the relationship with the FMCO/MOH stakeholders in order to implement efficiently and ensure the goals as well as to improve targeted population’s health conditions and humanitarian situation.

TASKS & RESPONSABILITIES

Ensure the implementation of all ALIMA research activities follow relevant policies, protocols, ethics and national guidelines. 

Clinical trial

• Coordinate the implementation and follow-up of the INTEGRATE clinical trial at the Owo site, in liaison with the ALIMA research team in France, local authorities, and ALIMA coordination in Abuja.
• Supervise the work of the Clinical Research Team (Physicians and Nurses), ensure that their work is done in accordance with the protocol, GCPs, and procedures of the studies. Ensure the quality of the recruitment processes while ensuring the safety and well-being of participants.
• Participation in team member training on clinical trial protocols and procedures.
• Plan and organize participant follow-up visits, monitor participant adherence to trial protocol, and manage appointments and reminders for participants.
• Manage stocks of drugs and equipment required for the trial. Ensure availability of equipment and supplies.
• Ensure the quality and continuity of information exchange between the Research laboratory and the Lassa center (ICRC): compliance with procedures, quality of communication between the two departments.
• Ensure effective collaboration with other departments of the hospital (emergency room, dialysis unit, pediatrics, gynecology ...). 
• Identify and document adverse events, particularly serious adverse events. 
• Participate actively in different program activities based on ALIMA’s charter, policies, and image are respected with regards to national employees, populations, authorities, and partners.
• Ensure the implementation of all ALIMA research activities follows relevant policies, protocols, ethics and national guidelines. 

In addition to research activities, other responsibilities are assigned to ensure the quality of care for patients at the Lassa treatment center.

Medical activities and pharmacy management 

• Ensures quality of care, in accordance with FMCO and ALIMA procedures, national and international regulations, in collaboration with the Research Coordinator and the Medical Coordinator in Abuja.
• Ensure a quality of data collection and epidemiological surveillance system, in agreement with the medical coordination. Participate in the planning, management of epidemics, disasters, in conjunction with the WHO, State DNO, MoH, Primary healthcare and other local leaders: LGA health sector meetings, technical meetings, partner coordination meetings, etc.
• Monitor consumption of medication and liaise with medical coordination regarding needs in order to avoid stock-outs in the consumption unit. Also support the pharmacy supervisor on the supply of medical items.
• Supervise all medical orders for program implementation at the project level with the support of the project team, and collaborate with the coordination team and project team for the international and national medical orders.
• Provide inputs on the budget processes, work plan, and procurement plan, and participate in the monitoring of the budget consumption to ensure operational effectiveness and efficiency.