1.Research Project Director
Job Description: Research Project Director
Projects: HealthyStart and PROPS Rwanda
Duty Station: Rwanda with project-site travel
Reports to: Principal Investigator
Employment Terms: One-year renewable, subject to funding
Position Overview
The Research Project Director is a senior management position responsible for the overall executive leadership, management, and operational delivery of the HealthyStart and PROPS Rwanda Projects. The Research Project Director will work closely with the Principal Investigator to shape project strategy, annual workplans, budgets, and implementation priorities. The Director will hold overall responsibility for project operations, financial management, staffing, partnerships, risk management, compliance, and delivery of project objectives across all project teams, sites, and partners. The successful candidate will ensure that the projects are implemented on time, within approved budgets, and in accordance with approved protocols, ethical and regulatory requirements, donor agreements, safeguarding standards, and institutional policies.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide overall executive leadership and management of the projects, setting operational direction and priorities for all project teams.
- Work with the Principal Investigator to shape project strategy, annual workplans and budgets, and lead their implementation across teams, sites and partners.
- Hold overall accountability for project budgets, approving expenditures within delegated authority and ensuring sound financial management, forecasting and reporting.
- Lead the recruitment, appointment, performance management and development of project staff in coordination with the KFHRF HR team and decide on staffing structures within approved budgets.
- Chair the project management team and represent the projects in senior-level meetings with donors, government institutions, implementing partners and institutional leadership.
- Monitor milestones, deliverables and risks, make timely decisions to resolve operational challenges and direct corrective action.
- Ensure compliance with approved protocols, ethical and regulatory requirements, donor agreements, safeguarding standards and institutional policies.
- Approve progress reports and key project documents before submission, and escalate major scientific, clinical or strategic matters to the Principal Investigator.
- Build a culture of teamwork, accountability, problem-solving and continuous improvement.
Authority and Accountability
- The Research Project Director shall advise and, when required, make decisions concerning the operations and management of the projects, acting within approved protocols, budgets, donor agreements, institutional policies, and delegated authority.
- The Director’s areas of authority include, but are not limited to:
- Operational decisions: Setting priorities, allocating resources, and assigning work across project teams and sites.
- Financial decisions: Approving expenditures, procurement, and budget reallocations within approved budget lines and delegated financial limits.
- People decisions: Recruiting, appointing, supervising, evaluating, and managing project staff, including approval of leave, travel, and performance-related actions within delegated authority.
- Partnership decisions: Signing off on operational arrangements, reports, and communications with partners within delegated authority.
- Risk and implementation decisions: Taking timely corrective and operational decisions to address project implementation challenges within approved authority.
- Scientific, clinical, and protocol decisions, as well as changes to the overall project strategy, total project budget, or contractual commitments with donors, shall be made jointly with the Principal Investigator and approved by the relevant institutional authorities.
Qualifications and Experience
Essential
- Master’s degree in Public Health, Health Policy, Project Management, Health Management, or another relevant field.
- At least ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in public health, research, programme implementation, or project leadership.
- At least five (5) years of experience in a senior management role with responsibility for budgets and staff.
- Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams.
- Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-partner health or research projects in Rwanda.
- Demonstrated experience in project planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting.
- Strong experience in financial management, budget oversight, and resource allocation.
- Strong experience in stakeholder and partnership management.
- Demonstrated experience in staff management and performance management.
- Strong understanding of research, public health, and project implementation environments.
- Excellent leadership, strategic planning, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication skills in English and Kinyarwanda.
Preferred
- Experience managing donor-funded health or research projects.
- Experience working with international research institutions or development partners.
- Experience working with government institutions and public-sector health programmes in Rwanda.
- Experience managing multi-site research or public health programmes.
- Knowledge of research ethics, regulatory requirements, and institutional research governance.
- Experience in project risk management and organizational change management.
- Knowledge of donor compliance and reporting requirements.
- French language proficiency.
Required Technical and Management Skills
- Strategic project management.
- Project planning and implementation.
- Budget development and financial management.
- Staff and team management.
- Performance management.
- Risk management.
- Stakeholder and partnership management.
- Monitoring and reporting.
- Resource allocation and operational planning.
- Microsoft Office and project management tools.
- Report writing and presentation skills.
- Data interpretation for project performance monitoring.
- Understanding of research and public health project management systems.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates should apply via this link by October 05, 2026
2. Laboratory Technologist – PROPS Trial
Job Description: Laboratory Technologist – PROPS Trial
Project: PROPS Trial (Efficacy of Probiotic Supplementation in Preterm and Small-for-Gestational-Age Infants)
Duty Station: King Faisal Hospital Rwanda Laboratory, Kigali, with liaison to hospital laboratories and the centralised study laboratory under the trial’s hub-and-spoke model
Reports to: Principal Investigator, in coordination with the Site Laboratory Lead/Co-Investigator
Employment Terms: Fixed-term, for the duration of the PROPS trial at the Rwanda site, renewable subject to performance and funding
Position Overview
The Laboratory Technologist will be responsible for the receipt, processing, quality-controlled analysis, and storage of biological specimens, including blood culture and faecal specimens, collected under the PROPS Trial. The Laboratory Technologist will ensure that all laboratory procedures are performed accurately, safely, and in strict compliance with the study protocol, trial laboratory SOPs, Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP), ICH-GCP, national laboratory requirements, biosafety standards, and institutional policies.
The Laboratory Technologist will support the trial’s hub-and-spoke laboratory model, including specimen reception and initial processing, transportation and receipt of specimens at the centralised study laboratory, definitive processing, biobanking, quality assurance, documentation, and preparation of specimens for further analysis or shipment as required by the study protocol.
Key Responsibilities
- Ensure readiness of all laboratory-related SOPs, protocols, equipment, supplies, and processes as required by the PROPS multi-country assessment team.
- Receive, log, and verify blood culture and faecal specimens delivered from study sites, hospital collection points, and home visits, and verify specimen identifiers against accompanying request forms, CRFs, and study records.
- Ensure blood culture specimens are appropriately inoculated, transported, received, and processed within the required timelines, including receipt within one hour at the hospital laboratory and within 24 hours at the central laboratory, as applicable.
- Process blood culture specimens using automated blood culture equipment and approved standard laboratory methods.
- Process faecal specimens using the laboratory methods specified in the study protocol and applicable SOPs.
- Freeze isolates and specimens at the specified temperatures, including −20°C to −80°C for faecal specimens and −60°C to −80°C for blood culture isolates requiring further testing.
- Maintain the study biorepository/freezers, including temperature monitoring, freezer maintenance logs, and organised and retrievable storage of specimens for the approved retention period.
- Package and prepare specimens for transport or shipment to the centralised laboratory or other approved destination, maintaining cold-chain integrity and completing the relevant shipment and freezer-storage logs.
- Complete all laboratory-related CRFs, logs, registers, and study documentation accurately and promptly, including specimen reception, automated blood culture processing, blood isolate processing, faecal specimen processing, freezer storage, and shipment logs.
- Communicate laboratory results, particularly positive blood culture results, promptly to the clinical/outcome team as required by the study protocol.
- Participate in internal quality control and quality assurance activities and support external audits, monitoring visits, and assessments conducted by the study team, contracted infectious disease consultants, sponsors, or relevant authorities.
- Address and document findings related to specimen handling, storage, processing, documentation, equipment, and laboratory procedures in accordance with approved corrective and preventive actions.
- Maintain up-to-date ICH-GCP certification and complete all study-specific laboratory SOP training before undertaking trial-related laboratory duties, together with required refresher training.
- Maintain specimen confidentiality and data protection in accordance with the study’s consent provisions, national regulations, and institutional requirements, including restrictions relating to specimen export and secondary use.
- Follow national biosafety, infection prevention and control, occupational safety, and laboratory waste-management procedures at all times when handling biological specimens.
- Maintain laboratory equipment, including automated blood culture systems, freezers, thermometers, and other relevant equipment, in good working condition and escalate equipment faults or temperature excursions immediately.
- Ensure proper specimen traceability from receipt through processing, storage, retrieval, shipment, and final disposition.
- Work collaboratively with clinical, outcome, data, research, laboratory, and other study teams to ensure timely and effective implementation of laboratory activities.
- Support the Principal Investigator and study team with any other laboratory-related duties required for the successful conduct of the PROPS Trial.
Qualifications and Experience
Essential
- Master of Science (MSc) in Biotechnology, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, or a closely related field.
- Valid registration/license as a Laboratory Technologist/Technician with the relevant Rwandan professional regulatory body, such as the Rwanda Allied Health Professions Council, or national accreditation as required by the trial protocol.
- A minimum of two (2) years of relevant experience in a clinical, microbiology, or research laboratory, preferably within a hospital or clinical trial setting.
- Demonstrated experience in laboratory specimen reception, processing, documentation, storage, and quality control.
- Sound understanding of biosafety, infection prevention and control, and safe handling of biological specimens.
- Ability to accurately maintain laboratory records, CRFs, specimen logs, freezer records, and shipment documentation.
- Ability to work in accordance with laboratory SOPs, study protocols, quality management procedures, and applicable regulatory requirements.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and security of participant information, biological specimens, and study data.
Preferred
- Experience working with automated blood culture systems.
- Experience with faecal or other microbiological specimen processing.
- Experience with cold-chain specimen handling and storage.
- Prior experience working on a clinical trial.
- Experience working in a GCLP- or ICH-GCP-compliant laboratory environment.
- Experience with biobanking and long-term biological specimen storage.
- Familiarity with electronic data capture systems or laboratory information management systems.
- Experience supporting laboratory audits, monitoring visits, or external quality assessments.
- Experience working within a multi-site or multi-country research study.
Required Technical and Management Skills
- Laboratory specimen processing and handling.
- Microbiological specimen processing.
- Automated blood culture systems.
- Biological specimen storage and biobanking.
- Cold-chain management.
- Laboratory quality control and quality assurance.
- Biosafety and infection prevention and control.
- Laboratory documentation and record keeping.
- Completion of CRFs, specimen logs, freezer records, and shipment documentation.
- ICH-GCP and Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP).
- Laboratory equipment operation and maintenance.
- Specimen traceability and data management.
- Microsoft Office and relevant laboratory/data management systems.
- Report writing and documentation skills.
- Good communication and teamwork skills.
- Understanding of clinical research and laboratory systems.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates should apply via this link by October 05, 2026
3. Senior Pharmacist (Chief Study Pharmacist) – PROPS Trial
Job Description: Senior Pharmacist (Chief Study Pharmacist) – PROPS Trial
Project: PROPS Trial (Efficacy of Probiotic Supplementation in Preterm and Small-for-Gestational-Age Infants)
Duty Station: Central study office/pharmacy, King Faisal Hospital Rwanda Foundation, Kigali, with oversight of investigational product (IP) storage at participating study hospital sites
Reports to: Principal Investigator, with functional reporting to the Study Sponsor/Coordinating Centre on investigational product (IP) matters
Employment Terms: One year (Renewable), for the duration of the PROPS trial at the Rwanda site, renewable subject to performance and funding
Position Overview
The Senior Pharmacist (Chief Study Pharmacist) will have overall responsibility for the receipt, storage, blinding integrity, allocation, distribution, monitoring, accountability, and destruction of the investigational product (IP) and placebo used in the PROPS Trial. The Chief Study Pharmacist will ensure that all investigational product management activities are conducted accurately and in strict compliance with the Investigational Product Management SOP, Product Provision SOP, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), applicable national pharmaceutical regulations, and trial requirements.
The Chief Study Pharmacist will oversee central receipt and storage of investigational product, coordinate IP overlabelling and blinding activities, maintain participant ID master lists, manage site-level IP supply and replenishment, monitor temperature and storage conditions, oversee IP accountability and reconciliation, and coordinate end-of-study destruction. The position will also provide supervision, training, and technical guidance to pharmacy and unblinded support staff involved in trial IP management.
Key Responsibilities
- Ensure investigational product is stored immediately under controlled temperature conditions of 2–8°C upon receipt and maintained under continuous temperature monitoring.
- Coordinate and directly oversee the unblinded team responsible for overlabelling individual IP sticks to obscure manufacturer batch numbers while preserving the integrity of trial blinding and complying with applicable regulatory requirements.
- Ensure that IP Temperature Deviation Logs are completed for any period during which IP boxes are outside the required 2–8°C storage range during overlabelling activities, and ensure that overlabelling records are complete and accurate.
- Maintain the master lists of available participant IDs separately for preterm and term SGA infants and generate and verify daily sub-lists for IP allocation across participating study sites.
- Reconcile participant ID master lists on a daily basis, recycle unused participant IDs where permitted, and ensure unused participant boxes are appropriately reissued to minimise product wastage.
- Review and approve requests from site/hospital pharmacists for IP box shipments, ensuring participating hospital sites maintain an appropriate buffer supply, including at least a two-week supply where required by the study.
- Ensure IP shipments to participating hospital sites are dispatched in appropriate temperature-controlled containers, including cool boxes with icepacks and thermometers, with complete and accurate shipment documentation.
- Ensure the PROPS IP Temperature Monitoring Log, including required AM and PM readings, is completed at every storage location and that temperature excursions are promptly reported to the Site Principal Investigator within the required timeframe.
- Monitor cumulative time that IP sachets are outside the required 2–8°C range and ensure that applicable study thresholds are not exceeded, taking appropriate corrective action where thresholds are approached or breached.
- Serve as the primary point of contact for the Sponsor, Coordinating Centre, external monitors, auditors, and relevant regulatory stakeholders on all investigational product-related matters.
- Maintain inspection- and audit-ready IP accountability records, including receipt, storage, overlabelling, allocation, distribution, temperature monitoring, reconciliation, return, and destruction records.
- Lead end-of-study reconciliation of remaining, unused, and expired investigational product and coordinate destruction in accordance with applicable regulations and Sponsor/Coordinating Centre requirements.
- Coordinate destruction of expired or unused IP with an appropriately licensed incineration facility and ensure all required approvals and documentation are obtained.
- Obtain and retain incineration certificates and ensure the PROPS IP Destruction Log is completed accurately and retained within the study records.
- Supervise, train, and mentor Pharmacist(s) and pharmacy/unblinded support staff on the Investigational Product Management SOP, Product Provision SOP, and other relevant trial procedures.
- Monitor compliance of pharmacy staff with study-specific procedures and ensure that required training and certifications are maintained throughout the trial.
- Maintain and, where necessary, escalate proposed updates to IP-related SOPs, logs, forms, and processes in collaboration with the Principal Investigator and Coordinating Centre.
- Ensure all pharmacy staff complete and maintain current ICH-GCP certification and study-specific training before undertaking trial-related IP activities.
- Identify, document, and escalate IP quality concerns, temperature excursions, stock discrepancies, supply interruptions, and other issues that may affect participant safety, trial integrity, or study compliance.
- Ensure strict confidentiality and protection of information related to participant IDs, investigational products, randomisation, allocation, and trial documentation.
- Support the Principal Investigator and study team with other pharmacy and investigational product management duties required for the successful conduct and closeout of the PROPS Trial.
Qualifications and Experience
Essential
- Minimum of Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) or equivalent professional pharmacy qualification.
- Current registration and valid license to practice as a pharmacist with the Rwanda Pharmacy Council or equivalent national regulatory body.
- Minimum of ten (10) years of post-registration professional experience, including experience in hospital pharmacy, clinical trial pharmacy, investigational product management, pharmaceutical supply-chain management, or related areas.
- Demonstrated experience in pharmacy operations, pharmaceutical inventory management, storage, distribution, and accountability.
- Prior supervisory or team-leadership experience.
- Current ICH-GCP certification, or demonstrated willingness and ability to complete the required certification before undertaking trial activities.
- Working knowledge of Rwanda FDA requirements and applicable national pharmaceutical and regulatory requirements for clinical trials.
- Demonstrated ability to maintain accurate pharmaceutical records, accountability documentation, and temperature-controlled storage records.
- Strong understanding of confidentiality requirements and the importance of maintaining trial blinding and allocation safeguards.
Preferred
- Master’s degree in Pharmacy or related pharmaceutical sciences.
- Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) qualification.
- Prior experience managing investigational products in a clinical trial.
- Experience with blinded clinical trial products and overlabelling procedures.
- Experience managing temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products and cold-chain systems.
- Experience coordinating pharmaceutical supply and inventory across multiple hospital sites.
- Experience supporting clinical trial monitoring visits, audits, or regulatory inspections.
- Experience with clinical trial IP management systems, electronic tracking systems, or tablet-based applications.
- Experience working with international research institutions, Sponsors, or clinical trial Coordinating Centres.
Required Technical and Management Skills
- Investigational product management.
- Clinical trial pharmacy operations.
- Good Clinical Practice (GCP).
- Good Pharmacy Practice.
- Pharmaceutical inventory and stock management.
- Cold-chain management and temperature monitoring.
- IP receipt, storage, allocation, distribution, reconciliation, and destruction.
- Blinding and randomisation safeguards.
- Pharmaceutical documentation and accountability systems.
- Temperature deviation and excursion management.
- Multi-site pharmaceutical logistics and supply management.
- Quality assurance and regulatory compliance.
- Audit and inspection readiness.
- Staff supervision, training, and mentoring.
- Risk identification, problem-solving, and corrective action.
- Confidentiality and protection of trial information.
- Electronic data, inventory, and IP tracking systems.
- Microsoft Office and relevant pharmacy or study management systems.
- Report writing and documentation skills.
- Understanding of clinical research and pharmaceutical regulatory systems.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates should apply via this link by October 05, 2026
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