Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor (Biostatistician)

Job Details

• Expires 24 January 0 days left to apply

• Reference number: E210395
• Province: Western Cape
• Type of engagement: Permanent appointment
• Posted: November 30th

Background to Position

Senior Lecturer/A/Professor 

Academic faculty

Health Sciences

School of Public Health & Family Medicine

Epidemiology & Biostatistic

The main purpose of this position is to participate in teaching, supervision and research activities within the Division of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and the School of Public Health & Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. The post will be responsible for classroom teaching across Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes (including development of new courses and/or revisions to existing courses); student supervision (including primary supervision of Masters and Doctoral students, as well as supervision of undergraduate, honours and/or postdoctoral projects); providing statistical support to existing and future research projects in public health, clinical and/or laboratory disciplines; and development of independent research in applied biostatistics.

Job Description

Teaching High quality teaching in biostatistics and related topics in quantitative health sciences research:

• Deliver classroom and asynchronous teaching to ahigh standard to undergraduate and postgraduate students (including lectures, VULA)
• Teaching includes undergraduate (MBChB and other) and postgraduate (MPH and other); new teaching requests arise and will be included overtime
• Develop new syllabi and/or teaching materials when required
• Undertake innovations in teaching when required, related to teaching content and/or teaching methods
• Effective/efficient teaching administration
• Contributions to Division, Department, Faculty and University transformation activities and goals in this area
• Effective classroom teaching evaluated through student feedback and external examination
• Teaching developments when required including new courses and/or revised course content
• New teaching requests addressed appropriately over time
• Undergraduate and postgraduate students with appropriate training in statistical approaches and their application in the health sciences

Student Supervision High quality student supervision and support in biostatistics and quantitative health sciences research:

• High quality supervision of research projects of undergraduate, honours, masters and/or doctoral students
• Primary supervision of students as well as co-supervision or indirect support when appropriate
• Contributions to Division, Department, Faculty and University transformation activities and goals in this area
• High quality supervision as reflected in external examiner’s reports and student feedback
• Student engagement including regular supervision as guided by student MOUs
• Students completing research projects and/or graduating from relevant degree programmes

Research High quality research in biostatistics and quantitative health sciences research:

• Participate as principal investigator, co-investigator or collaborator in research projects
• Statistical input into grants and study protocols
• Contribute to preparation of publications and presentations
• Keep abreast of major trends and developments in biostatistics
• Manage research projects and budgets when required
• Contributions to Division, Department, Faculty and University transformation activities and goals in this area
• Grant applications submitted and funded
• Contribute to School research outputs in terms of publications and other research outputs
• High quality research outputs as reflected in journal impact and/or policy influence
• Develop an independent research programme in applied biostatistics
• Mentorship of junior personnel when appropriate in research activities

Administration Academic administration and engagement in broader teaching and research activities:

• Active participation in relevant teaching/learning and/or management committees at the School, Faculty, University level
• Providing Divisional management and leadership when requested, including related to HR and/or finance
• Organizing seminars, workshops and meetings in School, Faculty and University when appropriate
• Contributions to Division, Department, Faculty and University transformation activities and goals in this area
• Effective engagement in and support to broader academic environment
• Effective management of Divisional staff and/or budgets when appropriated
• Making appropriate disciplinary contributions to the University community

Social responsiveness:

• Liaise and engage with media and/or relevant stakeholders to help translate research findings for public benefit
• Participate in relevant professional / training activities outside of the University to enhance thediscipline and/or the University’s profile in the discipline
• Contributions to Division, Department, Faculty and University transformation activities and goals in this area
• Media presence (including traditional and/or socialmedia)
•  Active participation in outreach and/or training activities targeting the broader community (eg,Workshops or seminars)
• Impact of research and/or training activities on policies and programmes at local, provincial, national or international levels 

Inherent Criteria

Minimum qualifications:

Doctorate degree in Biostatistics, Statistics or Bioinformatics, or a closely-related discipline The position may be filled by candidates with a range of qualifications and degrees of experience, and thus is open to appointments ranging from Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor. Throughout the minimum qualifications and required experience would be commensurate with the level of appointment

Minimum experience (type and years):

• Extensive experience in biostatistics, population statistics and/or veterinary statistics
• Demonstrated experience in three or more of the following areas of statistics: repeated measures analyses; multivariate methods; survival methods and longitudinal analyses; spatial analyses; design and analysis of complex survey designs; and/or design and analysis of clinical trials
• Extensive experience in teaching and mentoring/supervision of students
• High levels of competence and experience in communicating statistical concepts and the results of statistical analyses required; experience in scientific writing and publications is required
• Close familiarity with major packages required.

Advantageous:

• Experience and/or training in teaching statistics to non-statistical audiences
• Experience in biostatistical consulting / close collaboration in clinical and/or population-based researchers

Skills:

Candidates with PhD (for A/Prof or Senior Lecturer):

• Classroom teaching: minimum three years; experience in curriculum development strongly preferred .
• Student supervision: minimum three years; experience in Masters and Doctoral supervision strongly preferred.
• Research in support of health sciences: minimum five years; international scientific publications required as evidence of research productivity

Application Requirement

Forms must be downloaded from the UCT website: http://forms.uct.ac.za/forms.htm

• This form serves as a template for the writing of position descriptions.

• A copy of this form is kept by the line manager and the position holder

About University of Cape Town

“UCT is a community of exceptionally talented students, teachers and researchers – and a wide range of professional, administrative support and service staff – all of whom are committed to help change this world for the better. We encourage one another to work hard, not only to earn degrees or public recognition, but also to be leaders in this increasingly changing world. Our vision is to be an inclusive, research-intensive African university that addresses the challenges of our time with cutting-edge teaching, research and facilities. As a university we are committed to promoting transformation, to working tirelessly to guarantee the sustainability of our institution, and to ensuring excellence in all we do.”