Research Coordinator – Nigeria - F/M

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, Guinea, 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.

Location: Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, with regular travel to various project sites.

FUNCTIONAL AND HIERARCHICAL LINKS

• She/he reports to the head of mission in Abuja (hierarchical link) and to the international Project Manager based in France (functional link).  

• She/he works closely with the principal investigators of the trial, all partners, and the sponsors.  

MISSION AND MAIN ACTIVITIES

INTEGRATE

Collaborating with the international Project Manager, the Research Coordinator organises the activities of the research project(s) assigned to them. 

1. Operational management of study sites, in collaboration with the various stakeholders in Nigeria.

The Research Coordinator is responsible for overseeing the implementation and follow-up of all research activities related to the clinical trial across the Nigerian inclusion sites. Working closely with field teams, support departments (medical, logistics, HR, finance, supply), international partners, and project leads, the research coordinator ensures the smooth running of operations in compliance with the research protocol and good clinical practices.

Key responsibilities include:

• Coordinate all research activities at the Nigerian trial sites in collaboration with the Study Site Managers.

• Develop, update, and monitor a detailed timeline for the trial implementation.

• Identify and mobilize necessary resources for the trial (human resources, medical, and logistics supplies), in collaboration with the Nigeria mission coordination team.

• Support financial and administrative follow-up in coordination with the Owo team, Finance Coordinator, and relevant departments.

• Participate in the recruitment and technical validation of research staff at the field level.

• Follow up on outreach activities with the Outreach Manager based in Owo, ensuring proper planning and execution ahead of peak inclusion periods.

• Draft regular progress reports for technical reporting

• Organize and lead research coordination meetings within Nigeria.

2. Ensure compliance with protocol, as well as ICH E6 (R2) Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines at implementation sites.

The Research Coordinator plays a key role in ensuring that all trial activities in Nigeria are conducted in compliance with Good Clinical Practice (GCP), ethical standards, and national regulations. Acting as a liaison between field teams, sponsors, and regulatory authorities, the research coordinator supports the quality and regulatory integrity of the trial.

Key responsibilities include:

• Ensure compliance with the study protocol and GCP guidelines.

• Collaborate closely with the national Clinical Research Associate (CRA) and the international monitoring team to support monitoring activities and quality oversight.

• Coordinate with the sponsor and Nigerian regulatory authorities to ensure alignment with legal and ethical requirements.

• Support the sponsor in preparing and submitting necessary documentation to national ethics committees and regulatory bodies based in Abuja.

• Organize and deliver (or co-deliver) training for site research teams in collaboration with the International Project Manager and International CRA.

• Maintain continuous and transparent communication with investigators, monitoring teams, and sponsors to ensure GCP compliance at all levels of the project.
  
  

3. Facilitate harmonious collaboration between key partners, national and international public health and research institutions in Nigeria.

Main responsibilities include:

• Maintain regular and open communication with key stakeholders such as NCDC, WHO, the Ministry of Health, and other research or health institutions.

• Represent the project in meetings with the government and partner organizations.

• Share updates on project progress and key activities to keep stakeholders informed and engaged.

• Organize and facilitate meetings or working sessions with partners to support coordination and alignment.

• Promote a collaborative environment that encourages trust and joint problem-solving.

Maternal and Child Health Research Projects

• Serve as a representative in discussions with strategic stakeholders, including high-level partners such as the Directorate of Nutrition, to promote the nutrition studies and reinforce its positioning—especially during key moments of visibility such as scientific conferences and relevant partner events.

• Maintain and expand ALIMA’s network with pediatric stakeholders in general and immunization stakeholders in particular within the Ministry of Health, other medical organizations like the Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN), and international organizations like Gavi, Gates Foundation, and UN agencies based in Nigeria.

4. Implementation of measures to prevent abuse of power, gender-based violence, and sexual violence:

• Ensures that their team, partners (Ministry of Health), and community members are familiar with ALIMA's PSEA (Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse) policy and have access to information (such as the reporting mechanisms, focal points, etc.).

• Facilitates the conduct of PSEA training and awareness sessions for their team and participates in them.

• Applies standards related to the prevention of abuse.

• Ensures that team members and partners involved in the project (Ministry of Health, national partners, etc.) attend training and awareness sessions and follow the abuse prevention rules.

• Contributes to creating and maintaining a positive and protective environment for their team,  community members, and project partners.