Senior Research Analyst/Program Manager

Job Summary

The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies (HCPDS) is a university-wide initiative, dedicated to interdisciplinary research focused primarily on the quantitative social science of population change, socioeconomic development, and public health. Our goal is to produce population-based evidence that will better inform policies needed to create healthy and vital societies.

The HAALSI study team examines the biological, social, and economic factors and public policies that interact to influence the course of major diseases and disorders among older adults in South Africa, including dementia and cognitive decline, cardiometabolic disease, and HIV. HAALSI began as a community-based longitudinal cohort study nested within the health and socio-demographic surveillance system (HDSS) in Agincourt, South Africa, where the study team has completed three waves of survey and biomarker data collection. HAALSI has recently been renewed for the next 5-year period, which will include continuation of our community cohort study in Agincourt as well as the launch of the first nationally representative longitudinal HAALSI survey across South Africa. The community and national surveys each include a sub-study with in-depth focus on cognition and dementia. The studies are designed to be aligned with the international Health and Retirement (HRS) sister studies, and the HRS Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP), while also addressing research questions specific to aging in the South African context. HAALSI is led by Dr. Lisa Berkman at HCPDS and Dr. Thomas Gaziano at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, plus a team of collaborators at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and other institutions in South Africa and the US.

We are seeking a full-time Senior Research Analyst/Program Manager for this project who will focus on supporting our Agincourt, South Africa survey work. The successful candidate will both manage Agincourt study operations and perform data analysis for the HAALSI Agincourt surveys. The analyst will work closely with a South Africa-based researcher on both study implementation and study data analysis.