Job Description

JOB DESCRIPTION

PROJECT MANAGER CRADLE-B

SIERRA LEONE

Welbodi Partnership is a UK-registered charity working to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity in Sierra Leone. Since 2008, Welbodi Partnership has worked in close partnership with hospital management, health facility staff, and the Ministry of Health to improve access to maternal and child health outcomes in Sierra Leone. We do this through a range of health system strengthening activities, staff training, hospital improvement projects, and community engagement. For further information about our work, please see: www.welbodipartnership.org

About CRADLE-B

Pregnancy is a stress-test of cardiometabolic health. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are associated with subsequent risk of chronic hypertension (CHT) and premature cardiovascular disease (CVD), especially in women of African ancestry. HDP affect 10% of pregnancies and CVD is leading cause of death in women worldwide. However, data on postnatal prevalence of CHT after HDP and associated hypertensive-mediated-organ-damage in LMICs are limited.  Early postnatal care provides a unique opportunity to detect and manage CHT through evidence-based interventions. However,

effective care is challenging due to limited knowledge, poor healthcare access, and low levels of trust in healthcare systems, particularly among vulnerable groups. Our approach builds on our successful foundational work supporting management of HDP in Sub-Saharan Africa, including community engagement initiatives, co-development of materials for communities and healthcare professionals and point-of-care diagnostics.

CRADLE-B is a programme of work comprising four workstreams which aims to co-develop and evaluate a targeted community-based postnatal intervention for women with HDP to facilitate earlier detection, improved hypertension management and prevention of hypertension-mediated organ damage in Sierra Leone, Zambia and South Africa.

Job Identification

Job Title Project Manager

Location Freetown, Sierra Leone

Reporting line The Project Manager will report to Welbodi Head of Programs

Contract Type and Length Fixed term; 12 Month (s) (extendable subject to funding)

Department / Project Program – CRADLE-B

• Purpose of The Role

The post holder will join the CRADLE-B study research team in Sierra Leone. This role will involve project administration, study setup, participant recruitment and consent, data collection, data monitoring and longer-term participant follow up over the course of the study. Long term follow up will be in the form of regular telephone and face-to-face check ins with participants in the community. 

With technical guidance from a team of maternal health researchers at King’s College London, Welbodi Partnership team and the principal and co-investigators at Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (Freetown), the role of the Project Manager will be to facilitate the smooth and effective running of the project in Sierra Leone.  

The project manager will be responsible for ensuring that, as far as possible, study recruitment targets are met, accurate data is collected in a timely fashion and maintained on a secure database and that the study is conducted in accordance with International Congress of Harmonisation of Good Clinical Practice (ICHGCP) standards.

• Working Conditions 

The work will be based in Freetown, Sierra Leone, including Princess Christian Maternity Hospital and Welbodi Partnership Office.  It will also involve travel to peripheral health facilities and communities outside of Freetown (exact locations to be confirmed).  This is a fixed short term contract post for the duration of the study, with a probationary review at 3 months. There may be out of hours work involved in this role, when required. This role will involve travel to relevant data collection sites. The post holder is entitled to annual leave in line with the employment code of Welbodi Partnership.

• Key Responsibilities 

• Participant Recruitment: The post holder is responsible for enrolling participants to Workstream 2 of CRADLE-B. This will involve:

• Daily telephone contact with clinical staff at PCMH, relevant peripheral health units and community hubs.
• Daily visits to clinical sites (e.g. obstetric high dependency unit, pre-eclampsia ward, patient assessment areas) to identify eligible participants during the recruitment phase.
• A minimum of weekly face-to-face meetings with key clinical staff to maintain contact and provide study updates.
• Maintaining an up-to-date research team diary which is updated at least daily, containing details of participants requiring follow-up and ensuring that this is acted on in a timely manner (typically within 24-48hrs).
• Responding promptly (typically within 1hr) to approach potentially eligible participants if alerted by the clinical team.
• Maintaining recruitment packs with the relevant recruitment materials and ensuring that these are readily available and accessible when needed (including participant information leaflets and consent forms in relevant languages).
• Ensuring all necessary copies of consent forms are made: original copy filed in site file, copy provided to participant, copy placed in patient’s notes, copy scanned to study coordinator.
• Attending relevant training sessions when required.
• Ensuring wider clinical teams are able to identify potentially eligible participants by raising awareness via formal training sessions and informal daily reminders.

• Site Management

• Maintaining all site files in a locked filing cabinet and ensuring confidentiality is maintained at all times.
• Ensuring all serious adverse events (SAE) forms are completed as outlined in the study protocol.
• Ensuring all protocol deviation forms are completed in a timely manner.
• Maintaining up to date copies of approved study documents (protocol, participant information leaflets, consent forms) ensuring correct versions at all times.
• Maintaining an up-to-date research team diary as outlined in study recruitment section above.
• Maintaining a separate site file for original consent forms that is in a locked cabinet and secure.
• Maintaining a separate site file for completed paper data collection forms/participant checklists that is in a locked cabinet and secure.
• Ensuring all site files are kept up to date and organised

• Data Collection

• • Entering data into the online study database accurately and completely, or, in the case of internet or power issues, recorded via paper case report forms then directly transcribed onto the online database.
  • Supervising point-of-care creatinine testing (POCCT).
  • Collecting baseline clinical data (including observations, height, and weight).
  • Discussing past medical and obstetric history with participants.
  • Ensuring the screening log is completed for every potential participant approached.
  • Ensuring that all other relevant sections of the database are completed in a timely fashion and as outlined in the study handbook.
  • Ensuring that confidentiality is maintained at all times by not sharing unique database login details with any other individual.
  • Ensuring all data entered onto the database is complete and accurate. 
  • Maintaining a log of all completed outcomes and sending these to the study coordinator in a timely fashion as outlined in the study handbook.
  • Responding to data queries in a timely manner as outlined in the study handbook.
  • Collecting data out of hours when required.

• Ensuring that the wider clinical team are aware of the outcomes required for the study and the specific definitions of each one, including facilitating further training sessions where needed, in order to ensure that all the necessary data is captured and accurate. 

• Participant Follow Up

• Ensuring participant follow up happens in an accurate timely fashion, at the study intervals (6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months postpartum).
• Completing follow up database entry for each appointment.
• Collecting POCCT, blood pressure, and urine albumin creatinine ratio measurements for each participant at each appointment.
• Making reasonable attempts to contact participants who do not attend their scheduled follow up appointment.

1. E) Other – Additional Responsibilities

• To comply with departmental policy and to ICHGCP (International Congress of Harmonisation of Good Clinical Practice) regarding study conduct.
• During working hours, it is expected that the post holder will respond to phone calls, WhatsApp messages, and emails in a timely manner (within a few hours) unless on leave.
• It is the responsibility of the post holder to maintain an accurate record of study expenses (including all receipts), and for these to be scanned and emailed to the site PI and SC on a weekly basis for inclusion in the quarterly financial statement.
• To assist the SC with activities involved in day-to-day management of the study such as negotiating and liaising with other professionals and procuring study materials and supplies.
• Attending study meetings when required.
• Alerting the site PI and SC immediately to any issues which may impede study progress or affect the post holder’s duties including, but not limited to, power shortages, lack of internet connectivity, inability to access database, staff sickness or absence. These must be reported and acted on a timely fashion (typically within 24hrs).
• Attend Program meetings at Welbodi Partnership Office (typically 1.5 hours per week) and share implementation updates and learning from the CRADLE B experience. 

• Qualifications and Experience 

Education

• Essential: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, including public health, nursing, midwifery, medicine.
• Desirable: Master’s degree in related scientific field.

Experience

• Any experience in maternal health-related research.
• Prior experience with participant recruitment and data collection in a real-world setting.
• Clinical training and experience with direct patient care.
• Strong written and verbal communication in English
• Ability to work independently and deliver to deadlines
• Experience in conducting mixed-methods research.
• Knowledge of local healthcare system, particularly maternal healthcare, and challenges facing maternal healthcare in Sierra Leone.
• Proficiency in data collection and entry into an electronic database.
• Strong time management, organizational, and project management skills.
• Willingness to learn and undertake basic clinical tasks, including performing point of care creatinine tests, urinalysis, and assessing vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, respiratory rate, oxygen saturations). 

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, particularly the ability to communicate effectively across diverse academic and lay audiences.
• Collaborative personality, and ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team comprised of researchers, healthcare professionals, and community members.
• Willingness and ability to travel to research sites and outreach communities.
• Proficiency in English and Krio as appropriate for local setting.
• Adherence to high ethical standards, particularly in research involving human subjects, and a commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable populations.
• Problem-solving skills, to identify obstacles and be proactive with solutions.
• Cultural awareness and sensitivity, regarding the diverse communities in the countries of interest.
• Compassionate practitioner, able to undertake sensitive conversations with care and empathy.

• Safeguarding

Welbodi Partnership is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, vulnerable adults and staff. All staff are expected to uphold safeguarding standards and report any concerns in line with policy.

• Data Protection

Welbodi Partnership complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and all applicable data protection laws. Staff must ensure that data is handled securely and confidentially in accordance with policy.

• Equality and Diversity

Welbodi Partnership is committed to a comprehensive policy of Equal Opportunities in volunteering and employment in which individuals are selected and treated on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities and are given equal opportunities within the organisation. It is the Welbodi Partnership’s policy as an employer to treat all people equally irrespective of race, ethnic origin, nationality, sex, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, creed, disability, age or political belief.

APPLICATION PROCESS

The closing date for applications is the 21st September 2026 – we encourage potential applicants to submit as soon as possible. 

To apply for this position, please send your cover letter, CV, and contact details of 3 referees in one email to jobs@welbodipartnership.org  using the following subject title: Application – Project Manager CRADLE B. 

For any queries relating to the position, please email jobs@welbodipartnership.org.