Category A – Contract Researcher

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Category A – Contract Researcher

Research Unit: BioSEE (Health Biology, Ecology, Evolution)

Job location: Montpellier
24-month fixed-term contract

About the employer

The French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) is an international research organisation dedicated to strengthening societies’ resilience to global change. It operates in more than 50 countries across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific, as well as mainland France and French overseas territories. l’IRD

Its research responds to pressing needs, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, poverty and inequality reduction, biodiversity conservation, access to healthcare, and social change. Research priorities are developed jointly with local stakeholders and communities. Its teams bring together disciplines, perspectives and forms of knowledge through long-term partnerships to build robust solutions with meaningful impact.

IRD is committed to research that benefits as many people as possible. It shares research findings and puts science into action, helping societies move towards fairer and more sustainable social, economic and environmental models.

The research unit you will join

The UMR MIVEGEC (Infectious Diseases and Vectors: Ecology, Genetics, Evolution, and Control) is a joint research unit involving the IRD, the CNRS, the University of Montpellier, and INRAE. The unit conducts interdisciplinary research on infectious diseases—examining their biological, environmental, and social determinants—as well as on strategies for their prevention and control.

This position is part of the Ezaka Ho Tomady (EHT) program, funded by the European Union in Madagascar for the 2025–2029 period. The program aims to achieve the sustainable strengthening of the healthcare system and improve equitable access to quality, essential health services. With a budget of 32.5 million euros, it focuses on three core components: strengthening the supply of medicines and health products; improving access to and the quality of primary and hospital-based healthcare; and enhancing the governance of the healthcare system. The program is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and several partners, including the IRD, UNICEF, and the French Development Agency (AFD). Within this framework, the IRD provides technical assistance, which includes action-research activities designed to generate scientific knowledge to support the program’s implementation and guide the decision-making of healthcare stakeholders.

A rewarding research opportunity

Assess baseline population health and the effects of UNICEF-supported health system strengthening interventions across five districts in Madagascar, identifying progress, inequalities and opportunities to improve the Ezaka Ho Tomady programme.

Reporting to the programme’s Co-Scientific Director, Andres Garchitorena, and working closely with IRD and INSPC researchers and partners in Madagascar, your main responsibilities will be:

• Analyse representative household surveys (2026 and 2028), including data preparation, survey weighting, and estimates of maternal and child healthcare coverage, mortality and nutritional status.
• Investigate the determinants of access to healthcare, socioeconomic and geographic inequalities, and how these change between survey rounds.
• Lead the quantitative evaluation of interventions using before-and-after analyses and, where reliable comparison data are available, quasi-experimental difference-in-differences and synthetic-control approaches.
• Analyse monthly DHIS2 health information system data, including data quality, trends in service use, interrupted time-series models and, where feasible, comparisons across districts.
• Develop reproducible analyses in R, prepare scientific articles and reports, and translate findings into actionable insights for partners, particularly UNICEF and the Ministry of Public Health.
• Contribute to discussions and dissemination workshops with partners to inform programme adjustments.
• Occasionally deliver training in data analysis and co-supervise Master’s students with INSPC on analyses of these two data sources.

Your future team

You will join the IRD research team working on Ezaka Ho Tomady, bringing together a multidisciplinary scientific task force (four permanent researchers, several PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers) and a technical-assistance coordination team based in Madagascar. This structure fosters close collaboration between researchers and operational teams, generating scientific evidence directly relevant to programme implementation and evaluation.

Where to apply

Website: https://emploi-recrutement.ird.fr/offre-de-emploi/emploi-chercheur-en-epidemiologie-et-evaluation-des-systemes-de-sante-h-f_848.aspx

Requirements

• Research Field: Medical sciences » Epidemiology
• Education Level: PhD or equivalent
• Languages: ENGLISH
• Level: Excellent

Skills/Qualifications

The profile we are looking for

You have developed the following skills:

• Excellent command of R and statistical methods used in epidemiology, including reproducible analysis workflows.
• Experience analysing complex population-based surveys (weights, stratification and cluster sampling).
• Strong knowledge of longitudinal and quasi-experimental approaches, particularly difference-in-differences and interrupted time-series analyses.
• Ability to prepare and quality-check heterogeneous datasets; familiarity with DHIS2, DHS/MICS or spatial analysis is an advantage.
• Excellent scientific writing and results communication skills in French and English.

You demonstrate the following personal qualities:

• Scientific rigour and critical thinking.
• Independence and initiative.
• A collaborative approach and enthusiasm for international teamwork.
• Ability to engage with non-academic partners.
• Commitment to research that informs public health decisions.

Required qualification: PhD (Level 8) in epidemiology, public health, biostatistics, applied statistics or a related quantitative discipline.

Occasional travel to Madagascar, primarily for scientific coordination, training and dissemination of results (duration and frequency to be determined according to the programme schedule).

Additional Information

Benefits

Why join IRD?

Throughout your career, IRD supports your professional development and helps you build new skills.

The institute offers a range of resources, including a digital onboarding programme, continuing professional development, and opportunities for career progression and mobility.

Depending on operational requirements, IRD offers the possibility of working remotely one to three days per week.

By joining IRD, you will benefit from:

• 32 days of annual leave plus 13 RTT days (for full-time employees).
• Access to a staff restaurant or meal vouchers, depending on the location.
• Optional annual membership of AOS, offering holiday, leisure, sports and cultural benefits.
• Supplementary MGEN health and income-protection coverage.
• A pleasant workplace close to nature, served by tram line 5 and accessible by bicycle, with carpooling options supported by a mobility agreement with the metropolitan authority.

Website for additional job details: https://emploi-recrutement.ird.fr/offre-de-emploi/emploi-chercheur-en-epidemiologie-et-evaluation-des-systemes-de-sante-h-f_848.aspx

Work Location(s)

• Number of offers available: 1
• Company/Institute: IRD
• Country: France

Contact

• State/Province: Occitanie
• City: Montpellier
• Website: https://www.ird.fr/occitanie
• Street: 911 Avenue Agropolis, 34394 Montpellier
• Postal Code: 34000