Research Assistant / Scientific Collaborator 60 – 100%

You will be based in the Research Group Agricultural Health and coordinate research activities around the two projects “Exposure to Pesticides by Air and Respiratory Health in School Children in VALais, Switzerland (PARVAL)” funded by the Canton of Valais as well as the SNSF-Starting grant project “The pesticide exposome and its impact on health and well-being of farmer families along sustainable food production systems”.
In PARVAL you will lead a research team to assess the pesticide exposure and the lung function of about 200 children in the Canton of Valais (https://www.vs.ch/parval). In the SNSF-Starting grant project, your main focus lies on the planning and the coordination of follow-up surveys of the FarmCoSwiss cohort to assess the health and well-being of organic and conventional farming families in Switzerland (https://www.swisstph.ch/farmcoswiss). Further, activities include collaboration with farmer families cohorts in South Africa and Uganda.
The person would be employed either as a Research Assistant (with MSc) or Scientific Collaborator (with PhD). The candidate’s employment could also be changed to a PhD or Post-Doc position if desiered.

Your responsibilities will include:

• To develop study protocols and study tools in English, German and French (e.g., protocol for ethical submission, information material, questionnaires)
• To communicate with governmental agencies, farmers, school teachers, parents and children in French and German in Switzerland
• To lead the study team on-site in Vallis between November 2023 and April to June 2024 (total 4-6 weeks)
• To coordinate study logistics and budgets 
• To conduct data cleaning and data management
• To write study reports and scientific papers together with the PI
• To co-supervise PhD and MSc students together with the PI
• Supporting developing funding applications

You can demonstrate experiences and skills in the following:
Essential skills

• MSc or PhD in a health or agriculture-related field (life science, pharmacy, medicine, nursing, public health, medical anthropology, agriculture or environmental science or similar)
• Strong social and communication skills are a requirement. 
• Proficiency in English and either German or French (both written and spoken)
• Good understanding of Swiss German and French 
• Experience with data management in R or Stata

Desirable skills

• Evidence of practical experience in planning and implementing field studies
• Driving license

We offer:

• Possibility to bring in own ideas and interests
• Work in a diverse, multi-disciplinary team and academic environment 
• Flexible work schedule
• In case of employment as PhD or Post-Doc, attractive support schemes for young mothers and fathers via the SNSF Flexibility Grant

Swiss TPH is an equal opportunity employer committed to excellence through diversity.

If you are interested, please submit your application with:

• CV
• Motivational letter, incl. preferred work effort (60%, 80% or full-time)
• Course grades and transcripts
• Names and contact information (email or phone) of 3 references

Please note that we can only accept applications via our online recruiting tool:
https://jobs.swisstph.ch/Jobs/All
Applications via e-mail or external recruiter will not be considered.

The position will be open until 31^st of March 2023, but it may be closed early in case of significant interest. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.

Job Profile:
Start Date: Between May and August 2023
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Duration: Initially a period of 2 years, can be prolonged if there is mutual interest for 2 more years.
Percentage: 60% - 100%
Travel Requirements: travels to the canton of Valais as well as travel opportunities to visit partner institutions in East and South Africa