Full-time academic position in public health: epidemiology, intervention research and implementation sciences in global health

Job description

The candidate will contribute to the visibility and strengthening of the position of the School of Public Health (ESP) of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in national and international public health expertise, particularly in epidemiology, intervention research and implementation sciences applied to global health. Approximately half of the candidate’s time will be devoted to teaching and the other half to research. The candidate will also be involved in various administrative responsibilities related to the normal running of the ESP (juries, deliberations, recruitment committees, faculty committee for doctorates, etc.).

Thanks to the environment offered by the ESP and ULB, he/she will be able to develop high-level research. He/she will benefit from a productive working environment, based on the recognition of the ESP and ULB at national and international level. The proximity, on the same campus, of the Faculties of Medicine, Motor Sciences and the Brussels University Hospital (https://www.hubruxelles.be/fr) (“Pôle Santé”) and, in the near future, of the Faculty of Pharmacy, provides an environment conducive to the development of research collaborations. The ESP’s location also offers great accessibility and opens up opportunities thanks to its proximity to international and European organisations based in Brussels.

Within the ESP, five research centres (RCs) work on a wide range of public health disciplines and themes, facilitating interaction and multidisciplinary approaches. Partnerships with the other ESP research centres, with the faculties of the “Pôle Santé” mentioned above, and with other national and international institutions also encourage research. Finally, a wide range of training courses (Masters, Specialisation Masters and University Certificates) is available, which leads to being able to diversify the types of teaching to which lecturers are likely to contribute.

Areas of research:

The candidate will have previously developed research skills that are likely to be fully integrated into the philosophy of the research areas developed within the ‘Health Policies and Systems - International Health’ (POLISSI) Research Centre (https://esp.ulb.be/fr/la-recherche/cr3-politiques-et-systemes-de-sante-sante-internationale). Given the broad spectrum of public health fields covered by the ESP, the opportunities for conducting research in epidemiology, intervention research or implementation sciences applied to global health are very diverse, and complementarity with the current research themes of the POLISSI Research Centre is an advantage. They may be the subject of research projects, led by the candidate, and submitted to any call for funding or project outside the University (FNRS, BELSPO, ARES, Regions, Europe, etc.). With this in mind, he/she will propose a research development plan in his/her application file.

As an academic attached to the Health Policies and Systems – International Health Research Centre, the candidate will be able to conduct research on epidemiology, intervention research or implementation sciences applied to global health, in a way that is integrated with that already carried out at the CR POLISSI or by the ESP’s four other research centres (https://esp.ulb.be/fr/la-recherche/les-centres-de-recherche), as well as with the other faculties in the “Pôle Santé” and the ESP’s national and international partners. These collaborations will, among other things, give him/her the opportunity to propose research topics relating to epidemiology, intervention research or implementation sciences applied to global health, particularly in line with emerging public health issues and challenges.

The candidate will be requested to supervise doctoral theses in public health focusing on global health, including by setting up co-promotions or cotutelles with other universities, and will be responsible for participating in thesis supervision committees. As part of his/her participation in community services, he/she will be able to contribute to activities linked to the global health sector and professionals in Belgium and beyond, in addition to those carried out within the ESP.

For all these activities, the candidate will benefit from the support of the academic and scientific members of the Research Centre and from the technical and administrative support of the ESP, the ULB Research Department and the ULB Europe Cellule in the preparation and conduct of his/her research projects.

Educational and scientific objectives:

The candidate will contribute to the teaching of the Master in Public Health Sciences (in French; more specifically as part of the core curriculum in public health and the ‘Epidemiology and Biostatistics’ specialisation, https://esp.ulb.be/fr/les-etudes/masters), and to that of two specialisation Masters, one in Analysis and evaluation of international health policies, programmes and systems – SPIN (in French, organised jointly with UCLouvain, https://esp.ulb.be/fr/les-etudes/masters-de-specialisation/methodes-de-recherche-appliquees-a-la-sante-globale) and the second in Integrated Health Risks Management (in French and English, organised jointly with ULiège and other partners, https://esp.ulb.be/fr/les-etudes/masters-de-specialisation/gestion-integree-des-risques-sanitaires). He/she will also be able to support the development of distance learning courses, particularly as part of vocational training.

In these activities, he/she will develop his/her teaching with a view to the acquisition by students of theoretical and applied skills in epidemiology, intervention research and implementation sciences, enabling them to deal with professional situations that require mastery of a rigorous scientific approach. These skills might be applied to the development of global health policies, research protocols or the evaluation of policies or programmes in this field. He/she will provide them with coherent methods that are in line with the mixed approaches used in public health, including the systemic approach for tackling complex problems. He/she will aim to develop their critical analysis of existing research and scientific publications. He/she will supervise dissertations and may take on trainees as part of the research team.

The candidate will be responsible for the activities of the assistants or student assistants giving the supervised exercises attached to his/her courses. In addition, he/she will be required to interact frequently with the professors of the teaching units to which his/her courses belong, in order to ensure content consistency. Lastly, he/she will be responsible for assessing learning using methods that he/she will have defined in line with his/her teaching (written exams, personal or group work, reflective assessment, etc.). In the first year, the maximum teaching load will be 90 hours, rising gradually to a maximum of 120 hours after three years.

Courses that may be included in the teaching load at the time of recruitment (while respecting the maximum number of hours laid down):

Master in Public Health Sciences (ESP)

Core curriculum (approximately 300 students per block):

• MEMO-L-501, 502, 503, 504 Master thesis

• Mnemonic to be created: Introduction to public health research methods – Partim. Bibliographical research and scientific writing – 10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of exercises (5 hours with the support of an assistant)

• Mnemonic to be created: Environment and health – Partim. Health problems – 6 to 12 hours of lectures

• Mnemonic to be created: Qualitative and quantitative methods in public health – Partim. Epidemiology – 20 hours of lectures and 20 hours of exercises

Epidemiology and Biostatistics (about sixty students per block):

• SAPU-L-4119 Health intervention studies – Partim. From pre-clinical to intervention trials (epidemiological aspects) – 10 hours of lectures 

• SAPU-L-5216 Application of quantitative methods in priority health issues – 6 hours of lectures and 6 hours of exercises

Specialised Master in Analysis and Evaluation of International Health Policies, Programmes and Systems (SPIN) (20 to 25 students):

• SAPU-L-6027 Management of global health problems – 18 hours of lectures

• SAPU-L-6032 Documentary research and scientific communication – 12 hours of lectures

• SAPU-Y-618 Integrative project – course load to be determined

Specialised Master in Integrated Management of Health Risks (GIRIS) (around 15 students):

• SAPU-L-692 Food security in developing countries, from the individual to the population – 12 hours of lectures

• SAPU-Y-692 Biosafety: a pillar of the zoonosis prevention strategy in developing countries – 4 hours of lectures

Courses in the Master in Public Health Sciences and the Specialised Master in Analysis and Evaluation of International Health Policies, Programmes and Systems (SPIN) are taught in French. Courses for the Specialised Master in Integrated Management of Health Risks (GIRIS) are taught one year out of three in English and the other two years in French.

Main Research Field: Public Health

Sub Research Field: Epidemiology; Implementation Sciences: Global Health 

Required educational level: Phd Degree in Public Health 

Required Languages:

Français: excellent

English: good

Interested?

For more information, please contact Prof. Ms Elisabeth Paul (Director of the Centre for Health Policy and Systems Research – International Health; telephone: +32 2 555.40.12 – e-mail: Elisabeth.Paul@ulb.be) and Ms Magali Pirson (President of the School of Public Health; telephone: +32 2 555.40.20 – e-mail: magali.pirson@ulb.be). For administrative information, please contact the Faculty Administration Department (e-mail: daf-esp@ulb.be).

Your application will consist of a Curriculum Vitae(if you wish, a standard CV can be downloaded from the website: https: //www.ulb.be/fr/documents-officiels/emplois-academiques-et-scientifiques-cv-type) and a document completed using the template available at this URL address (https://www.ulb.be/fr/documents-officiels/1e-applic-form-acad-tps-plein89-docx). This template structures your application by including the following elements:

• an application letter 
• a 7,000-character report (4 pages) presenting the applicant’s research activities and a research project, including how these will integrate into ULB’s research teams
• a teaching dossier including a 7,000-character report (4 pages) on the applicant's previous teaching activities and a teaching project for the first five years in this position; these must be relevant to the faculty and to the teaching profiles for the programmes to which the applicant is to contribute
• the names and e-mail addresses of five references (with equal gender representation) who may be contacted by those in charge of evaluating applications.  These references should not have conflicts of interest because of family or emotional ties.
• the successful candidate may be required to present documents attesting to previous work experience to prove 4 years of scientific seniority.

Incomplete applications or applications that do not use the template provided will not be examined by the selection committee.

Equal opportunities policy

ULB’s personnel management policy is geared towards diversity and equal opportunities.

We recruit candidates on the basis of their skills, irrespective of age, gender, sexual orientation, origin, nationality, beliefs, disability, etc.

Would you like to be provided with reasonable accommodation in the selection procedure because of a disability, disorder, or illness?  Please contact Marie Botty, the person in charge of diversity aspects for the academic and scientific staff (marie.botty@ulb.be). Be assured of the confidentiality of this information.

More details on the ULB gender and diversity policy are available at https://www.ulb.be/en/about-ulb/gender-equality-at-ulb. 

You will find all the regulations relating to academic careers on our site at http://www.ulb.ac.be/emploi/academique.html.

Reference: 2025/A005

Application deadline: 02/12/2024

Start date: 01/10/2025