Senior Medical Scientist
About The Position
The Senior Medical Scientist provides global technical leadership to ensure that the best available evidence supports quality and continuous improvement in safe abortion, contraception, and gender-based violence management across development and humanitarian contexts. The role strengthens abortion availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality through formal health systems and self-care pathways by developing and enhancing technical tools, standards, processes, monitoring mechanisms, and partnerships that contribute to a sustainable abortion ecosystem. As a subject matter expert, the Senior Medical Scientist uses clinical expertise, evolving evidence, and strategic partnerships to advance Ipas’s mission. In collaboration with colleagues across the organization, the role advances innovative initiatives and provides strategic guidance and technical assistance on the quality of and access to safe abortion, contraception, and GBV care. The position disseminates evidence through publications and presentations, conducts training, represents Ipas externally, advocates within the reproductive health field, and builds partnerships with peer organizations. The position is remote-based and may be performed from specified US states or countries listed in the posting. It may require international travel, including to crisis settings, up to 20% of the time.
Requirements
- Deep commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially access to abortion, contraception, and GBV care.
- Demonstrated contribution to developing technical tools, standards, guidelines, and SRHR research.
- Professional-level fluency in English, including speaking, reading, and writing.
- Proven ability to support and strengthen team capacity through training, supportive supervision, strong communication, nonhierarchical leadership, and modeling Ipas core values.
- Demonstrated capacity and commitment to stewardship of funds, including work planning, budgeting, financial monitoring, and data-driven problem solving.
- Proven ability to build positive working relationships in multicultural and complex implementation contexts with diverse internal teams and external partners.
- Advanced clinical degree, such as nursing or midwifery.
- At least 10 years of clinical practice experience, including reproductive health care, and experience applying scientific clinical information to practical training and programs.
- Substantive experience evaluating quality in clinical care and conducting quality improvement.
- Substantive knowledge of and experience with international reproductive health programs and systems in low-resource and humanitarian settings.
- Knowledge of key partners and influencers in the field.
- Experience working in multicultural teams.
Nice To Haves
- PhD or DrPH and/or significant research experience.
- Strong clinical background.
- Experience working in humanitarian contexts and/or with humanitarian implementing agencies.
- Established relationships with nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups.
- Proficiency in at least one Ipas working language, such as French, Portuguese, or Spanish.
- Advanced practice midwife or nurse; this is strongly preferred.
Responsibilities
- Provide technical leadership to develop and test innovative approaches to improve the quality of abortion and contraception care, including global quality indicators and quality improvement processes.
- Integrate safe abortion and postabortion contraception into sexual and reproductive health and rights programming for Ipas-supported programs and emergency crisis settings.
- Provide and/or analyze evidence-based technical content for advocacy opportunities related to safe abortion in Ipas-supported programs and external coalitions.
- Develop technical tools and resources that translate evidence-based clinical updates into health services.
- Provide technical leadership on quality and regulatory processes for the Ipas MVA product line, infection prevention, and MVA processing.
- Support training for Ipas-supported sites and partners on topics including VCAT, clinical management of abortion and contraception care, trauma-informed care, and legal risk assessment.
- Lead or significantly participate in clinical and technical research and disseminate technical evidence to improve abortion and contraception clinical practice.
- Prepare and/or analyze service delivery data and make clinical recommendations for continuous improvement in quality of care across pathways to care.
- Support fundraising initiatives by contributing to donor proposals and preparing or reviewing donor reports.
- Write periodic evidence summaries for internal communications with technical staff across the network.
- Represent Ipas externally and provide leadership and advocacy at national, regional, and international conferences and events.
- Disseminate evidence externally through presentations and publications.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
