Academy Foundation Blog

Research Fellowship: Early Complementary Feeding of Eggs in Rural Guatemala

By Foundation Admin posted 10-09-2019 11:00 PM

  

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation (Foundation) with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Academy), the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, is seeking a licensed nutrition and dietetics professional from Guatemala to serve as a research fellow. The fellow will participate in a research project titled "Early Complementary Feeding of Eggs in Rural Guatemala" in Guatemala with the Academy and the Maya Health Alliance/Wuqu' Kawoq (MHA). This opportunity, available through a grant to the Foundation from the Egg Nutrition Center, includes full-time residence in Tecpán, Guatemala for the duration of the Fellowship.

The fellow will work closely with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' (Academy) Research, International, and Scientific Affairs (RISA) team; the Foundation; and MHA to accomplish the goals of the fellowship.

The fellowship begins on or around January 6, 2020.

Application

Interested candidates should apply online, including submitting a tailored letter of interest and tailored resume, by the 11:59 p.m. (Central time) on Sunday, November 10, 2019.


APPLY

Questions? Please read our Frequently Asked Questions first. Any questions not answered by the FAQ document can be directed via email to Nicci Brown, MS, RDN, Senior Program Manager, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation at nbrown@eatright.org with the subject "ECF Fellowship." The fastest way to get questions answered is via email.

Overview and Responsibilities

The Fellow will work with MHA, an organization committed to transforming the health of Maya communities in Guatemala and conducting research that furthers this mission. This opportunity will include a year-long applied nutrition research fellowship, with the potential opportunity to extend for a second year, for a Guatemalan licensed nutrition and dietetics professional. The project will be overseen by MHA, and the fellowship will include resource sharing and development with MHA and an opportunity for the fellow to participate in conducting and reporting on the research study.

The fellow will:

  1. Serve as study coordinator for the study, which will examine the impact of the daily provision of eggs on child development which will include all aspects of recruitment, enrollment, retention, and fidelity monitoring
  2. Serve as liaison for community and engagement efforts
  3. Assist with data management (cleaning and analysis) and dissemination for the project
  4. Assist with other study tasks, as needed

This fellowship will provide a rich research experience. The fellow will assist in identifying aspects of the program critical to successful replication and scaling.

The fellow will work closely with the Maya Health Alliance's team and the Academy's Nutrition Research Network (NRN) to conduct research and participate in nutrition-related efforts for the organization. Additional fellow support will be provided by the Foundation.

Maya Health Alliance/Wuqu' Kawoq
Maya Health Alliance/Wuqu' Kawoq works in Guatemala's most impoverished communities to provide health care in Mayan languages. They are working to strengthen primary health care in rural Guatemala and to spearhead efforts to reduce maternal mortality and child malnutrition, overcome barriers to the treatment of complex medical conditions, provide optimal care to children and adults with chronic conditions, and promote access to clean water.

Fellow Criteria

Required:

  • Licensed nutrition and dietetics professional
  • Advanced degree in nutrition/dietetics, public health or other technically-relevant degree strongly preferred
  • 3+ years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, quality improvement, or research
  • Full professional fluency in Spanish (C2 on the CEFRL framework)
  • Strong interpersonal/team skills and the ability to work within different cultural environments (experience with Maya culture)
  • Ability to analyze and prioritize needs
  • Ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions independently
  • Knowledge of key nutrition issues in Guatemala
  • Full-time residence in Guatemala for the duration of the Fellowship
  • Willingness to participate fully in the expectations of the MHA program in Guatemala
  • Willingness to participate fully in the expectations of the Academy and Foundation, including project calls and reports, manuscript development, conference attendance, and professional presentations

Preferred:

    • Fluent in Kaqchikel, K'iche' or other indigenous language(s) in Guatemala
    • Full professional fluency in English (C2 on the CEFRL framework)
    • Experience working with Maya community leaders and families
    • Training/coursework in statistics/collection and analysis of quantitative data, and implementation research
    • Experience using statistical software (e.g. SAS, Stata, R)

Experience in writing technical reports or peer-reviewed manuscripts

  • Experience in presenting the results of monitoring and evaluation, quality improvement, or research projects to lay and professional audiences
  • Member or International Member of the Academy

Fellowship Award

The Foundation will provide funding support for the fellowship as follows:

  • $21,000 Fellowship Stipend
    The stipend is based on the standard set by Maya Health Alliance/Wuqu' Kawoq. Base salary – title and salary commensurate with experience. Additional funds may be available for applicants with advanced degrees and/or significant professional experience.

Additional funds will be made available for travel stipends to support work-related travel, including lodging, meals, and professional conference fees as well as for continuing education as deemed appropriate by the Foundation.

Please note that fringe benefits (health insurance, retirement, etc.) are not available for this position.


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