The Indonesia Research Partnership on Infectious Diseases (INA-RESPOND) is a collaborative clinical research partnership between the Directorate General of Advanced Health (Keslan) of the Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Republic of Indonesia and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the United States of America, with RSPI Prof. Dr. Sulianti Saroso (RSPI SS) serving as the official host institution and implementer as stipulated in the Decree of the Ministry of Health.

The partnership was formed to jointly build and capitalize on opportunities to rapidly launch a research response to emerging infectious disease threats and to benefit the international community by conducting high quality, collaborative, and sustainable infectious disease research.

The partnership has completed observational and interventional studies on a variety of diseases, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, COVID-19, acute febrile illness, pneumonia, and schistosomiasis (publication list).

All research activities are coordinated through INA-RESPOND Secretariat, the operational hub, now based at the National Brain Center Hospital (RS PON). The INA-RESPOND Secretariat maintains the capacity and expertise needed to conduct independent clinical research, including study implementation, protocol development, monitoring and regulatory, laboratory testing, biostatistics, finance, administration, data management, IT, manuscript writing, and project management.

The INA-RESPOND Deputy Head is a senior leadership and supervisory position based at the INA-RESPOND Secretariat. The Deputy Head will work closely with the INA-RESPOND Head, the Head of the Clinical Research Unit at RSPI Sulianti Saroso (RSPI SS), and the Country Lead for Indonesia at the U.S. NIAID. With direction from INA-RESPOND leadership and support from partnership staff, responsibilities of the INA-RESPOND Deputy Head include, but are not limited to:

• Providing day-to-day oversight of partnership activities, high-level supervision of staff, and overall monitoring of projects to ensure objectives are being met in a timely manner.
• Contributing clinical, scientific, operational, and/or administrative expertise to the partnership, recognizing programmatic needs and seeking the appropriate level of support required.
• Ensuring that processes, workflows, operating plans, and general day-to-day operations are evaluated and documented, including the training of staff, to ensure a consistent and efficient approach to partnership activities.
• Contributing to the development of standard operating procedures (SOPs), ensuring transparency and adherence to NIAID, MoH, and RSPI SS partnership processes and timelines.
• Overseeing the functional areas of the Secretariat, including coordination and oversight of project activities across sections (administration, operations, and finance, clinical operations, science, data management and biostatistics, and reference laboratory), to facilitate and ensure that protocol activities are completed according to established scopes of work and applicable guidelines/regulations.
• Supporting the INA-RESPOND Head in building and maintaining partnership collaborations.
• Ensuring decisions are communicated to Secretariat staff, as appropriate, for the execution of strategic and programmatic activities.
• Supporting and guiding protocol development teams; reviewing protocol and study documents.
• Coordinating logistics for the conduct of research studies (establishment of agreements, procurements, importation of study products, and exportation of biological specimens).
• Supporting protocol implementation and site development activities.
• Coordinating and participating in site staff training.

Key duties and responsibilities 

Strategic and Management: 

In coordination with INA-RESPOND leadership:

• Communicates and disseminates all strategic objectives and tasks to the appropriate site staff and Secretariat staff to ensure alignment and accountability within the partnership.
• Works closely with senior staff to resolve issues that may impact the implementation or conduct of partnership activities.
• Escalates unresolved issues in a timely manner to the INA-RESPOND Head or appropriate committee.
• Builds relationships and liaises with stakeholders and external groups, representing INA-RESPOND as needed by the INA-RESPOND Head.
• Provides periodic progress reports to the INA-RESPOND Head.
• Maintains open communication with stakeholders and resolves barriers to communication.
• Balances oversight of multiple, complex partnership activities, such as concurrent clinical studies involving different sites, personnel, and operational needs.
• Serves as a focal point for MoH officials to implement the INA-RESPOND partnership properly and efficiently in Indonesia.

Scientific:

In coordination with INA-RESPOND scientific and laboratory staff:

• Maintains awareness of developments in infectious disease research fields, leveraging networks and relationships to ensure that INA-RESPOND continues to pursue relevant research.
• Guides the development of presentations and manuscripts from conception to publication in a timely manner.
• Identifies new collaborations, trainings and external funding opportunities, overseeing the completion of applications according to established SOPs and timelines.

Clinical Operations: 

In coordination with INA-RESPOND Clinical Operations group:

• Recognizes clinical operations needs and prepares capacity required to effectively implement INA-RESPOND research studies.
• Develops high-level strategies with clinical sites to resolve barriers to timely study implementation, conduct and closeout.
• Oversees regulatory and clinical operations activities throughout the lifecycle of a clinical study.
• Oversees the development, implementation and maintenance of a rigorous QA/QC program.
• Ensures clinical operations issues or study conduct issues, such as protocol deviations or adverse events, are handled appropriately and reported to the appropriate entities, as required.
• Ensures sites are prepared to undertake partnership studies, including:

• All site study staff have proper protocol, GCP, and other trainings required
• All site laboratory staff have necessary technical and study-specific training
• Sites have addressed appropriate regulatory requirements
• Sites have sufficient clinical and laboratory equipment and facilities

Administrative:

In coordination with INA-RESPOND administrative staff:

• Provides day-to-day management, oversight, and guidance to INA-RESPOND staff, directly supervising the Leads of each section within the Secretariat.  
• Oversees financial management for the partnership, including the development of research budgets, forecasting partnership expenses, and maintaining records for audits.
• Ensures that approvals of research budgets and operating expenses (training, travel for staff, conference attendance etc.) are obtained per established SOPs, scopes of work/agreements, and by the appropriate approving officials/committees.
• Oversees the alignment of resources within INA-RESPOND.
• Coordinates with contractors and subcontractors to resolve issues and ensure the partnership is operating efficiently.
• Ensures that responsible staff are aware of their specific roles and responsibilities within the overall Secretariat structure.
• Ensures that staff concerns are handled seriously and appropriately.
• Oversees the development and implementation of resource management policies and accountability and reporting structures.
• Facilitates the sharing of best practices.
• Provide solutions to fill gaps in staff knowledge or skills.

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Fluency in English and Bahasa Indonesia, having high proficiency with written and verbal communication.
• Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams).
• At least 10-15 years of experience working on international projects, including significant leadership/managerial experience.
• Experience working with US government agencies is preferred, and experience in the health, research, or non-profit sectors is an advantage.
• Demonstrated familiarity with the research processes, regulations, and culture of the MoH.
• Strong organizational and recordkeeping skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively with diverse international teams.
• Ability to resolve complex challenges and navigate bureaucracies to accomplish tasks.
• Detail-oriented and capable of managing multiple projects under tight deadlines.
• Exceptional professionalism, integrity, and confidentiality.