Postdoctoral Research Fellowship - Non-Communicable Diseases

Fellowship Type:

• Postdoctoral research fellowship within the research niche area of Non-Communicable Diseases. The fellowships is a two-year fixed contract subject to satisfactory annual performance. The tax-free stipend is R300 000 per annum.

Requirements:

Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Hold a Doctoral degree (NQF Level 10) in Public Health or a closely related health discipline, obtained within the past five (5) years.
• Demonstrate a strong and emerging research profile, supported by publications in accredited peer-reviewed journals.
• Have research expertise in one or more of the following areas: diabetes and metabolic diseases, obesity and nutrition, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, or cancer prevention and control. Possess experience in quantitative, qualitative and/or mixed-methods research,
• with proficiency in relevant statistical and/or qualitative data analysis software (e.g. SPSS, Stata, R, SAS, NVivo or ATLAS.ti).
• Demonstrate excellence in scientific writing, including evidence of scholarly publications and experience in developing competitive research grant proposals.
• Be committed to conducting field-based research where required and be willing to reside within reasonable proximity to the University of Limpopo for the duration of the fellowship.
• Have excellent communication, organisational, computer, project management and data management skills, with the ability to work effectively both independently and within multidisciplinary research teams.
• Registration with a relevant professional body, where applicable, will be an added advantage.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The successful Postdoctoral Fellow will play a central role in advancing the University's research mission through the following responsibilities:

Research and Innovation

• Design and lead high-impact research that advances knowledge on noncommunicable diseases and aligns with the Faculty's strategic research priorities.
• Develop an independent research portfolio while working collaboratively with academic mentors and multidisciplinary research teams.
• Conduct field-based and implementation research across community, clinical and health system settings.

Research Development and Project Delivery

• Prepare competitive grant applications to attract national and international research funding.
• Contribute to the planning, coordination, implementation, monitoring and reporting of research projects.
• Uphold the highest standards of research ethics, governance, financial accountability and data management throughout the research lifecycle.

Scholarly Excellence

• Publish original research in high-impact, DHET-accredited and internationally recognised peer-reviewed journals.
• Produce scholarly outputs including policy briefs, technical reports, book chapters and other knowledge products.
• Present research findings at scientific conferences and actively participate in seminars, workshops and academic colloquia.

Capacity Building and Mentorship

• Support the supervision and mentorship of Master's and PhD students.
• Contribute to postgraduate research training and initiatives that strengthen research capacity within the Faculty.
• Foster an inclusive, collaborative and intellectually stimulating research environment.

Partnerships and Knowledge Translation

• Establish and strengthen strategic collaborations with academic institutions,
• government, healthcare organisations, industry and community partners across South Africa, Africa and internationally.
• Translate research evidence into policies, programmes and interventions that improve population health and strengthen health systems.
• Promote meaningful stakeholder engagement to maximise the societal impact of research.

Innovation and Research Impact

• Identify opportunities for innovation, intellectual property development and research commercialisation where appropriate.
• Support proof-of-concept development and contribute to advancing research towards practical application and societal benefit.

Academic Citizenship

• Represent the Department and Faculty at scientific, professional and stakeholder forums.
• Actively contribute to initiatives that enhance the University's national and
• international research reputation and cultivate a culture of research excellence.

Expected outputs

During the fellowship, the successful candidate will be expected to produce:

• At least 4 accredited journal publications over the two-year fellowship.
• Several conference presentations at national and international scientific meetings.
• At least one competitive external research grant application.
• Policy briefs supporting evidence-informed health policy.
• Research reports for government and other stakeholders.
• Contributions to postgraduate student supervision and capacity development.
• Collaborative publications with the host supervisor and research team.
• Participation in multidisciplinary research projects within the Faculty and University.