Project Manager for Coda Democra-mits Project

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) is a cutting-edge institute addressing global public health challenges through research, translation into policy and education. ISGlobal has a broad portfolio in communicable and non-communicable diseases including environmental and climate determinants, and applies a multidisciplinary scientific approach ranging from the molecular to the population level. Research is organized in five programs: Climate, Air Pollution, Nature and Urban Health; Environment and Health over the Lifecourse; Global Viral and Bacterial Infections; Malaria and Neglected Parasitic Diseases and Maternal Child and Reproductive Health. ISGlobal is accredited with the Severo Ochoa distinction, a seal of excellence of the Spanish Science Ministry.

**WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR**:
ISGlobal is seeking a full-time project manager who is interested in taking over and managing activities of the project CODA Democra-MITS: Simplified MITS Protocols. The overall project goal is to democratize the access to postmortem mortality surveillance by creating simplified, scalable, and affordable MITS protocols, tailored for the different age groups and CoD categories, easy to be implemented in low-resource settings, but retaining at the same time a high diagnostic accuracy.

The Democra-MITS project aims to democratize access to postmortem mortality surveillance in low-resource settings by developing and validating simplified, scalable, and affordable mínimally invasive tissue sampling (s-MITS) protocols that retain high diagnostic accuracy while significantly reducing cost, time, and complexity. Led by ISGlobal in collaboration with Maputo and Quelimane Central Hospitals in Mozambique and Gandaki Medical College in Nepal, this 24-month initiative builds on extensive prior work from the CHAMPS and CaDMIA studies, which demonstrated that limiting tissue sampling to key organs such as the lungs and placenta can halve procedural costs and duration without compromising diagnostic yield. Using artificial intelligence-assisted modeling of large MITS datasets, the project will identify high-yield diagnostic tissue-test combinations for different age groups and causes of death, retrospectively validate these simplified protocols against complete diagnostic autopsy datasets, and prospectively assess their diagnostic performance, feasibility, and efficiency in 200 cases across three sites. The resulting protocols will be translated into practical, modular s-MITS kits and standard operating procedures tailored to neonatal, pediatric, adult, and maternal deaths. By delivering validated, low-cost, field-adapted postmortem methods and strengthening mortality surveillance systems, Democra-MITS will enhance cause-of-death data quality, support health policy decision-making, and contribute directly to global efforts to achieve WHO and UN Sustainable Development Goals on health and data systems.

**KEY RESPONSIBILITIES**:
Project Coordination and Implementation:

- Lead the day-to-day coordination, planning, and execution of the Democra-MITS project across all participating sites (Barcelona, Mozambique, and Nepal).
- Ensure the timely delivery of project milestones and outputs according to the approved work plan and donor requirements.
- Maintain continuous communication with site teams, investigators, and partner institutions to ensure alignment, efficiency, and adherence to project timelines.
- Anticipate and proactively manage operational bottlenecks, ensuring effective mitigation strategies to keep the project on schedule.

Operational and Logistical Oversight:

- Supervise all logístical aspects of field and laboratory/scientific activities, including procurement, shipment, and customs clearance of materials, consumables, and biological samples, ensuring full compliance with biosafety and international transport regulations.
- Coordinate ethical approvals, regulatory submissions, and reporting processes across countries and institutional partners.
- Cotribution to writing of protocols and cover letters is expected.
- Oversee administrative and contractual documentation related to project implementation, subawards, and service agreements.

Financial and Administrative Management:

- Support the development and monitoring of the project budget, ensuring accurate financial tracking, forecasting, and compliance with donor and institutional regulations.
- Liaise closely with ISGlobal’s finance and grants teams to prepare expenditure reports and respond to donor financial queries.
- Contribute to the preparation of budget justifications and financial narratives for progress and final reports.

Monitoring and Reporting:

- Develop and maintain tracking systems for deliverables, timelines, and performance indicators.
- Coordinate the preparation of technical progress reports, annual reviews, and final deliverables for the donor and consortium partners.
- Ensure accurate documentation, version control, and archiving of study