Senior Research Assistant (Data Management and Analysis)

• Country: Lyon, France
• No of vacancies: N/A
  
• Salary: N/A
• Organization: WHO
• Gender: Both
• Deadline: 2024-01-31

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the direct supervision of the EGM’s Deputy Head, the incumbent is expected to:

1)   Provide computational (programming) and bioinformatic support to the EGM Branch by:

o   Writing own or adapting existing scripts and analytical packages for manipulation of data generated by EGM’s laboratory activities or data obtained from external collaborators and other sources such as public repositories. This may involve several of the following priority approaches: genome-wide and targeted DNA sequencing, transcriptome sequencing, genomic location analysis, methylome analysis, chromatin modification profiling using massively-parallel sequencing and/or arrays.

2)  Assist the Branch scientists in data analysis by:

o   Developing or adapting statistical and other types of data analyses including (but not limited to) tertiary analysis, data integration, interpretation, visualization and submission to central repositories;

o   Formatting and communicating data in a user-friendly style for inclusion in scientific presentations and publications.

3)  Participate in the Agency’s central bioinformatics activities:

o   Ensuring that the newly deployed methodologies in EGM are available across IARC and to the wider scientific community, as appropriate;

o   Sharing expertise with bioinformaticians in other IARC groups by participating in working groups, seminars and internally organized trainings.

4)  Interact with other groups at IARC, in particular the Information Technology Services (ITS) and provide input as to whether the high-performance computing and information technology resources developed at IARC meet the needs of the EGM; this may include membership in the IARC Data Science Steering Committee (DSSC).

5)  Interact with external collaborators wherever relevant bioinformatics and data analysis knowledge is required, by discussing issues of common interest related to large data sets and their analysis for collaborative projects.

6)  Keep abreast of technological developments in bioinformatic resources and tools relevant to the projects conducted in the branch, producing regular activity reports and presenting progress and results during group and branch meetings.

7)  Perform other relevant duties as requested by the supervisor.

WHO COMPETENCIES

• Teamwork
• Moving forward in a changing environment
• Communication
• Producing results
• Technical expertise

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

Essential:  Graduation from secondary school or equivalent, and subsequent training (BTS, DUT or equivalent) in the field of bioinformatics, life sciences, computer science/programing, statistics or related field.

Desirable University degree in bioinformatics, computer science/statistics or related field.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Essential: At least five years’ experience with high performance computing and/or cluster management using scripting languages/programming (Python and/or R).

Desirable: Experience in research environment. Experience in other programming languages using Unix/Linux environment.

USE OF LANGUAGE SKILLS

Expert knowledge of English is essential. Intermediate knowledge of French is desirable.

SKILLS

Essential:

• Knowledge of R for statistical computing and data visualization and of one or more scripting or programming languages (e.g. Perl, Python, Ruby, C++ or Java etc.), preferably using the Unix/Linux environment.
• Good general understanding of molecular and cell biology.
• Ability to

1. Design, optimize and implement bioinformatic workflows for analysis of complex data.
2. Clearly communicate results to a variety of audiences both orally and in writing;
3. Work autonomously and prioritize work in a demanding work environment;
4. Create clear, concise figures for publications and
5. Work harmoniously as a member of a team with people of diverse educational and cultural backgrounds.

Desirable: Knowledge of additional statistical packages and/or workflow programming languages would be an asset.

REMUNERATION

The fixed remuneration for the above position currently amounts to EUR 3,766 per month, and is expressed net of income tax but before deduction of the employee share contributions for mandatory participation in the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) and in the Organization’s private insurance plans covering health, accident, illness and disability.

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