Clinical Officer

How to Apply: Interested and qualified candidates should apply through the KEMRI e-recruitment portal at erecruitment.kemri.go.ke. Ensure you upload your updated CV, diploma, registration certificate, and valid practicing license.

Prove You Can Run a Trial Ward, Not Just a Clinic

KEMRI screens clinical officers hard for protocol discipline. They want someone who can consent a nervous participant, run a ward round, and still catch a data error before it reaches the database. Your application needs to show that triple focus.

1. Lead with trial experience, even if it is short: If you have supported any clinical trial, put it at the top of your CV under a clear heading. State the study phase, your role in consenting or administering investigational product, and the number of participants you handled. If you lack trial experience, highlight busy clinic rotations where you managed high patient volumes and followed strict treatment guidelines. The goal is to show you understand that a study protocol is not a suggestion.

2. Make your practicing license impossible to miss: KEMRI lists the registration certificate and valid practicing license as mandatory. Scan both documents and attach them as separate PDFs with clear file names like 'Clinical_Officer_License_2025.pdf'. On your CV, add a line under your name stating your registration number and license expiry date. Hiring managers should not have to hunt for this.

3. Show you can consent without coercion: Consenting study participants is a core duty here. Prepare a short example for your interview about a time you explained a procedure to a hesitant patient and respected their decision. On your CV, mention any training in Good Clinical Practice (GCP) or research ethics. Even a certificate from an online GCP course signals you take participant protection seriously.

4. Quantify your clinical decision-making: The role involves deciding on admission, continued care, or referral. Instead of saying 'managed patients', write bullet points like 'Reviewed 30+ ward patients daily and made referral decisions for 5+ complex cases per week'. Numbers give the panel a sense of your pace and judgment. If you worked in a busy clinic, estimate your daily patient load and include it.

5. Prepare for questions on adverse event reporting: You will monitor and report side effects related to the investigational product. Study coordinators often ask how you would document a Grade 3 adverse event and who you would notify first. Revise the standard severity grading and reporting timelines. In your application, mention any experience you have with pharmacovigilance or completing case report forms.

6. Demonstrate data discipline in your CV: Reviewing questionnaires for accuracy is part of the job. Add a line under your work experience showing you have verified clinical data before entry, even if it was just checking patient files for completeness. If you have used any electronic data capture system like RedCap or OpenClinica, name it. This tells the team you will not create extra work for the data manager.

7. Show you can handle specimens and stock: The role includes collecting and tracking biological specimens and managing inventory. On your CV, mention any experience with sample labelling, cold chain, or stock reconciliation. In the interview, be ready to describe how you would handle a missing sample or a stock-out of a critical supply. They want someone who plans ahead, not someone who reacts after the problem.

8. Prove you work well in a multidisciplinary team: KEMRI studies bring together clinicians, lab technologists, data clerks, and community workers. Prepare a story about a time you resolved a disagreement with a colleague from another department. On your CV, highlight any project where you collaborated across teams. The panel will probe how you communicate with a lab officer when a result is delayed or with a data clerk when a form is incomplete.