The KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) has announced multiple research vacancies for professionals interested in advancing scientific research, health systems strengthening, epidemiology, biosciences, data analytics, and community health initiatives in Kenya. These opportunities are suitable for individuals seeking to contribute to high-impact health and scientific projects within one of Africa’s leading research institutions.
The advertised positions span different research areas including genomics, bioinformatics, epidemiology, health systems evaluation, maternal and newborn health, data management, and community engagement. Successful candidates will work closely with multidisciplinary teams involved in cutting-edge health research and implementation projects.
The openings provide an opportunity for professionals to participate in collaborative research initiatives, support evidence generation, contribute to policy-relevant studies, and strengthen healthcare systems through innovative approaches and data-driven interventions.
Below is a detailed breakdown of the available positions.
- Assistant Research Officer (Biosciences) – Vacancy No. KWTRP26/ARO-BIOS/001
The Assistant Research Officer (Biosciences) will support genomics and bioinformatics research activities within the programme. The position focuses on laboratory and analytical support aimed at advancing scientific understanding through assay development, optimization, and collaborative research initiatives.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Participating in genomics and bioinformatics research activities
- Supporting assay development and optimization processes
- Conducting data analysis for research projects
- Supporting collaboration initiatives with research teams and stakeholders
- Assisting in dissemination of research findings
- Supporting capacity building initiatives within the programme
- Providing technical and operational support to research teams
This role is ideal for professionals interested in biosciences, laboratory research, genomics, and bioinformatics research environments.
- Assistant Research Officer (Epidemiology) – Vacancy No. KWTRP26/ARO-EPD/001
The Assistant Research Officer (Epidemiology) will support epidemiological and statistical research activities under the assigned study programmes. The role involves supporting implementation of research activities and contributing to modelling and analytical work.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Supporting day-to-day implementation of research activities
- Participating in epidemiological research studies
- Conducting statistical and epidemiological modelling data analysis
- Supporting collaboration initiatives with partners and stakeholders
- Assisting in dissemination of research findings
- Supporting capacity building activities
- Providing technical and operational support to the research team
The role offers an opportunity to participate in evidence-based public health and epidemiological studies.
- Assistant Research Officer (School Engagement Programme) – Vacancy No. KWTRP26/ARO-SEP/002
The Assistant Research Officer (School Engagement Programme) will support primary school engagement activities connected to health research. The role involves working with teachers, education partners, and research teams to implement and evaluate engagement initiatives.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Working closely with primary school teachers and education partners
- Supporting implementation and evaluation of school engagement activities
- Participating in School Engagement Programme (SEP) research activities
- Supporting proposal development activities
- Assisting in grants and funds administration
- Conducting data analysis
- Supporting collaboration initiatives
- Assisting in dissemination of findings
- Supporting capacity building initiatives
This role combines education engagement and health research support within community-based initiatives.
- Research Officer (Bioscience) – Vacancy No. KWTRP26/RO-BIO/004
The Research Officer (Bioscience) will support advanced research activities involving genomics, bioinformatics, serology, assay development, and laboratory research processes.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Supporting genomics and bioinformatics research
- Participating in cell culture activities
- Supporting serology-related studies
- Conducting assay development and optimization
- Performing data analysis
- Supporting collaborations with research partners
- Assisting in dissemination of scientific findings
- Supporting capacity building initiatives
The position is suitable for professionals interested in advanced bioscience and laboratory research environments.
- Research Officer (NEWRISK) – Vacancy No. KWTRP26/RO-NEWR/005
The Research Officer (NEWRISK) position will support the Novel Extreme Weather Risk Insurance Systems for Kenya Project. The role focuses on community engagement and climate-related health systems research.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Conducting community engagement activities
- Supporting stakeholder engagement initiatives
- Undertaking research related to climate risks and health systems
- Supporting mitigation planning initiatives
- Conducting data analysis
- Supporting collaborative research activities
- Assisting in dissemination of findings
- Supporting capacity building initiatives
This role offers an opportunity to work at the intersection of climate resilience, community engagement, and healthcare systems research.
- Research Officer (HSU) – Vacancy No. KWTRP/26/RO-HSU/007
The Research Officer (HSU) position is based within the Health Systems and Research Ethics department in Nairobi. The role focuses on studies examining vulnerabilities following birth complications and continuity of neonatal care after hospital discharge.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Supporting studies related to neonatal post-discharge continuity of care
- Examining vulnerabilities after birth complications
- Participating in co-designing healthcare strengthening strategies
- Conducting qualitative research activities
- Working closely with multidisciplinary research teams
- Exploring experiences of mothers and families with hospitalized newborns
- Examining healthcare staff experiences in neonatal care settings
- Supporting research implementation activities
The role is suitable for professionals interested in social science research, maternal and newborn health, and healthcare systems research.
- Research Officer – Health Systems Evaluation and Data Analytics (KWRP) – Vacancy No. KWTRP/26/RO-HSE&DA/011
The Research Officer – Health Systems Evaluation and Data Analytics position offers an opportunity for candidates interested in advanced analytics, geospatial analysis, and statistical modelling for healthcare challenges.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Applying advanced analytics to health systems challenges
- Conducting geospatial analysis
- Supporting statistical modelling activities
- Supporting maternal and child health research initiatives
- Contributing to evidence-based health research
- Participating in data-driven healthcare evaluation activities
- Supporting analytical research projects
The position provides exposure to real-world healthcare analytics and evaluation projects.
- Research Officer – Evaluating Hospital Workloads & Case-Mix (KWRP) – Vacancy No. KWTRP/26/RO-EHW&CM/013
The Research Officer – Evaluating Hospital Workloads & Case-Mix position supports healthcare systems research focused on understanding hospital workloads and improving healthcare delivery systems.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Supporting hospital workload evaluation studies
- Participating in healthcare systems research activities
- Contributing to research on healthcare delivery systems
- Supporting data analysis and evaluation activities
- Participating in collaborative research initiatives
- Supporting local research leadership initiatives
- Contributing to healthcare improvement research
The role provides an opportunity to contribute to research addressing major healthcare system challenges across Africa.
- Assistant Research Officer – Epidemiologist/Data Analyst – Vacancy No. ARO-BeginningsFund-03-2026
The Assistant Research Officer – Epidemiologist/Data Analyst will support quantitative analysis and evidence synthesis related to maternal and newborn health outcomes.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Supporting quantitative analysis activities
- Preparing facility-level epidemiological datasets
- Producing descriptive statistics
- Supporting routine reporting processes
- Assisting in dashboard development and updates
- Supporting higher-order analytical processes
- Contributing to maternal and newborn health research initiatives
The role combines epidemiology and data analytics within maternal and newborn health research projects.
- Research Officer – Data Management (KWRP) – Vacancy No. RO-DM-Beginnings Fund-03-2026
The Research Officer – Data Management will oversee cross-country data engineering and management pipelines for multiple healthcare datasets.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Managing cross-country data engineering pipelines
- Supporting management of core healthcare datasets
- Ensuring data completeness and metadata integrity
- Supporting secure data governance processes
- Managing federated data models
- Supporting data quality assurance activities
- Coordinating healthcare data management initiatives
This role is suitable for professionals interested in healthcare data systems, governance, and large-scale data management projects.
Why These KWTRP Jobs Stand Out
The KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme remains one of the leading health research institutions in Africa, known for its contribution to scientific innovation, epidemiology, healthcare systems strengthening, and public health research.
These positions provide opportunities for professionals to:
- Work on impactful healthcare and scientific research projects
- Participate in multidisciplinary collaborations
- Gain exposure to international-standard research environments
- Contribute to evidence-based health interventions
- Participate in community and policy-focused research
- Strengthen professional research and analytical experience
The advertised roles also span diverse fields including biosciences, epidemiology, health systems, climate-health research, social science research, data analytics, and healthcare data management.
Application Deadline
The closing date for all the listed vacancies is June 27, 2026. Interested applicants are encouraged to submit their applications before the deadline.
Available Vacancies Summary
The available vacancies include:
- Assistant Research Officer (Biosciences)
- Assistant Research Officer (Epidemiology)
- Assistant Research Officer (School Engagement Programme)
- Research Officer (Bioscience)
- Research Officer (NEWRISK)
- Research Officer (HSU)
- Research Officer – Health Systems Evaluation and Data Analytics
- Research Officer – Evaluating Hospital Workloads & Case-Mix
- Assistant Research Officer – Epidemiologist/Data Analyst
- Research Officer – Data Management
These opportunities are expected to attract applicants interested in research, healthcare innovation, epidemiology, public health, biosciences, and healthcare systems improvement.
