Position: Laboratory Technician, Tuberculosis
Location: Maharashtra – Beed
Overview:
The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to our mission of saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries. We work at the invitation of governments to support them and the private sector to create and sustain high-quality health systems.
CHAI was founded in 2002 in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic with the goal of dramatically reducing the price of life-saving drugs and increasing access to these medicines in the countries with the highest burden of the disease. Over the following two decades, CHAI has expanded its focus. Today, along with HIV, we work in conjunction with our partners to prevent and treat infectious diseases such as COVID-19, malaria, tuberculosis, and hepatitis. Our work has also expanded into cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases, and we work to accelerate the rollout of lifesaving vaccines, reduce maternal and child mortality, combat chronic malnutrition, and increase access to assistive technology. We are investing in horizontal approaches to strengthen health systems through programs in human resources for health, digital health, and health financing. With each new and innovative program, our strategy is grounded in maximizing sustainable impact at scale, ensuring that governments lead the solutions, that programs are designed to scale nationally, and learnings are shared globally.
At CHAI, our people are our greatest asset, and none of this work would be possible without their talent, time, dedication and passion for our mission and values. We are a highly diverse team of enthusiastic individuals across 40 countries with a broad range of skillsets and life experiences. CHAI is deeply grounded in the countries we work in, with majority of our staff based in program countries.
WJCF is an Indian not-for-profit entity, registered under Section 8 of the Indian Companies Act 2013, and has an affiliation agreement with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). Our mission is to save lives and improve health outcomes in the country by enabling the government and private sector to strengthen and sustain quality health systems. WJCF has partnered with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and state health departments since 2007, providing technical and operational support across key health priorities, including infectious diseases (COVID-19, hepatitis, HIV, TB, vector-borne diseases), non-communicable diseases (cervical cancer, diabetes, sickle cell disease), maternal and child health (anaemia, immunisation, diarrhoea, pneumonia), sexual and reproductive health, health insurance and digital health (AB PM-JAY, ABDM), oxygen and hypoxemia management, safe drinking water, and climate and health.
Program Overview:
The World Health Organization estimated that 10.7 million people fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) in 2024 and 1.23 million died from it. India accounted for the most people suffering from the disease annually, with 25% of the global cases and 25% of death caused by TB. The National TB Elimination Program (NTEP), headed by the Central TB Division (CTD), MoHFW, is an expansive public health program with the ambitious goal of ending TB in line with the mandate of the Sustainable Development Goals.
WJCF has been supporting the CTD and state health departments of more than 15 states in the mission to end TB. WJCF’s TB program has been operational since 2012, and its interventions address several program areas, including preventive therapies, case detection, access to diagnostics, engagement of the private sector, and more. It also lends technical support to Governments across a range of themes- strategic planning, data analytics, monitoring and evaluation, patient management and delivery of services.
Project Background:
The Central TB Division (CTD) has an ambitious TB Elimination goal and is scaling up case finding and adoption of molecular testing for all presumptive TB cases. WJCF aims to support CTD’s efforts by augmenting their efforts in active case finding, designing optimal strategies for case finding efforts, and assessing the use of technology and novel diagnostic products in India’s public and private health delivery systems.
Open PCR for TB detection potentially enables redeployment and optimal utilization of the RT PCR infrastructure developed during COVID -19 pandemic. Quantiplus MTB FAST Detection Kit (Huwel Lifesciences), is an indigenous open RT- PCR kit for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in sputum, using Real – Time PCR system.
The kit has been validated by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), licensed by Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and recommended for programmatic use by the National Technical Expert Group (NTEG). Subsequently, the Programme Division has successfully completed a field feasibility study at 10 sites covering various regions of the country.
The current project aims to evaluate performance of Quantiplus MTB FAST Detection Kit in real-world field settings, identify operational challenges, and gather feedback from laboratory staff and clinicians to assess any added value of open RT-PCR kits in complementing existing co-located NAAT platforms.
The key objective of the exercise to demonstrate utility of open RT-PCR kits for TB detection among asymptomatic TB in patients presenting with an abnormal chest Xray.
Position Summary:
The Laboratory Technician would work under the supervision of Laboratory In-Charge / Microbiologist. The role would involve performing the pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical phases of molecular testing and sample processing. Laboratory Technician would be responsible for technical, supervisory, and quality assurance required to manage molecular diagnostic workflows.
This position requires a highly motivated individual with strong problem solving, analytical, communication and technical skills, who is comfortable working independently while collaborating closely with laboratory personnel in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
Responsibilities:
- Technical Operations: Oversee and perform all stages of RT-PCR testing, including sample receipt, nucleic acid extraction, master mix preparation, and thermal cycling.
- Quality Assurance: Implement and monitor Quality Management Systems and Internal Quality Control to ensure the accuracy of molecular results.
- Equipment Maintenance: Ensure periodic calibration and maintenance of specialized equipment such as thermal cyclers, centrifuges, and biosafety cabinets.
- Supervision & Mentoring: Train, supervise and mentor junior technicians, laboratory assistants, and attendants.
- Data Management: Facilitate data entry into Laboratory Information Management Systems, Ni-kshay and validate performance indicators before final reporting.
- Safety & Compliance: Enforce Infection Prevention and Control protocols and manage biohazardous waste disposal according to national standards.
- Key Performance indicators: Ensure adherence to TAT, error rates below benchmarks, documentation for quality audits.
- Support the development of presentations and reports for the dissemination of information among partners, donors, and stakeholders.
- Undertake other responsibilities as needed
Qualifications:
- M.Sc. Medical Microbiology / Applied Microbiology /General Microbiology / Clinical Microbiology/ Biotechnology/ Medical Biotechnology.
Experience: 3 years’ experience in TB laboratory with at least one year in RT PCR work.
OR
- B.Sc. Microbiology/Biotechnology/ Biochemistry /Chemistry / Life Science with or without DMLT. Experience: 5 years’ experience in TB laboratory with at least one year in RT PCR work.
- Expertise in RT PCR workflows and mycobacteriology techniques.
- Meticulousness to spot contamination and other technical issues that could invalidate test results. Supervisory leadership for mentoring junior staff.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Hindi.
- Ability to work independently, prioritize effectively, and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
- Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective relationships across diverse and multi-cultural stakeholder groups
Note : This position is on 3rd Party Payroll
Email id to be addressed – careers@wjcf.in