Outreach Officer

Overview

The Outreach Coordinator is a key role within the Pan Human Biobank, combining participant engagement with hands‑on responsibility for the lifecycle management of biological specimens. The position supports ethical, compliant, and culturally appropriate recruitment of participants while ensuring the accurate receipt, processing, storage, and tracking of biological samples in accordance with biobank standards.

Working closely with hospital pre‑processing areas, laboratory reception, logistics, Quality, and clinical teams, the Outreach Coordinator upholds the highest standards of biosafety, data integrity, and regulatory compliance. Through strong collaboration and attention to detail, the role directly contributes to the biobank’s mission of enabling high‑quality biomedical research.

The position may also support specialized biobanking programs, including cord blood and maternal or neonatal collections, where applicable. Regular full‑time attendance during office hours is required, with flexibility for after‑hours work, weekends, on‑call duties, and travel to recruitment or collection sites as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead ethical, culturally appropriate participant recruitment and engagement, including eligibility screening, informed consent, and ongoing participant support in line with regulatory and ethical standards.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with participants, healthcare providers, institutions, and external stakeholders to support sustained biobank engagement and outreach.
• Plan and deliver outreach, education, and awareness activities (e.g. information sessions, workshops, community campaigns, events), and represent the biobank at external engagements.
• Maintain accurate recruitment, training, and participant records within LIMS and other systems, ensuring data integrity, confidentiality, and compliance.
• Coordinate and support training, education, and engagement initiatives, including materials development, logistics, scheduling, and monitoring effectiveness.
• Receive, verify, and document biological specimens from collection sites, ensuring correct labeling, documentation, chain‑of‑custody, and alignment with LIMS records.
• Perform pre‑analytical and specimen processing activities in accordance with SOPs, biosafety standards, and specimen stability requirements, including cold‑chain management.
• Support quality, inventory, and compliance activities, including incident reporting, corrective actions, audits, and adherence to ISO and biobank regulatory standards.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Public Health, Nursing, Healthcare Management, or a related field.
• Minimum of one (1) year of experience in healthcare‑related community engagement, participant recruitment, clinical research, or biobank/research settings.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage diverse populations respectfully and professionally.
• Demonstrated understanding of confidentiality, data protection, ethical research practices, and informed consent processes.
• Knowledge of laboratory practices, biosafety, infection control, and safe handling of biological specimens, including PPE use.
• Strong organizational, documentation, and record‑keeping skills, with the ability to follow SOPs, manuals, and regulatory guidelines.
• Proficiency in English and strong computer skills (MS Office and relevant systems); familiarity with LIMS or similar systems is preferred.
• Additional qualifications such as Arabic language skills, presentation or facilitation experience, laboratory experience, equipment maintenance, advanced research/ethics training, or DOH/DHA licensure are considered an advantage.