The Aga Khan University is a pioneering institution of higher education whose mission is to improve the quality of life in the developing world and beyond, through world-class teaching, research, and healthcare delivery. AKU educates students for local and global leadership from campuses and teaching hospitals in six countries, primarily in Asia and Africa. Aga Khan University generates new knowledge to solve problems that affect millions of people, especially the most vulnerable. The University is a private, not-for-profit institution and part of the Aga Khan Development Network.

Established in 2004, the Aga Khan University Medical College in East Africa seeks to provide high quality education for health professional leaders who will then go on to become reputable specialists generating a positive and lasting impact in the lives of their patients and in the communities they serve. The Medical College’s goal is to produce health professional leaders through its unique training programmes, building strong research programmes, supporting best practice in the delivery of health services, and contributing to the broader community through strategic partnerships regionally and globally. The Medical College has 4-year Master of Medicine degrees in anaesthesia, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics & gynaecology, paediatrics, pathology, radiology, and 5-years for surgery. Currently, the University offers fellowship programmes in the following specialties: Cardiology, Infectious Diseases, Neonatology, Adult Neurology, Paediatric Neurology, Haematology, Oncology, Onco-Pathology and Nuclear Medicine.  

The Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya (AKUH,N) is a private, not-for-profit institution providing high quality health care. It serves as the principal site for clinical training for the University's Medical College and Schools of Nursing and Midwifery in East Africa. AKUH,N provides tertiary and secondary level healthcare services. It is one of the hospitals in East Africa accredited by the Joint Commission International from USA. The University Hospital has been providing high quality care for the people of East Africa and beyond for over 60 years.

Currently, the Accident & Emergency Department (A&E) is a special place within the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi that is open and staffed 24 hours a day 7 days a week to handle people of different ages and with an incredible mix of injuries and illnesses who present to the hospital. It is divided into the Adult and Paediatric A&E who combined see over 100,000 patients annually. The department is equipped with the necessary resuscitative equipment to provide timely emergency care. Weekly CMEs are conducted within the seminar rooms in the departments to keep the staff well appraised in the latest in evidence-based emergency care. The department is also interconnected with a much larger web of people and services right around the whole hospital and beyond.

 

With the establishment of the Department of Emergency Medicine, education will be core to the Department’s mission. Providing practical educational experience to medical students, residents and practicing physicians, allied health professionals and practitioners in emergency procedures with a focus on experiences that require team performance, skills acquisition and the principles of excellent decision-making in the emergency department. The Department will be committed to finding new breakthroughs in medicine and foster collaborative research relationships with other universities to pursue studies for a broad range of acute and critical care medical situations such as traumatic brain injury and cardiac arrest. In addition to clinical network affiliations, the Department’s research team will also actively work with other investigators at the Aga Khan University.

Provision of the highest quality patient care will be the standard of the department with the goals of providing the highest quality emergency medical care to all patients presenting to the Emergency Medicine Department, providing timely services to patients with urgent or emergency conditions, providing cost-efficient medical care, being the leader in customer service for patients and families and providing consultation within the Medical College and the medical community on patient diagnosis and strategy for patient care.

The vision of the Department is to develop the Department of Emergency Medicine within the Medical College and at Aga Khan University, by empowering its undergraduate and post-graduate students and faculty to the highest level of emergency medical practice, education, training, and research in order to effectively and efficiently serve the acutely ill and injured in the greater Nairobi locally, Kenya nationally and by extending this expertise to the needs of Africa secondarily in co-operation with emergency medicine internationally.

Reporting to the Dean of the Medical College in East Africa, the Department Chair is primarily a faculty member in the department and is also the department’s chief academic, clinical and administrative officer responsible to both the faculty of the department and to the Aga Khan University. These dual roles require that the chair interpret University policies to the members of the department and ensure their effective execution and at the same time represent individual and group concerns of department members to the Medical College administration and to the University. The chair is expected to provide visionary leadership of the department and to oversee the departmental strategic planning to improve the quality of the clinical, educational, and research programs. Such planning should be considered within the overall vision of the University, the Medical College, and the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi.

The successful candidate will serve as the inaugural chair of the department, with a unique opportunity to establish the department from its inception. They will be responsible for developing systems and processes that enhance the quality of patient care, ultimately making a significant and enduring impact on emergency medicine practices in Kenya and the broader region.

• Lead the development and enhancement of departmental clinical, educational, and research activities, in accordance with the visions and plans of the University, the Medical College and the Aga Khan University Hospital; 
• Responsible for all aspects of departmental administration, including space, finances, support and mentoring of faculty and trainees, clinical activities, and other activities; 
• Serve as a role model for the department by demonstrating institutional citizenship through participation in governance and in committee activities of the department, the medical college, the hospital, the University, and the profession at large;
• Convene meetings of the department faculty, make committee assignments within the department and recommend faculty for committee assignments outside the department;
• Administratively responsible for both faculty and non-faculty staff in the department; 
• Develop long range strategic plans and directions which support the mission of the faculty and the University; 
• Ensure all University and Faculty policies are followed within the department and that all the members of the department are familiar with those policies; 
• Represent departmental interests and build strong partnerships and collaborations at all levels, including government, affiliated teaching hospitals, research institutes and centres, granting agencies, regulatory colleges, professional associations; 
• Provide regular and ad-hoc reports including annual report to the Dean concerning the achievements and challenges of the department;
• Responsible for annual departmental budget proposal for consideration by the University; shall ascertain the financial needs of the department, seek fiscal support and be responsible for the preparation of the annual budget.  Be responsible for the expenditure of funds made available to the department.

• Development of academic and clinical plans for the faculty and present the plans to the Dean after consultation with the Chief of Staff of the hospital and ensure delivery of the same;
• Responsible for the educational quality of the University affiliated students for which the department is home;
• Provide leadership in relation to curriculum planning, development, and innovation at the undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education levels; 
• In conjunction with the relevant Associate Deans, establish, maintain and set standards for the training of residents, interns, fellows and other learners.

• Responsible for the performance of faculty and staff in the principal areas of academic endeavors and the status of each of the hospital units that is under the jurisdiction of the department;
• Responsible for maintaining the quality of the faculty and staff by protecting their interests and rights as individuals and as professional scholars and educators and for supporting their professional development;
• Responsible for annual performance evaluation of all faculty and staff and responsible for managing all faculty appointments, re-appointments, promotions and exits according to Aga Khan University’s Policies and Procedures;
• Supervise procedures for recruiting, interviewing and appointing new faculty members and for the department’s adherence to the principles and process of Aga Khan University;
• Serve as role model for and as overseer of matters related to career progression, equity and the assurance of a safe and respectful work environment;
• Responsible for recommending to the Dean of Medicine the appointment of Associate Chair(s) and/or division directors;
• Participate in collaboration with the Hospital Chief of Staff, in the discipline, suspension or and/or termination of jointly appointed physicians as per the procedures contained in the by-laws of the teaching hospital and the University regulations; 
• Supervise the non-academic staff, ensuring that career development guidance is available to them and maintaining overall departmental responsibility for Human Resources management.  The Chair may delegate their responsibility for this function to the department manager.

• Ensure the development and application of quality management methods within the department, including establishing practice guidelines and audits; 
• Support the CEO and SLT to ensure the annual business plans and budgets are developed according to the Service Line objectives and application of quality management methods within the Service Line, including practice guidelines and audits;
• Support the development of new academic services and initiatives that contribute to the financial sustainability of the hospital;
• Establish effective risk management principles and a patient satisfaction feedback evaluation system;
• Foster good relations with community of physicians and other organizations in the community; 
• Attend the Joint Staff Committee, Credentials Committee and other hospital committees as appropriate. 

• Encourage a curiosity-driven research environment with the goals of knowledge creation, knowledge transfer, capacity building and the training, mentorship and career progression of graduate students, postgraduate students, postgraduate fellows and young investigators; 
• In collaboration with the Associate Dean Research, support the application for and administration of peer reviewed research grants and industry sponsored research contracts; 
• Oversee the safe and efficient conduct of research by faculty members within the department;
• Ensure research undertaken by faculty members meet the ethical and professional standards set by the department and the University.