Research Assistant

Vacancy   February 16, 2023
Type:
Administrative
Category:
Contract
Section:
Washted
Deadline:
February 18, 2023    [ Receiving Applications Closed ]

VACANCIES

NIHR Global Health Research Group on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing

Program Description

With funding from National Institute for Health and Research, Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences in collaboration with University of Strathclyde are implementing an Intervention Research Trial to understand the psychological, sociocultural, socioeconomic, educational, political and geographical contexts which influence adolescent health and wellbeing, and to explore which interventions and policies can best support these in the future. 

Position:  Research Assistant (1 position)

The Research Assistant will be expected to contribute in the preparation of data collection tools, collect data, analyse data, draft reports and manuscripts. Liaise with stakeholders and participate in visualization/ discussion meetings, as well as contribute to the dissemination of findings. The post will involve working with the project team to undertake qualitative and quantitative research with community members and  Government staff/NGO staff in Blantyre and Mchinji districts. 

There will be an expectation that the Research Assistant will work with key stakeholders to support the recruitment of potential participants and following data collection, facilitate consultations to find effective ways to generate discussion within the communities about the findings and the most contextually relevant intervention ideas. Importantly, the research assistant will collaborate with partners (i.e. Government, World Vision and Water for People) during intervention implementation and evaluation.

Reports to:  Co - PI (MUBAS) through the Research Associate

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supporting development of quantitative and qualitative data collection tools

• Organizing all aspects of data collection (from training of data collectors, introduction meetings in Blantyre and Mchinji districts, to recruiting participants, gaining consent, arranging interviews/household surveys 

• Liaising with relevant stakeholders in the research sites (community representatives, government representatives, policy makers, traditional authority representatives, academics NGOs, faith leaders and others as required)

• Facilitating qualitative data collection

• Arranging transcription and translation (and will undertake a small number of transcriptions himself/herself).

• Coding and analysing the transcribed data and share the basic analysis with the research team. 

• Supporting with quantitative data collection supervision and analysis

• Securing the storage and management of the data gathered and transcribed, in accordance with the data protection policy of their university.

• Taking part in team and supervision meetings, including intervention implementation follow up activities

• Supporting the research team during evaluation of the trial.

Skills and Values

• Ability and willingness to work in Blantyre and Mchinji districts 

• Proven ability to establish rapport and interact effectively with project participants at all levels (from community member to policy maker), stakeholders and colleagues

• Excellent oral and written communication skills with high fluency in English and Chichewa

• Self-motivation and the able to work independently 

• Good IT and computing skills 

• Quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills

• Time management skills including ability to prioritize workload

• Trustworthy and reliable 

• Knowledge of Adolescent Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene issues

Essential Requirements

• Bachelors Degree level in Environmental Health, Public Health, Nursing,  or Community Development.

• Experience of conducting quantitative and qualitative research or similar community based public health research work that involved data gathering, discussion and establishing rapport with members of the community 

• Knowledge of current issues relating to Adolescent Health and WASH

• Knowledge of theories and practice of hygiene behaviour change and/or intervention development and evaluation

• Working in multi-disciplinary academic teams or with multi-country teams 

Behaviours and Competencies

We place great importance on behaviours and attitudes during the selection process to ensure that we bring people into the Institute who support the way we do business. In addition to the duties and responsibilities associated with this role, the applicant will be required to show evidence that they can meet the qualities associated with the following behavioural competencies:-

1. Managing self and personal skills

2. Delivering excellent service

3. Finding solutions

4. Embracing change 

5. Using resources effectively 

6. Engaging with the wider context

7. Developing self and others

8. Working together

9. Achieving results

 

Terms of employment

Employment is for one (1) year fixed contract as per MUBAS conditions with a probation period of the first three (3) months. The contract is subject to extension depending on performance and availability of funding.

 

HOW TO APPLY

Proposals must be prepared in English and delivered electronically by 22nd February 2023, 4:30 pm to the following address:

 

Email: washted-director@poly.ac.mw with a copy to ckambala@mubas.ac.mw not later than 16:30 hours, 22nd February 2023.

All submissions should include:

1. A covering motivational letter (1 page)

2. Curriculum vitae (3 pages maximum)

3. Copies of academic and professional certificates

All email submissions must contain the subject line “NIHR Research Assistant”

 

WASH for Everyone Research Project

Program Description

With funding from World Vision, WASHTED in collaboration with London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine are implementing an Intervention Research Trial under the WASH for Everyone (W4E) project to test the effectiveness of the W4E programme on improving sanitation and hygiene at household level. The study will assess the effectiveness of CLTS alone against CLTS combined with other variables of interest. Findings of study will support development of scalable and sustainable interventions to improve WASH implementation at community level. 

Position:  Research Assistant (1 position)

The Research Assistant will be expected to contribute in the preparation of data collection tools, collect data, analyse data, draft reports and manuscripts. Liaise with stakeholders and participate in visualization/ discussion meetings, as well as contribute to the dissemination of findings. The post will involve working with the project team to undertake qualitative and quantitative research with community members and Government staff/NGO staff in Chiradzulu district. 

There will be an expectation that the Research Assistant will work with key stakeholders to support the recruitment of potential study participants, follow data collection, facilitate consultations to find effective ways to generate discussion within the communities about the findings and the most contextually relevant intervention ideas. Importantly, the research assistant will collaborate with partners (i.e. Government, World Vision and Water for People) during intervention implementation and evaluation.

Reports to:  PI - W4E (Malawi) through the Research Associate

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supporting development of quantitative and qualitative data collection tools

• Organising all aspects of data collection (from training of data collectors, introduction meetings in Chiradzulu, recruiting study participants, gaining consent, arranging interviews/household surveys 

• Liaising with relevant stakeholders in the research sites (community representatives, government representatives, policy makers, traditional authority representatives, academics NGOs, faith leaders and others as required)

• Facilitating qualitative data collection

• Arranging transcription and translation (and will undertake a small number of transcriptions himself/herself).

• Coding and analysing the transcribed data and share the basic analysis with the research team. 

• Supporting with quantitative data collection supervision and analysis

• Securing the storage and management of the data gathered and transcribed, in accordance with the data protection policy of the university.

• Taking part in team and supervision meetings, including intervention implementation follow up activities

• Supporting the research team during evaluation of the trial.

Skills and Values

• Ability and willingness to work in Chiradzulu district 

• Proven ability to establish rapport and interact effectively with project participants at all levels (from community member to policy maker), stakeholders and colleagues

• Excellent oral and written communication skills with high fluency in English and Chichewa

• Self-motivation and the able to work independently 

• Good IT and computing skills 

• Experience in facilitating Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs)

• Quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills

• Report writing skills

• Time management skills including ability to prioritize workload

• Trustworthy and reliable 

• Knowledge of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene issues

Essential Requirements

• Bachelors Degree level in Environmental Health, Public Health or Community Development.

• Experience of conducting quantitative and qualitative research or similar community based public health research work that involved data gathering, discussion and establishing rapport with members of the community 

• Knowledge of current issues relating to WASH

• Knowledge of theories and practice of hygiene behaviour change and/or intervention development and evaluation

• Working in multi-disciplinary academic teams or with multi-country teams 

Behaviors and Competencies

We place great importance on behaviours and attitudes during the selection process to ensure that we bring people into the Institute who support the way we do business. In addition to the duties and responsibilities associated with this role, the applicant will be required to show evidence that they can meet the qualities associated with the following behavioral competencies:-

1. Managing self and personal skills

2. Delivering excellent service

3. Finding solutions

4. Embracing change 

5. Using resources effectively 

6. Engaging with the wider context

7. Developing self and others

8. Team work 

9. Result oriented

Terms of employment

Employment is for one (1) year fixed contract as per MUBAS conditions with a probation period of the first three (3) months. The contract is subject to extension depending on performance and availability of funding.

 

HOW TO APPLY

Proposals must be prepared in English and delivered electronically by 22nd February 2023, 4:30 pm to the following address:

 

Email: washted-director@poly.ac.mw with a copy to mpanulo@mubas.ac.mw not later than 16:30 hours, 22nd February 2023.

 

All submissions should include:

1. A covering motivational letter (1 page)

2. Curriculum vitae with 3 traceable referees (3 pages maximum) 

3. Copies of academic and professional certificates

All email submissions must contain the subject line “W4E_Research Assistant”