L’IRC recrute un coordinateur adjoint du projet de recherche (PlayMatters), Kampala, Ouganda

 

 

 

Requête nº : req14123

Intitulé de poste : Deputy Project Coordinator of Research (PlayMatters)

Secteur d’activité : Éducation

Type de contrat : Régulier

Taux d’occupation : Plein temps

Ouvert aux expatriés : Non

Lieu de travail : Kampala, Uganda

 

Descriptif du poste :

PlayMatters (2020-2025) is an education initiative funded through a $100 million grant from the LEGO Foundation. The program reimagines childhood for 800,000+ refugee and host-community children across Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda – children whose education and social development has been affected by displacement and trauma. Building on children’s amazing resilience and a growing evidence base supporting Learning through Play methodologies, PlayMatters cultivates holistic learning for children ages 3-12+. PlayMatters is led by the International Rescue Committee and includes Plan International, War Child Holland, Innovations for Poverty Action, the Behavioral Insights Team in partnership with the LEGO Foundation.

The PlayMatters consortium has committed to building the evidence base through rigorous research across the program cycle. The Research Agenda is structured around a single overarching research question focuses on children’s holistic learning outcomes and resilience and under this question are four LtP topics that mirror the four thematic pillars of the Play Matters project: Educators, Parents and other Caregivers, Communities, and Education Systems.  In addition, the cross-cutting themes of gender, inclusion and protection will be integrated into the majority of studies. The four topics will be studied in different refugee and host community settings in the three countries in which the PlayMatters project is being implemented: Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Not all studies will take place in every country, although some studies will be cross-national.

Scope of Work :

The Deputy Project Coordinator of Research forms the backbone of the PlayMatters country-based research team for IRC. She/he will be responsible for coordinating the implementation of multiple IRC-led research projects in Uganda within the PlayMatters consortium and collaborating with other PlayMatters research staff from Consortium Partners (War Child Holland, IPA, and Behavioral Insights Team). With technical guidance from the PlayMatters Deputy Project Director of Research (based in Kampala) and the Principal Investigators for each study, the Deputy Project Coordinator of Research will coordinate in-country activities related to research design, IRB clearance, stakeholder engagement, enumerator training, data collection, and data analysis processes. He/she will be responsible for assuring the quality and ethical implementation of in-country PlayMatters research studies and will also serve as the main point of contact in-country on matters relating to PlayMatters research, including liaising with the Program Management Committee, Content Development Committee, MEAL and policy/advocacy teams as needed.

The Deputy Project Coordinator of Research is part of the PlayMatters project team in Uganda. He/she will report to the Senior Project Coordinator for PlayMatters with a dotted reporting line to the PlayMatters Deputy Project Director of Research (Management in Partnership).

 

Duties and Responsibilities :

  • With the close collaboration and supervision of the Principal Investigators (for IRC-led studies), coordinate all aspects of the implementation of designated IRC-led research project/s, including :
    • Country-level development and submission of research applications, ethics submissions, and protocols for research projects ;
    • Conduct or supervise country and community-level participatory consultation with stakeholders/partners and participants at all stages of research planning, preparation, implementation, and dissemination, including coordination and alignment of these activities with other PlayMatters consortium members to avoid overburdening participants ;
    • Coordinate with colleagues from the PlayMatters MEAL team and, as appropriate, align research, MEAL data collection and analysis activities including ;
    • Country level work-planning, budgeting, and reporting on PlayMatters research projects ;
    • Selecting and hiring local research assistants and enumerators ;
    • Undertake travel to field locations where required and if possible consult with colleagues and stakeholders/partners to provide training, technical support and oversee quality assurance ;
    • Managing and reporting on adverse events and serious adverse events related to implementing the research project according to data management protocols.
  • Proficiency in capacity-building of local research team in research methods, research ethics, the research protocol, data management, and child safeguarding with PlayMatters regional team.
  • Supervision and coordination of the tasks of the local research team including :
    • Regular supervision meetings and performance appraisals ;
    • Scheduling and coordinating data collection including managing logistics such as transport, work schedules, resources required ;
    • Data management support and coordination ;
    • Monitoring of quality of data collection, adherence to participatory and ethical practices, and intervention fidelity ;
    • Coordinating data entry and data set cleaning if needed.
  • Participating in regular research supervision and coordination meetings with PlayMatters regional research team and IRC’s Research & Innovation department ;
  • Supporting or leading write-up and submission of academic manuscripts, book chapters, conference presentations, or other publications related to designated research projects ;
  • Presenting key information from the research in a simple, clear, effective way to stakeholders/partners that are non-researchers including community members and participants ;
  • Serving as the main point of contact in-country on matters relating to PlayMatters research, including collaborating closely with the Program Management Committee, Content Development Committee, MEAL and policy/advocacy teams as needed ;
  • Please note that the above mentioned list is not exhaustive.

Profil :

  • A Masters or doctoral degree in Education, Psychology, Social Sciences, International Development, or Social Sciences or an equivalent in any related field of study ;
  • At least five years’ experience leading and/or coordinating field or community-based research in psychosocial support, education and child protection ;
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills ;
  • Fluency in English (ie both oral and written) ;
  • Proven track record in implementing research activities for human subjects’ research projects and implementing mixed methods research design ;
  • Proven track record in data management of qualitative and quantitative for research projects in human subjects ;
  • Experience in capacity building and supervising research assistants ;
  • Ability to communicate the principles of research to others in a simple, clear, effective way ;
  • Ability to critically reflect on research implementation progress and collaborate with stakeholders to keep research on track and of high quality ;
  • Ability to proactively operate independently ;
  • Demonstrated ability to manage and analyze data using SPSS or similar data analysis software ;
  • Demonstrated ability to conduct presentations and facilitate workshops.

Skills :

  • Creative and interactive training/coaching skills ;
  • Good planning and supervision skills ;
  • Ability to attentively and quickly identify needs / gaps and work towards solutions.
  • Cultural sensitivity ;
  • Results-oriented ;
  • Willing and able to travel regularly.

Please note : Deadline for receiving applications is April 20th 2021.

The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female professionals to apply.

All staff, regardless of role, are required to create a culture of client responsiveness by requesting and using client feedback data to make decisions. In addition, all staff are expected to demonstrate inclusiveness when making programmatic decisions and working with clients, partners and colleagues from diverse backgrounds. You can read more about the IRC’s commitment to client responsiveness here: https://www.rescue.org/resource/client-responsiveness-introduction-and-faq

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

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