Research Associate, Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

Research Associate, Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

EntityAga Khan University 

LocationPakistan 

IntroductionThe Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health aims to support the introduction, scale-up and further piloting of high quality and high impact interventions to improve Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (MNCAH) in Pakistan by harnessing the potential of both public and private sectors, coupled with introduction of women and girls empowerment intervention. 

Pakistan is among the two countries left in the world where the poliovirus continues to threaten the health and well-being of children. Despite many efforts from key stakeholders, Pakistan is still unable to control the transmission and spread of disease. It is therefore imperative to robustly use the surveillance and contact tracing approach to track the positive polio cases. While we know a considerable amount about paralytic polio cases such as their age, location, and vaccination status, relatively little is known about how children get infected, who they may have infected, and, more generally, how polio spreads through communities.

As an equal opportunity employer, AKU believes in promoting a diverse and inclusive culture and is committed to adopt appropriate standards for safeguarding and promoting a respectful relationship with and between diverse workforce of its faculty, staff, trainees, volunteers, beneficiaries, wider communities, and other stakeholders with whom it works, including children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees/trainees and partners to share this commitment.

The position will be based in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).

ResponsibilitiesYou will be responsible to support the Research Specialist (RS) CoE to facilitate the effective implementation, conduct and evaluation of CoE programs and ensures that programs are adhering to ethical, medical and humanitarian principles. You will be responsible for: 

• Assisting team in interviews (Key informant interviews, survey)
• Collecting data from respondents by using a full range of qualitative and quantitative research tools
• Management, compilation & analysis of project data
• Assisting the team in arranging meetings, record keeping, and report writing
• Conducting field visits (may require travel outside of Karachi)
• Coordinating communication between the research team and other stakeholders 
• Assisting in planning, organizing, and conducting workshops
• Liaison with project sites assigned in the project, visiting field sites.
• Any other duty or responsibility assigned by the Principal Investigator/Research Specialist 

RequirementsYou should have:  

• Bachelors in Social Science Public Health/MBBS/BSCN or Bachelors in any research related discipline.

  
  

• One to two years of experience working in research studies (Qualitative, and mixed-method study) is required.

  
  
• Qualitative research analysis; qual. coding, content analysis etc.
• Command over MS Office tools, specially Excel and Word
• Experience working with NVIVO will be valued
• Excellent interpersonal;  particularly communication skills with all team members and different stake holders
• Ability to manage time and prioritize tasks effectively
• Excellent written communication skills including report writing and meeting minutes 
• Basic scientific writing skills (experience writing research papers/manuscripts for work or academic research)
• Understanding of the principles of research design and implementation will be highly valued