Research Coordinator, Research, Evidence and Learning Part Time

VillageReach is conducting a study to explore the drivers of immunization dropout for infants 9 months and older in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Nigeria and Pakistan. Our approach centers the voices of parents and caregivers and healthcare workers to uncover supply, demand and access insights through community-based participatory research (CBPR) and then works with communities to generate potential solutions through human-centered design (HCD) to improve immunization coverage. This approach adapts our prior research, Let’s Talk About Vaccines. The Research Coordinator will coordinate research activities across all countries and ensure delays are resolved in a timely manner. The ideal candidate will have experience with research project management and familiarity with qualitative research methods. A master’s degree in public health or similar field is required.

This position is fully remote and will be expected to coordinate virtually with study team members in USA and all four study countries. Candidates eligible to work in USA, DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Tanzania, or South Africa are eligible to apply, with preference for being based in Africa. This position does not qualify for relocation or work permit sponsorship.

Description

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or be assigned at any time.

• Support country teams to track research activities, identifying and supporting the timely resolution of any delays with a focus on ensuring fidelity to the cross-country research approach.
• Work closely with research lead to prepare donor communications, including monthly and annual reports.
• Support grant budget management, including tracking expenses, reforecasting and liaising with financial and operations staff at the global, country and partner level.
• Ensure the application of global best practices and emerging research results in immunization research, including conducting literature reviews.
• Identify opportunities for cross-learning between country study teams and establish mechanism to document, share and act on learnings in a systematic way.
• Establish and manage the cross-country analysis process, expected to include qualitative data from more than 400 respondents.

Competencies

The following competencies reflect what is expected of all VillageReach employees; including examples of how one might demonstrate each of these competencies in one’s role.

Personal Motivation and Drive: Is self-directed in one’s approach to work, but asks for help when needed; holds oneself accountable; undertakes self-development activities; seeks to build and master new skills; looks for and takes advantage of opportunities within the organization

Collaboration & Effective Communication: Establishes and maintains effective relations with coworkers, partners & stakeholders and external parties; works collaboratively with others to accomplish organizational and team goals and objectives; works actively to resolve conflicts; expresses ideas and thoughts effectively; selects and uses appropriate communication methods and maintains meaningful communication with virtual coworkers and other parties to keep them informed

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: Takes personal responsibility for and supports others across the organization in creating and sustaining a diverse work environment where individuals are welcomed, valued, respected and supported; personally committed to attaining cultural competency including self-awareness of one’s own attitudes about culture and cross-cultural interactions; exhibits the willingness and ability to engage openly and respectfully around issues of race, colonialism, identity and culture; upholds equity in access to sharing of information, ideas, and opportunities throughout VillageReach

Commitment to Excellence: Produces a high output of work, both in terms of quality and quantity; looks for ways to improve and promote quality; monitors work to ensure quality; has a personal commitment to the mission of VillageReach

Solution Orientation & Innovation: Focuses on results and desired outcomes and how to best achieve them; gets the job done; sees opportunities for creative problem-solving while staying within the parameters of good practice; sees old problems in new ways and has novel approaches to solving those problems; contributes original and/or resourceful ideas to their area of responsibility; is able to consider and articulate risks and consequences of proposed innovations and factor these into decision-making

Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in public health or social sciences field required; Master’s degree in public health, social sciences or research field preferred
• 3-5 years of experience in project management, with a preference for research project management experience
• Experience with managing budgets, including tracking expenses and reforecasting budgets

Other Qualifications

• Comply with VillageReach’s COVID-19 vaccination policy which requires full vaccination for in-person work or travel.
• Established cultural competency in partnering with racial, cultural and linguistically diverse groups.
• Demonstrated understanding of challenges with working in rural, underserved and low-income context; experience living in and/or working in a low-income country a plus.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel) and comfortable in a fast-paced technical environment.
• Required experience using standard project management templates and tools, with preference for experience with project management software such as Asana or Coda.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including virtual communication across geographically dispersed teams.
• Exceptional organizational skills, keen attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Proficiency in English required and proficiency in French strongly preferred.

Environment and Physical Demands

VillageReach has no private offices, employees work in a shared, open environment with task and conference rooms accessible to employees for privacy and meetings. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet. Due to the time zone differences between our USA office and our Country Offices and location of other global staff, we have established core collaboration hours between 6am Pacific Time and 18:00 South Africa Time (GMT+1) Monday through Thursday. All staff, regardless of location are expected to be available between these hours. During Daylight Savings Time, this allows for 12 hours per week (3 hours/day) of collaboration time and during Standard Time, 8 hours (2 hours/day). We do not hold cross-office meetings on Friday.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

VillageReach is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer committed to workforce diversity. We believe that diverse, equitably weighted perspectives foster an organizational capacity to create novel solutions that improve health in the most under-reached and hard-to-reach areas. To align our values, innovations and impact, VillageReach is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse global workforce.

Application Information

Hiring Process:

The hiring process will include the following steps:

• Review submitted applications.
• Conduct 15-minute screening interviews for shortlisted candidates.
• Conduct skills and value-based interviews for 3-5 candidates.
• Request that top candidates submit a practical assessment (designed to take no more than two hours to complete). Sometimes the assignment will occur before the interview.
• Conduct final interview if necessary.
• Request references.
• Make offer.
• Conduct background check.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, but candidates who proceed to step 2 will be notified if they are not chosen for step 3.

Safeguarding:

VillageReach is committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults, and beneficiaries with whom it engages. We expect everyone working with us to share this commitment through our code of conduct.All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which may include criminal records. VillageReach participates in the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and, in line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By applying, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Benefits

Compensation & Benefits:

VillageReach has an established compensation structure that is based on the relevant market and internally transparent. The position is a contribution level 8 in our compensation structure and salary will be dependent upon location.  We hire people into the established range based on one’s experience and education and considering internal equity. We do not inquire about salary history. Please refer to our compensation overview on our website for more information and for more information on employee benefits.