Research Assistant

Title: Research Assistant

Report to: Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Coordinator (NECDC),

Location: Kigali, Rwanda; and as required with field trips to Butaro,

Timeframe: Full-time for 2 years.

Role Purpose: UGHE is seeking a Research Assistant to contribute to a range of research projects aimed to lead evidence generation to help address knowledge gaps in the INECD program’s Theory of Change (ToC) and enhance evidence of what works in Rwanda.

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Coordinate and support all research related activities to the INECD grant
2. Serve as the contact person for INECD field work
3. Assist in generating progress and financial reports and content for internal and external audiences derived from the INECD programmatic data
4. Supervise data collector in the execution of projects
5. Provide technical guidance to the data collectors to ensure the research are conducted in high quality
6. Work on technical research projects, assisting the design of the instruments and research designs,
7. conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis, and keeping the Principal Investigator (PI) and Research team updated and progress
8. provide training and orientation to data collectors
9. collect data, manage, monitor, clean, and ensure the quality of data obtained
10. Serve as the liaison person between the field, data collectors, INECD manager and PI
11. Actively participate in organizing and updating the research related meeting
12. Actively participate in both the roundtable seminar and the national workshop.
13. Actively participate in the drafting of progress reports, the (final) findings report
14. Manuscript writing
15. Actively contribute to the writing of scientific papers following the analysis of data and validation of findings.
16. Manage INECD project timeline to ensure all activities are efficiently executed
17. Lead or assist in teaching research-related topics to UGHE academic programs
18. Develop data collection tools
19. Organize necessary logistics related to the INECD projects.
20. And other research duties and activities, as assigned by the supervisor or INECD manager

REQUIRED QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE/SKILLS

• Master’s degree in Nutrition, Public Health, Global Health, Data science, or any degree related to health science, and 1 year of relevant professional experience,
• Have a strong interest in research and community-based health interventions,
• Outgoing and can easily and professionally interact with NGOs actors and academic staff,
• Apt in reporting professionally can quickly grasp research concepts, and structure your technical approach to a problem,
• Excellent interpersonal skills are self-motivated and can flourish in a fast-paced environment, where timelines can often be unpredictable,
• Have good written and oral communication skills (in English and Kinyarwanda) and can effectively communicate internally and externally,
• Proficient in the analysis of data using SPSS, or similar statistical software,
• Focused on developing your professional skills and thriving in an innovative and collaborative organization,
• Excellent time management and organizational skills, with a strong ability to prioritize,
• Exemplary interpersonal skills and ability to effectively liaise with university leadership and study participants.

TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

• Proficient computer skills with fluency in Microsoft Office Suite programs including Excel, Google Suite products, and the ability to learn new computer programs quickly,
• Experience in communicating research findings,
• Background in research projects,
• Demonstrated work experience in an administrative, handling pressure in a fast-paced environment,
• Experience supporting the project team in producing deliverables and manage timeline,
• Experience in event planning or proven skills to organize and execute logistics,
• Experience in report writing
• Ability to learn and utilize various online data collection tools

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES

• Ability to make decisions based on data findings,
• Exemplary interpersonal skills,
• Ability to effectively collaborate with culturally diverse staff across departments and countries,
• Exemplary written and oral communication skills,
• Demonstrated strategic thinking and analytical skills,
• Good judgment, and creative problem-solving,
• Possess diplomatic instincts, ability to gracefully and humbly work within challenging professional contexts requiring tact and judgment.