Research Assistants – Qualitative Survey At African Population and Health Research

The African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) is a leading policy research institution that generates evidence, strengthens research and related capacity in the African research and development ecosystem, and engages policy to inform action for health and development. Based in Africa and led by Africans, the Centre is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and has a West Africa Regional Office (WARO) in Dakar, Senegal. APHRC seeks to drive change through the development of strong African research leadership and the promotion of evidence-informed decision-making in sub-Saharan Africa.

As part of its activities, APHRC is seeking to recruit research assistants specialized in qualitative data collection to work on a research project on Abortion experiences in Benin and Togo . The research project implemented in collaboration with Rutgers, ABPF and ATBEF aims to capture the barriers and opportunities for accessing information, products and care for safe abortion. The research assistants will be based in the Atlantique and Borgou departments of Benin and in the Plateaux and Greater Lomé regions of Togo.

Roles and responsibilities

• Become familiar with the research protocol and tools;
• Engage targeted communities and stakeholders upstream and throughout data collection;
• Identify study participants according to the procedures defined in the protocol;
• Obtain and document informed consent from study participants prior to interviews and focus group discussions;
• Conduct participant observations in health facilities and targeted communities, facilitate in-depth interviews and moderate focus group discussions;
• Take detailed notes during observations and interviews, and write daily reports for all interviews/observations conducted;
• Participate in the transcription of interviews;
• Attend field work debriefing meetings;
• Ensure the security of data collection tools and allocated equipment; and
• Perform other tasks that may be assigned by the Principal Investigator.

Qualifications, skills and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in anthropology, sociology or other related disciplines.
• Previous experience in the field of sexual and reproductive health research.
• Experience in ethnographic data collection, including participant observation, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions.
• Excellent note-taking and field report writing skills.
• Be fluent in the languages ​​of the targeted departments and regions.
• Be available for training and for the entire data collection period (approximately 6 months).
• Experience in community and stakeholder engagement.
• Be a resident of the study area/resident of Benin.
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills and ability to work within a culturally diverse team.
• Experience working in urban and rural areas of Benin and Togo.
• Be prepared to work full-time on the project for the duration of data collection.
• Be flexible and available to work irregular hours (if necessary) with minimal supervision.