The is essential to keep the overview of the implementation cycles of a series of research studies being implemented in order to make the implementation of research a success – the coordinator forms the backbone of a research team. The Senior Research Coordinator is responsible for coordinating and overseeing implementation of various research projects in Uganda within the PlayMatters consortium project, funded by the LEGO Foundation. Under the leadership of the Senior Researcher, the Senior Regional Research Coordinator is responsible for supporting research design, data analysis and quality assurance, is accountable for implementation of one or more research projects in Uganda, and may provide remote support to replication of studies in Tanzania and Ethiopia.

 PlayMatters is a 5-year $100 Million USD consortium project, funded by the LEGO Foundation and lead by the International Rescue Committee (IRC). PlayMatters is designed to promote wellbeing and learning through play for conflict-affected children aged 3 to 12+ in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda, working with stakeholders including children, caregivers, educators, communities and education systems. War Child Holland’s (WCH) role in the consortium includes co-leadership of the research agenda with IRC, as well as designing and implementing MHPSS/wellbeing interventions and resources that promote learning through play.

Position in the organisation

The Senior Regional Research Coordinator is part of the Global Research and Development (R&D) team. The coordinator works within the Uganda Country Office as part of the Regional Team. The Senior Regional Research Coordinator (SRRC) will be reporting to the Senior Researcher (SR). The RRC will have dotted reporting lines to the PlayMatters Program Manager for the day-to-day administrative purposes, and will work closely with the PlayMatters Research team, the PlayMatters M&E Manager and Play Matters Research Coordinators as well as with externally contracted co-investigators and (if applicable) enumerator firms. The RRC will be managing one or more Research Coordinators that are assigned to the studies WCH will be leading for the consortium. 

What we expect from you

• Work within the PlayMatters (country) research team and in close collaboration with the SR in order to coordinate all aspects of implementation of PlayMatters research project/s.
• Participate in relevant consortium meetings (for example Program Management Committee and Research Working Group), to ensure proper embedding of the implementation of research.
• Country-level development and submission of research applications, ethics submissions, and protocols for one or more War Child PlayMatters research projects in Uganda.
• Support development and submission of research protocols for replicated studies in Tanzania and Ethiopia.
• Supervising (and conducting) country and community-level participatory consultation with stakeholders and participants at all stages of the research implementation cycle (planning, preparation, implementation, analyses and dissemination). The stakeholders also include the relevant focal points at governmental level. Close collaboration with system actors from both national and district governmental level is a key-responsibility of the RRC.
• Country level work-planning, budgeting, and reporting on one or more War Child PlayMatters research projects in Uganda. As the RRC is also involved in collaborating with consortium partners as well as with third parties in replicating studies in Ethiopia and Tanzania, reporting also extends to studies implemented in these studies.
• Selection and hiring of a local research team or partner team including research coordinators, research assistants, students and enumerators
• Coordinate the development of capacity-building of the in-country research team and relevant War Child or partner staff in research methods, research ethics, the research protocol, data management, and child safeguarding with support of the SR and/or R&D department.
• Distil relevant learning for the different stakeholders on a rolling basis to support the continuous learning cycle that is embedded within the consortium activities. Learning will be targeted at internalstakeholders within the consortium as well as external stakeholders, for example the participants of the PlayMatters Program.
• Supervision and coordination of the tasks of the Research Coordinators including:
  • Regular supervision meetings and performance appraisals
  • Scheduling and coordination of data collection
  • Support and coordination for data management
  • Monitoring of quality of data collection, adherence to participatory and ethical practices, and intervention fidelity
  • Overseeing data entry and data set cleaning if needed.
• Undertake travel to field locations in the region where required (and if possible) to consult with colleagues and stakeholders, support in replication and contextualization of research protocols for Ethiopian and Tanzanian context, provide training and technical support, and oversee quality assurance of research activities.
• Managing and reporting on adverse events and serious adverse events related to implementing the research project according to War Child data management protocols
• Participating in regular research supervision and coordination meetings with War Child regional research team and global R&D department.
• Supporting or leading write-up and submission of academic manuscripts, book chapters, conference presentations, or other publications.
• Communicating key information from the research in a simple, clear, effective way to stakeholders that are non-researchers including community members and participants.
• Provide remote support if needed to partner research teams in Ethiopia and/or Tanzania

Please note that the above mentioned list is not exhaustive. Additional tasks can be added to the list by the Senior Researcher if the consortium work demands it.

Profile

• A bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Social Sciences or any other related field

• A Masters degree in Psychology, Social Sciences is an added advantage

• At least 4 years’ experience in leading and coordinating field-based/community-based research with human subjects in a relevant field (i.e. psychosocial support, education, and/or child protection).
• Proven track record in implementing research activities for human subjects research projects.
• Proven track record in qualitative and quantitative data management for human subjects research projects.
• Proven track record in analyses and write-up of research (peer reviewed articles as well as results to feed into learning trajectories and capacity building plans).
• Proven track record in implementing mixed methods research design.
• ·           Experience in capacity building and supervising research coordinators.
• ·           Excellent communication skills in English (oral and written).
• 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.
• Proactivity and ability to operate independently.
• Demonstrated ability to manage and analyse data using SPSS or similar data analyses software

• Applications from candidates from East-African region are strongly preferred.
• Extensive experience working with conflict-affected communities in Uganda is considered a strong advantage.

Skills

• leadership skills
• managerial skills
• (creative/interactive) training skills.
• supervision, coaching and communication skills.
• planning skills
• Able to quickly and with attention to detail identify needs / gaps and work towards solutions.
• Cultural sensitivity.
• Result-oriented.
• Willing and able to travel regularly.

Core values

• •      Impact
• •      Creativity
• •      Inspiration
• •      Integrity 

   

  We offer

  • A challenging job, within an inspiring and motivated team of people and the backup of a strong and professional organisation in the Netherlands
  • Local contract in Uganda and secondary labour conditions as per War Child Uganda’s T&C
  • A fair salary that depends on base location and years of relevant working experience of the 
candidate.