Senior Research Officers (Qualitative) at BBC Media Action

BBC Media Action is the international development charity of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), working in over 25 countries across the world. BBC Media Action works in partnership with local media agencies, civil society organisations, and governments to achieve long term development goals. We produce creative media content to inform and engage audiences, and strengthen the media sector by building professional skills and technical capacity.

The position is Abuja based but may involve travelling to the focal states in Nigeria. The projected start date is June 2015 with a probation period of 3 months. Initial contract is for 1 year with possibility of renewal subject to availability of project funding.

BBC Media Action, the international charity arm of the BBC, is seeking talented professionals with the right experience to join our Nigeria team as:

Job Title: Senior Research Officer (Qualitative)

Location: Abuja

Job Purpose
The Senior Research Officer will support the Head of Research and Learning in the effective design and implementation of quantitative and qualitative research, as well as line management of other team members.

Duties

• Support the effective design, co-ordination and delivery of research for all BBC Media Actions projects across a range of different themes (e.g. health and governance), comprising of qualitative formative studies, process research (e.g. pre-testing of outputs) and impact evaluation;
• Support the procurement, commissioning, facilitating and monitoring of research and outreach inputs (e.g. focus group sessions, panel studies, case studies, listening groups, quantitative studies / surveys etc), including negotiations on technical matters with BBC Media Action staff and external agencies, working to budget and deadline requirements;
• To be primarily responsible for qualitative research activities conducted by BBC Media Action, using innovative and suitable methodologies; undertake the conduct of all research sampling, research instrument design (e.g. discussion guide, recruiting questionnaire), data collection, data analysis and report writing when required.
• Support the analyses of qualitative data primarily and quantitative data (when required), interpreting and communicating learnings from primary and secondary research work in order to help senior management, project management, production, and training teams to draw insights from the data that will be useful in the design of activities;
• Undertake the communication of findings / leamings to internal teams and external organizations as may be required;
• Undertake line management of direct reports and the supervision of research work of other team members to include (but not limited to) the following:
  • Work with junior team members to design their work plans/timelines/itineraries in accordance with overall departmental and / or organizational workplans
  • Oversee the implementation of tasks assigned to junior team members; undertake day to day tracking of team members’ workplan/ tasks to ensure delivery to time and quality
  • Conduct appraisals/performance development reviews with junior team members
  • Support the development of team members capacity/skills
• Maintain the liaison with other BBC Media Action partners (NGO, Civil Society Organizations, arid listening groups) to monitor quality control and timely delivery of projects
• Oversee planning and implementation of study fieldwork, site selection, recruitment of respondents, date collection, data storage and data processing.
• Oversee travel planning, including risk assessments;
• Perform any other duties that may be assigned.

Core Technical Competencies

• Strong qualitative research skills (study design, sampling, data collection, moderating, data management, data analysis, interpretation of data and insightful reporting etc.)
• Good knowledge of quantitative research techniques and how they inform qualitative research methods;
• Experience supervisor and running field research teams, for qualitative studies as well as quantitative studies;
• Ability to work closely with a production team (internal or external) in applying research findings to media outputs; A good grasp of, or enthusiasm to learn about, communication strategies and development issues; Experience of writing precise and clear reports and briefing documents; Ability to multitask rd deliver promptly; Good IT skills, including MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint; Result oriented and commitment to excellence; Transparent judgement and decision making, and l1gh level of professionalism.
• Ability to work in a team and in a multicultural environment; Result oriented and commitment to excellence;
• Ability to multitask and deliver promptly. Ability to speak and write Hausa is a key requirement.

Academic/Professional Qualification

• A first degree in the Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Behavioural sciences, the Humanities or any other relevant field;
• A Master’s degree in any of the disciplines above will be an added advantage; Strong research experience in qualitative research.
• Ability to speak and write one or more of the following Nigerian Languages: Hausa, Yoruba and / or Igbo.

Key Competencies

• The following competencies (behaviours and characteristics) have been identified as key to success in the job. Successful candidates are expected to demonstrate these competencies. Analytical thinking Able to simplify complex problems, processes or projects into component parts, explore and evaluate them systematically. Able to identify causal relationships, and construct frameworks, for problem-solving and/or development.
• Strategic thinking Can identify a vision along with the plans that need to be implemented to meet the end goal. Evaluates situations, decisions, issues, etc. in the short, medium and longer-term.
• Decision making is ready and able to take the initiative, originate action and be responsible for the consequences of the decision made.
• Imagination/Creative thinking is able to transform creative ideas/impulses into practical reality. Can look at existing situations and problems in novel ways and come up with creative solutions.
• Planning and organisation Is able to think ahead in order to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others. Prioritises and plans activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, staffing and resources requirements.
• Resilience Can maintain personal effectiveness by managing own emotions in the face of pressure, setbacks or when dealing with provocative situations. Can demonstrate an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy.
• Influencing and persuading Ability to present sound and well-reasoned arguments to convince others. Can draw from a range of strategies to persuade people in a way that results in agreement or behaviour change.
• Managing relationships and team working - able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people. Works co-operatively with others to be part of a team, as opposed to working separately or competitively.

Application Closing Date
26th May, 2015

Method of Application
Interested candidates should please send in their application/cover letter with a capability statement stating their capability for the job, as well as a detailed curriculum vitae (word document please) with names and addresses of at least 2 professional referees (including their telephone, fax and email addresses) to: [email protected] with the position applied for clearly stated on the application letter

Note:

• Women are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.