Research Officer

Objective


The role holder will support research ingovernance, management and leadership, implementation and communication, and use of evidence and insights. 
He/she willprovide support to the Strategic Research and Learning Unit across MSI Nigeria’s strategic pillars, including public sector support, private sector engagement, client-powered SRH and all the enabling pillars, whilst leveraging global tools and best practices.
The role also contributes to furthering MSI’s Vision: To create a world in which every birth is wanted and its mission of ensuring the individual’s right to have children by choice, not by chance.


Key Responsibilities

Research Governance:


Contribute to the revision of MSI Nigeria’s standard operating procedures for implementation research, pilots, evaluations, knowledge management and learning.


Research management and leadership:


Conduct literature reviews and other desk reviews to identify knowledge gaps in research.
Contribute to the development of research protocols, including design, mixed methodologies, sample estimation, sampling procedures, tools, data management, budgeting, and IRB approval process
Participate in the selection, onboarding, training, and research of assistants.
Develop, pretest, and configure questionnaires into electronic formats, e.g., Kobo Toolkit, ONA, Open Data Kit and/or SurveyCTO.
Design and pretest interview guides.
Real-time supervision of research assistants to ensure compliance with research protocol, including ethics, timelines, and budget.


Research implementation:


Conduct large scale client exit surveys, market assessments, and mystery client surveys and human-centred designs, including ideation, prototypes, and pilots.
Conduct conversational interviews, transcribe, code analyze, and report qualitative data to generate insights.
Conduct in-depth analyses of strategic quantitative data.
Triangulate data from multiple sources, including routine Client feedback, Contact Centre, Mystery Client Surveys, and Client Exist Interviews, to generate insights that will guide operations and management decisions.
Pretest Information, Education and Communication materials, including radio jingles, etc.


Use of Evidence and Insights:


Provide research evidence and insights to support advocacy, response to requests for proposals, and business development initiatives
Support donor reporting requirements with survey data, insights, and learnings
Model the impacts of SRHR programmes and their implications on current and future programmes at the sub-national levels


Research communication:


Develop abstracts for the internal community of practice and external scientific meetings for adaptive programming.
Develop manuscripts for publication in revered journals to increase the visibility of the MSI Nigeria experience and best practices.
Represent MSIN at research-related technical working group meetings with government officials and other partners to ensure the success of programmatic activities.


Qualification and Training


Master’s Degree in the Social Sciences and/or Public Health.
A professional qualification in project management is desirable.


Experience:


Minimum of five years of experience in conducting and /or managing multiple mixed-method implementation research as well as outcome/impact evaluations for international organisations.
Demonstrated experience in market or consumer research to guide market initiatives
Experience with quasi-experimental trials and triangulation of data from multiple sources to generate insight.
Hands-on experience in configuring and managing electronic data collection platforms.
Experience supervising the electronic data collection process, supporting research assistants.
Advanced skills in quantitative data management using any statistical packages, including SPSS/Stata or R
Advanced skills in qualitative data management using any ATLAS. ti or Nvivo, including analysis and reporting
Strong attention to detail, with results and quality-focused mindset.
Ability to work independently as well as in teams and enlist the support of other teams to drive the use of evidence for programming
Ability to maintain a high level of flexibility and organisation to meet time-sensitive operational demands for evidence and insights
Strong written and oral communication skills in English are required.
Experience with publishing in revered journals is an added advantage.


Personal Attributes:


Strategic thinker and excellent analytical skills.
Strong attention to detail, with a results and quality-focused mindset.
Ability to work independently as well as a cross-functional team player to enlist the support of other teams to drive the generation and use of evidence for programming.
Flexibility and organizational skills to meet time-sensitive operational demands for evidence and insights
Excellent leadership and management aptitude in leading diverse teams remotely.
Pro-choice.
Experience with publishing in revered journals is an added advantage