Consultancy - Research Assistants at International Rescue Committee

Job Description

• In partnership with the IKEA Foundation, the IRC and a network of local and global partners have developed a program – Refugees in East Africa: Boosting Urban Innovations for Livelihoods Development (Re: Build) – that sets out to do just that. Re: Build’s vision is for urban refugees and vulnerable host residents to achieve economic self-reliance and benefit fromstrengthened urban economic, regulatory, and social environments. Re: Build will aim to enable change at varying levels, from better access to livelihoods opportunities and inclusive services within communities, to improved refugee-related policies and more targeted and effective service delivery from national, regional, and global actors.

We will do this by delivering an integrated multi-stakeholder program with three core pillars:

• Service Provision: delivering livelihoods services and community- and market-oriented interventions to 20,000 clients in low-income neighbourhoods in Nairobi and Kampala.
• Evidence and Learning: gathering evidence and learning through an iterative process of testing involving pilots, randomized control trials (RCTs), monitoring data, and other tailored methods that help build the picture of what works to improve urban refugee livelihoods; and
• Influence and Adoption: establishing a bold influencing agenda aimed at changing policies, practices, and investments at national, regional, and global levels by encouraging adoption of program evidence and learning.

Ongoing Wave 1 RCT

• In collaboration with researchers from the Center for Global Development (CGD), Georgetown University, University of Rochester, and Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), Re:Build is currently implementing wave 1 RCT in Kenya. This RCT was launched in July 2022 and will run through May 2024.

Wave 2 Pilots and RCT

• The wave 2 pilot design and implementation commence in August 2023. Leading up to the RCT launch, the IRC and the research team will conduct several small-scale pilots to further refine the interventions to be evaluated. The pilots will launch in September 2023 and could run until the end of January 2024. During this time, the research team will also target and register potential clients for the RCTs so that the full sample list is finalized by February 2024. The launch of the study will focus on randomization, baseline data collection, and intervention roll-out.

Statement Of Work
The research assistants will be expected to perform the following roles (not limited to).

• Participate in the training on RCT methodologies.
• Client mobilization, registration, and recruitment.
• Client info sessions, onboarding, and monitoring.
• Maintain communication with the RCT clients including attending to their inquiries.
• Data collection.
• Business verification and spot checks.
• Ensure compliance with organizational performance standards, code of conduct, and safeguarding policy.
• Adhere to confidentiality procedures and policies when collecting, storing, and sharing data.
• Report writing.
• Keep the supervisor appraised of all outputs, feedback and issues arising from the project activities conducted.
• Interaction with Principal Investigators.
• Translation and transcription as required by the research team.
• To perform other duties as assigned and agreed upon with the supervisor.

Qualifications

• Qualified candidates to attach Refugee ID.
• Degree or Diploma in Education, International Development, Anthropology, Sociology, Linguistics, Community Development, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Experience in data collection, analysis, or research dissemination desirable.
• Minimum 1-year research experience, specifically implementing research activities in Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs).
• This position is open to Refugees based in Nairobi.
• Language skills: Strong preference to candidates who speaks Somali, Oromo and French. Refugees are strongly encouraged to apply
• Experience working with refugee communities in urban settings.
• Experience managing data collection and concrete knowledge of open-source tools such as ODK collect, KoBo Toolbox, Survey CTO or CommCare platforms.
• Excellent people skills. Approachable personality and patience to connect with clients and address their unique needs.
• Strong communication and report-writing skills.
• Flexible approach to the changing nature of work and ability to adapt to rapidly changing work demands and expectations.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and within a multicultural team.
• Computer skills, especially Ms. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.