Jobs at Aga Khan University (AKU)

Job Summary

The Institute for Human Development (IHD) was established to advance knowledge about human development, focusing—particularly in its foundational years—on children, families, communities, and the institutions that support them within resource-poor regions of the world. The Institute is dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge with direct relevance for policies, programmes, and practices that enhance life experiences at all stages of human development. IHD’s vision is to improve the quality of individual lives, strengthen families and communities, and contribute to the building of successful pluralistic societies by building capacity and driving innovation in research.

In East Africa, like many other low- and middle-income regions of the world, there is a shortage of highly skilled human development expert who can generate the evidence to advise policy and programming. To address this critical gap, IHD would like to invest in training the “next-generation” of researchers.  Through a hands-on, participatory apprenticeship model, the Institute will incubate a program of advanced research preparation at the post-doctoral level. We would like to build a sustainable, free-standing interdisciplinary programme to prepare post-doctoral fellows for academic positions. While each programme will be individualized to each post doc’s need we anticipate at least that in general each post-doc will

• Have a fulltime 2-year programme
• Be involved advanced training in grant writing, academic writing, and research methodology including advanced statistical analysis
• Have access to high quality research data
• Have access to mentors from within and outside AKU
• Have the possibility of going for a short term (3-6 months visit) to other institutions to gain relevant experience
• Deliver very specific scientific outputs including scientific publication, conference presentations, policy briefs
• Contribute to supervision and mentorship of a master fellow or junior research scientist.

These post-doctoral fellowships are funded through a generous gift from the Harold Armstrong Estate.

Responsibilities

• Lead and contribute to the implementation of an integrated ECD intervention and evaluation activities
• Contribute to proposal development, grant writing, and strategic planning
• Support the project and project team in stakeholder/community engagement and communication activities
• Lead with designing, planning, and supervising data collection activities
• Support with data management and analysis
• Contribute to scientific writing for publication and production of reports (donors, review boards etc)
• Support with scientific communication and engagement in different fora (conferences, technical meetings, and policy makers)
• Offer mentorship and training to project junior researchers/assistants
• Support with any other departmental activities when needed

Requirements

• A PhD degree (or comparable research doctorate) in  behavioural, social and health sciences that contribute to the knowledge base on children’s development in the earliest years of life (defined here as birth to age 8 years). Some of these field include early childhood education, nutrition, psychology, public health, epidemiology, medical sociology, and medical anthropology among others.
• Track record of publication in  peer-reviewed journals
• Track record in designing and implementing high quality research studies
• Demonstrated strong interest and experience in the field of early childhood development.
• Competence in use of quantitative and/or qualitative statistical software.
• Fluency in English and Kiswahili

Closing date: 9 May 2022

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Job Summary

Reporting to the Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Services, the incumbent will be charged with responsibilities akin to a Dean of Students and will serve on the East Africa Academic Executive Committee.

This is an important leadership position and will drive the implementation of the student experience policies and strategies in addition to supporting the implementation of student outreach and orientation programmes across all programmes and entities in Kenya. The incumbent will manage extracurricular student-related programmes, identify the development needs of students, maintain a productive learning environment, and stay up to date on important student affairs.

The office will provide vision, leadership, and strong strategic direction to enhance the overall quality of the students’ experience.

 Responsibilities

The position holder will be required to:

• develop a broad portfolio of services that supports students in Kenya,
• ensure that students are provided with support and activities that will promote students’ social, cultural, and recreational life, build community, and provide opportunities for leadership development,
• working directly with other stakeholders across the University in Kenya, have a complete understanding of the student experience through student voice feedback channels and analysis of student data. The incumbent will ensure students are well informed and relevant stakeholders are notified of the student experience through an up-to-date communications strategy,
• lead key student experience projects, utilizing data to monitor and evaluate the activity and impact of the service and make strategic recommendations for change,
• work closely with the academic administration to identify student cohorts requiring assistance and support and pro-actively organize and ensure delivery of the required support,
• manage the onboarding of International Students and provide the required support needed to settle into the University community,
• work with the facilities office to review, coordinate and assign use of learning spaces for academic purposes within the University Centre and facilities and venues for cultural and other event programming,
• serve as a role model for students; ensure compliance with the University’s Student Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures; and manage the unit’s budget and other administrative functions,

Requirements

The ideal candidate will:

• possess a post-graduate degree
• have at least 3-5 years’ experience in a similar role
• have good knowledge of the Higher Education Sector and its administration/transferable skills and an understanding of a dynamic, diverse university environment,
• have experience in developing and maintaining an excellent student experience,
• be a strong communicator with excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to build positive relationships with students, parents and staff,
• have previous experience managing a high-volume workload requiring speed and accuracy with variable and often demanding timescales, with attention to detail and ability to work well under pressure
• have extensive knowledge and experience in:
  • developing programmes and proposals for student activities,
  • project management delivery, planning and prioritizing work and organizing small projects,
  • data analysis, evaluation and of using data when influencing decision making,
  • building relationships, internally and externally to provide an excellent student experience,
  • building and managing a team,
  • working in a mentoring, counselling, and supportive role,
  • preparing and delivering workshops.

Closing date: 10 May 2022