Deadline: -
Location: -
Job Type: Full Time
Qualitative Lead Researcher (long-term consultant role)
Are you a strong believer in research and projects that spend time to get to know the people
that the research or project is designed for? Do you feel an understanding of local context is
important? Do you believe that local communities should play a key role in helping tackle
the social and development challenges that they face? We’re looking for a dynamic,
proactive and passionate Lead Researcher to join our team! As a Lead Researcher with
Empatika, you will be a key member of our small team, leading on the technical aspects of
particular studies/projects, as well as providing technical inputs and technical quality
assurance for other activities. You will also participate in studies as a field researcher and
facilitator.
Purpose
The purpose of the Study Lead role is to ensure the high quality technical design and
delivery of all aspects of a study, often beginning from the proposal stage. Study leaders
oversee studies and also often participate in these studies as researchers, or in other studies
led concurrently by Empatika. Study leaders may also take on other roles such as project
directors along with other related work, as agreed.
Duties and Responsibilities
As a Study Leader:
● Maintain regular communication with the Project Director (PD) on all aspects of the
study/project, including both technical and budgetary.
● Oversee study recruitment/researcher selection and training as needed (though
specific tasks may be shared with others in the study team)
● Lead all aspects of study design with support from a Quality Assurance (QA) lead and
study co-leader.
● Lead study briefing for field researchers.
● Oversee fieldwork planning and implementation of the study.
● Lead or Co-Lead fieldwork debriefings.
● Lead sensemaking / reflection workshops with assistance from the QA lead.
● Oversee archiving of the fieldwork data with the support of the PD.
● Lead analysis of field/debriefing notes.
● Serve as lead writer for study reports, unless otherwise agreed, collaborating with
the QA lead and study co-lead as necessary.
● Oversee the development of other study deliverables, including briefs, presentations
and infographics.
● Liaise with the formatting/design team for report/brief layout.
As a Field Researcher/Facilitator:
● Participate in all required study briefing sessions.
● Travel with the sub team to the study location and manage the selection of suitable
study participants and accommodation for the period of the study.
● Use informal conservations and other Empatika endorsed approaches to gather
insights into the study issues, ensuring careful adherence to good ethical practices
and the need for careful triangulation of information.
● For Action Research, use the designed/designated facilitation tools along with other
participatory approaches and general facilitation skills to conduct inclusive
workshops which elicit insights according to the target(s) of the workshop/action
research.
● Full participation in de-briefings.
● Full participation in post fieldwork reflection or sense making sessions.
● Contribute to team archiving and fulfillment of all responsibilities related to
finalization of outputs from the study.
● Submit all necessary supporting evidence for any payments made.
Essential competencies
● Flexible and adaptive! Our research requires thinking on your feet and being flexible
and creative with study planning and implementation.
● Good analytical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
● Open-minded and eager to learn, try, and test new approaches to research and
project implementation.
● Proactive approach to work, along with good leadership and mentoring skills.
● Excellent communication skills - we have a diverse team and work with a diverse
range of partners. This requires someone who is an open and reflective
communicator.
● A team player - we have a small but close team and many activities require close
collaboration. However, the Lead Researcher will also need to be able to work well
independently (and/or remotely) when required.
● Ability to work well under tight deadlines - not always, of course, but sometimes
there are tight deadlines for certain project deliverables which may require longer
working hours.
● Ability to be highly adaptive and live simply for a few days during fieldwork - our style
of research sometimes requires us to live in very simple accommodation, staying
overnight in communities.
Skills and background
● Demonstrated experience implementing and designing qualitative research,
essential.
● Experience designing or implementing participatory research approaches, preferred.
● Experience engaging with quantitative research components or leading quantitative
data collection exercises, desirable.
Experience managing research studies or projects, including team
coordination and logistics, desirable.
● Strong spoken and written communication skills in English and Bahasa, essential.
● Experience implementing studies or projects in an international context (outside
Indonesia), desirable.
● Education background in social sciences or humanities (S2 or above), preferred.
● Experience working with bilateral or multi-lateral donors, preferred, and
demonstrated client-management skills, essential.
● Strong presentation and research communication skills, preferred.
Commitment
This position is a consultant position with an initial one-year contract (with possibility for
extension). Daily/Weekly time commitments may be variable depending on the current
schedule of projects. Details can be discussed during the interview.
Compensation
Compensation will be based on time worked, paid on a monthly basis. Consultant rate will
be based on the candidate’s skills and experience.
Contact Us
Interested candidate please send your CV and email to : hello@empatika.org
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