Job Description

Job Title: Research Assistant

Duration: To be confirmed

Location: Hargeisa, Somaliland

Special Requirements: Must hold the right to work in Somaliland

Department/Business Unit: BBC Media Action

Reports to: Senior Researcher

Line Manages: Not applicable

BBC Media Action

BBC Media Action (BBCMA) uses media and communications to reduce poverty and promote human rights in developing countries. To achieve this, BBCMA partners with civil society, local media and governments to:

 Produce creative programmers’ in multi-media formats which inform and engage audiences around key development issues.

 Strengthen the media sector through building professional capacity and infrastructure.

The Research and Learning Group (R&L) within BBCMA focuses on four key activities: (1) providing BBCMA projects with audience and market insights to guide project strategies; (2) conducting qualitative and quantitative research studies to capture the impact of all Trust media interventions; (3) building capacity in audience research skills and methodology on projects in country; and (4) documenting and disseminating the learning from BBCMA projects internally and to the wider development community.

Job Purpose:

The Research Assistant will support the Research and Learning team colleagues in Hargeisa and the London-based Project Manager with the coordination and implementation of research for BBCMA projects in Somalia.

She/he will liaise with local partners and programmer’s participants to co-ordinate research efforts and she/he will have primary responsibility for local research administration.

Main Duties:

1. To assist in the coordination and administration of research for mass media campaigns, comprising formative research, pre-testing of media materials, and impact evaluation.
2. To assist in the commissioning and monitoring of all research inputs (e.g. focus group sessions, in-depth interviews, case studies, etc.), working to budget and deadline requirements.
3. To support the liaison with in-country partners or fieldworkers to monitor quality control and timely delivery of projects.
4. To assist with qualitative research activities across Somaliland and Somalia, including participant recruitment, interviewing and facilitation of focus group discussions.
5. To assist in the preparation of internal and external research presentations that inform the creative process and monitor and evaluate the campaign's effectiveness.
6. To communicate findings from primary and secondary research to the creative teams, senior managers of BBC Media Action, in-country Project Managers, donor organizations, government agencies, etc., as required.

Experiences and Qualifications

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Experience:

1. Strong administration and coordination skills preferably in a research-related field.
2. Knowledge of, or willingness to learn about, qualitative research techniques (focus groups and in-depth interviews).
3. Ability to work closely with a production team in applying research findings to media outputs.
4. An understanding of, or enthusiasm to learn about, communication strategies, and development issues.
5. Experience of writing precise and clear reports and briefing documents,
6. Experience in Qualitative data analysis skills (focus groups and in-depth interviews) highly desirable.
7. Strong IT skills, including MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint are desirable.
8. Excellent written and spoken English and Somali.
9. Commitment to the aims and objectives of BBCMA

Safeguarding

 Ensure that all research activities are designed with safeguarding in mind and that research risk assessments reflect this.

 Ensure that relevant consent forms are in place.

 Ensure that all recruitment of research freelancers complies with relevant safeguarding standards.

 Ensure that all research staff and freelancers undergo relevant training in safeguarding and respect at work and have a briefing on the code of conduct before working with vulnerable groups.

 Report any safeguarding concerns immediately, either to the Deputy Country Director, Country Director, or using the Whistleblowing Policy.

Relevant Competencies:

 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.

 Analytical Thinking – Able to simplify complex problems, processes or projects into component parts, and explore and evaluate them systematically. Able to identify causal relationships, and construct frameworks, for problem-solving and/or development.

 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 Organization – 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 resource 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 characterized 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.

 Communication – The ability to get one’s message understood clearly by adopting a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information.

Skills Required

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