Research Team or Sub
Team Leader (Research Associate)
EVA-BHN (Ongoing Recruitment)

Job Description:

A stable and prosperous Pakistan is a top priority in international development efforts of the UK Government. Empowerment and voice of women, girls and marginalized social groups is vital for these efforts to succeed. Therefore, enabling them to articulate their needs and influence policies, legislation, and practices which affect them is at the heart of the UK’s development assistance. Better access to reproductive, maternal, new-born and child health and nutrition is an important entry point to achieve this objective.

Pakistan is off-track to achieve the key health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). DFID Pakistan (DFIDP) therefore is focusing on reproductive, maternal, new-born and child health (RMNCH) including nutrition to support and enhance effective implementation of health sector strategies that will lead to achievement of the health MDGs. DFIDP has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Pakistan on a/the Provincial Health and Nutrition Programme (PHNP) to achieve RMNCH and nutrition results in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces over four years (2013 to 2017).

These TORs relate to roles on one component of the PHNP programme - Empowerment, Voice and Accountability for Better Health and Nutrition (EVA-BHN).

EVA is a five year project, primarily focussed on the ‘demand side’ of RMNCH services and will complement the ‘supply side’ activities under the broader PHNP framework through:

• Enhancing Communities’ understanding of their health rights, entitlements and engagement in monitoring the planning and delivery of services
• Facilitating opportunities at all levels for citizens and civil society to engage with duty bearers to hold them to account for the delivery of services
• Innovative & out-of-box solutions for supply and demand of RMNCH and nutrition services

 

A.    ACTIVITY BACKGROUND

The Reality Check Approach (RCA) is a qualitative approach to feedback and evaluation which involves outsiders living with people living in poverty in their own homes and joining in their everyday lives, usually but not always involving repeat visits over several years. The relaxed environment this provides enables easy informal conversation with all members of the family, their neighbors and others who interact with the household, especially frontline service providers. It enables the outsider to experience and observe for themselves and provides a meaningful basis for joint reflection on experience of services and change over time with the family.  The approach benefits from inherent opportunities for triangulation and depth of information shared.  It helps to shed light on disconnects between knowledge, attitudes and practice which conventional evaluation is often unable to do.  A key intention is to understand better whether and how policies intended for people living in poverty translate into effective change on the ground or not, and how the efforts and changes are perceived. It is also expected that the voices of people living in poverty feed into policy dialogue so that future policy and practice is better geared to real needs and context.  

B.    Purpose of Role and Responsibility:

Each team in RCA study is composed of researchers and led by a sub-team leader. For RCA research associate who has passed RCA Level 2 Training can take two different roles in a RCA study. She or he can be a research team or a sub team leader. Roles and responsibility of each roles define as below: 

         1.     Roles and Responsibility of research team

a)    Participation in  all required study briefing sessions

b)    Travel with the sub team to the study location and manage the selection of a  suitable host household for the period of the study

c)     Use informal conversations and other  RCA endorsed approaches to gather insights into the study focal  issues, ensuring careful adherence to ethical practice and the need for careful triangulation of information

d)    Full participation in  de-briefings with the sub team leader or team leader

e)    Full participation in  post field study  whole team reflection and sense making sessions

f)      Contribute to team archiving and  fulfilment of all responsibilities related to finalization of outputs from the study

g)    Submit all necessary supporting evidence for any payments made.

h)    Provide additional information as required by the team leader

i)      Attend ad-hoc training if required.

 

         2.     Roles and Responsibility of sub team leader.

a)      Financial Procedures:

1. Oversee all financial procedures on the field expenses
2. Receive field advance transfer, distribute among team members and monitor the field expenses
3. Report the field advance back to Finance and Admin Coordinator

b)     Security and Logistics

1. Oversee the Emergency and Preparedness, brief the team on security procedures and ensure all research member understand the emergency procedure
2. Oversee the development of the Risk Matrix for the Sub-Team and brief the team members on the procedures.
3. Request and check the satellite phone before field study
4. Organise the field logistics to the village
5. Checking the car/boat/ferry safety before departure to the actual study location
6. Send back driver contact detail and location to Jakarta 
7. Focal point for emergency and communication with Jakarta Office

c)      Archiving

1. Ensure all archiving are done as per requested format and code and submitted at the end of the archiving day as the basis of payments for all research member in the team.
2. Responsible for requests from study team leader during debriefing process (Photo, story box, etc)
3. Ensuring team members are fully aware on the importance of keeping the actual location anonymous and always code

Though 1-2 years or experience in qualitative research or journalism may provide an advantage for an RCA researcher, the role following competencies are essential for any RCA researcher:

-       Flexibility – ability to change course, explore new ideas and ‘go with the flow’

-       People person – excitement about knowing new people and learning about their lives; willingness to strike up a conversation with anyone

-       Creativity – interest in thinking outside the box and solving problems creatively

-       Open mind – interest in having new, unusual experiences and going to new places

           D.    Duration

The Research Member will be engaged through a Consultant Agreement to work for up to 25 days for the duration of the contract. The expected period of assignment will be April 2017 – May 2017.