Title: Research Assistant

Salary: c£20,000 – £28,000pa

Location: UK hybrid – with occasional travel to Haywards Heath office, when required

Contract: 6-month Fixed Term Contract (with potential extension)

Hours: This is a full-time role

About the role

Sightsavers are seeking for a Research Assistant to support our new Research and Evidence Uptake Strategy which identifies technological innovations as a new priority area. In the next strategic period, we aim to develop and implement strategies for digital enhancement of our research approaches and programmes to maximise the effectiveness, quality, and efficiency of our work.

The Research Assistant will have an understanding of data and digital technology space and how to apply them in low- income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. They will work alongside other members of the Research team to identify opportunities and develop and test digital solutions to enhance our programmes and research. The immediate opportunities include digital support for inclusive education programmes in Kenya and Sierra Leone and neglected tropical disease programmes in Ghana and Mozambique. There will also be opportunities to be involved in research using traditional quantitative and qualitative methods, including health system assessments, surveys and focus group discussions.

The Research Assistant role is a highly varied and involved role and the above is not an exhaustive list of duties, please see the Job Description for full details.

As the successful candidate you will possess a postgraduate degree in data sciences, data management or other related fields, and have good knowledge and experience of working with data systems and platforms in Sub-Sharan Africa context, which is essential for this role.

Further requirements include:

• Knowledge of statistical programming languages such as Python, R, and SQL.
• Understanding and experience of novel tools using statistics, mathematics, and machine learning approaches for data analysis.
• Experience in basic and advanced analytical techniques.
• Demonstrated knowledge of data visualization tools such as Tableau and Power BI.
• Understanding of the key research methods and research governance.
• Ability to travel – on planned visits, for up to 10 weeks of the year, in sometimes difficult locations.

Candidates are welcome to demonstrate their ability to match the person specification by expanding on how their experience, training and/or qualifications might have provided them with the knowledge or skills required for the role. Successful candidates will be appointed on merit.

To apply for this exciting new opportunity, please submit your CV via our recruitment portal. We are particularly interested in learning of your motivations for applying.

Please note that there will be an expectation that you can occasionally visit our modern and collaborative offices in Haywards Heath, West Sussex (RH16 3BW), and within the first week you may need to attend the office for 3 days.

We anticipate that remote interviews will take place on 15, 16, and 17 July and the evaluation process will include one oral interview to be completed by shortlisted candidates.

Closing date: 7 July 2024

As an equal opportunity employer, we actively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Sightsavers is a Disability Confident Leader and qualified people with a disability are particularly encouraged to apply.