Research Assistant B1 - Desmond Tutu TB Centre at Stellenbosch University

Duties    

• Supporting the Study Doctor in leading and managing the day-to-day logistics of the study, which will include booking patient visits, organising vehicle hires, and arranging imaging bookings;
• Collecting longitudinal qualitative data from child/caregiver participants in the iThemba study;
• Carrying out research activities in collaboration with other research team members, including recruitment and consent, data collection, etc.;
• Carrying out neurodevelopmental and sociobehavioural assessments on children within the study;
• Liaising with research participants and stakeholders in research communities at an operational level;
• Maintaining data safety, integrity, and anonymity;
• Reporting team statistics at weekly wider DTTC paediatric meetings;
• Disseminating results, general study related information, and in relevant mobilisation, education, and promotion of the study to community members;
• Implementing data analyses with the support of the study investigators;
• Representing the research study at research stakeholder meetings (such as government partners);
• Drafting summary reports of analyses and research progress for in-team discussion and dissemination to funders, ethics, and other partners;
• Representing the interests of the research in community forums with integrity and transparency;
• Building a rapport with study participants and members of study communities to facilitate study implementation;
• Continuously developing research and administrative capacity through appropriate reading, attending relevant training, and in-service learning from management;
• Any other responsibility required by line management.

Job Requirements    

• A master's degree in a social sciences discipline (such as psychology, sociology, economics, anthropology, epidemiology, or public health);
• Two years' postgraduate work experience in the field of research;
• A firm grounding in a range of research methods;
• The ability to work independently as well as within a project-team environment;
• Sound interpersonal skills and the ability to function in an interdisciplinary team;
• A goal-oriented disposition and the skills to solve problems independently and effectively;
• Computer literacy in MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel;
• Excellent, demonstrable written and verbal communication skills;
• Authorship of a peer-reviewed publication;
• The ability to fluently speak, read and write English;
• Experience of doing research in South Africa, or knowledge of HIV/TB social science research and the civil-society landscape in the Western Cape;
• A keen interest in pursuing a PhD related to the project.

Recommendation        

• Experience of presenting research outputs academically for conferences, academic meetings, etc.;
• Fluent in another official South African language (such as isiXhosa and / or Afrikaans);
• A valid driver's license and own transport;
• First authorship of a peer-reviewed publication.