Career Opportunity at Jhpiego Nigeria

Jhpiego, an Affiliate of Johns Hopkins University is a global leader in improving healthcare services for women and their families. In collaboration with some it’s partners. Save the Children International (SCI), Pediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN), Nigeria Society of Neonatal Medicine (NISONM). Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), will be implementing a USAID funded global cooperative agreement called the Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP). 
The program’s goal is to contribute significantly to ending preventable maternal and child deaths (EPMCD) in Nigeria. The five year project which started in October 2014 will end in September 2019 and will be implemented in Kogi and Ebonyi States of Nigeria.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ASSISTANT - FOCUS GROUP MODERATOR & QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWER

Reports To: Project Director, GANC and Operations Research Advisor
Time frame: July - Aug 2017 maimum of 25 days

OVERVIEW
Jhpiego is an international, non-profit health organization affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University. Jhpiego works with health experts, governments and community leaders to provide high-quality healthcare for their people.
Jhpiego seeks an experienced qualitative research assistant to support the study, “Generating evidence for group antenatal care in Kenya and Nigeria’.
S/he will be responsible for collecting qualitative data via focus groups and in depth interviews from study subjects who participated iu group care as either patients or providers as assigned while maintaining confidentiality of respondents and the information collected, including interview notes and audio recordings.
Research will be conducted in intervention sites in Nasawara state. Training will take place in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
This activity is a qualitative component of a larger cluster randomized control study.
The qualitative component will assess provider and patient acceptability and impact of the group care model on health literacy, self-efficacy, and empowerment as related to pregnancy, newborn danger sign recognition and birth spacing.
Qualitative data will also explore the impact of the provider/patient relationships formed through group care; seek to understand the most important components/characteristics of the model and the impact it had on provider job satisfaction and resilience.
In addition, qualitative work will examine the specific experience of adolescents and whether non-adolescent specific groups met their needs. Interviews will occur in July/August 2017, with women who participated in group care and have delivered within the previous 4 months.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Participate in brief training workshop for qualitative interviewers in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
Carry out primary data collection using structured interview guides and a focus group discussion guide with preselected groups
Audio-record the discussions and take notes.
Participate in immediate debrief with lead qualitative researcher, either in person or via skype and create expanded notes in English immediately after each focus group and/or in depth interview using provided tool
Adhere strictly to study protocols, ethical research principles, relevant SOPs and administrative requirements.
Handle and protect confidential and sensitive data with integrity in line with study standard operating procedures.
Maintain close communication with the study manager and lead qualitative researcher by phone and email to discuss any issues and ensure adherence to the project plan.
Hand over digital recordings and written transcription files to study manager/supervisor as soon as possible. Label files by the agreed upon naming conventions.
Work collaboratively with study team members.
Manage data collection by meeting deadlines and reaching agreed upon targets.
Keeps log of daily activities and submit report at the end.

Deliverables:
Hard copies of original interview notes; soft copies of expanded notes after debriefing
Participation logs for each focus group and interview completed with woman’s name and facility at which she attended ANC
Audio recordings of the interviews and focus group discussions following the file naming convention.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Experience conducting qualitative in-depth interviews and focus group discussions Group facilitation skills
Understanding of the sociocultural context/terrain.
Familiarity with maternal health care and family planning practices and key issues
Degree in health, social sciences, education, community health or development-related field
Experience working with health care providers
Organization skills (for keeping data files organized)
Demonstrated ability to exercise confidentiality and professionalism Strong ability to work and communicate within a team
Fluent in oral and written English; fluent in oral and written Hausa Ability to work independently and attention to detail
Word processing and report writing

Preferred Qualifications
Master's Degree in Health, Social Sciences, Education, Community Health or Development-related field.
Experience conducting research related to maternal health Experience with health services research.
Experience transcribing focus groups and interviews.
Familiarity with qualitative analysis software and ability to code will be an advantage.

TO APPLY
Applicants should submit a Cover Letter, a resume or Curriculum Vitae, a writing sample related to qualitative research, the names of three references, with telephone and email contact information as ONE SINGLE word document to: ng-recruitment@jhpiego.org The title/subject of your email and application should be the position you have applied for.

Note: Only shortlisted candidates will receive an invitation for an Interview. Please note that any successful candidate will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation.

DUE DATE: 23 June, 2017