RESEARCH ASSISTANT VACANCY

Particulars of Appointment

NIHR GLOBAL HEALTH RESEARCH ON EXPERIENCES OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND INVOLVEMENT (CEI) MEMBERS AND RESEARCHERS WORKING TOGETHER ON STILLBIRTH PREVENTION AND BEREAVEMENT CARE: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND SOUTH ASIA.

Applications are invited to suitable candidates to fill in the above post. Closing date for the advert is 21/2/2025 at 12 pm.

Salary: Research Assistant [USD and rate is bank dependent] per annum (inclusive of any additional costs)

Hours: Full-time

Duration: Fixed-term [01/03/2025 to 31/12/2025]

Location: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Responsible to: Dr Unice Goshomi (Zimbabwe lead) and Dr Amie Wilson (UK lead) Dr Kushupika Dube (Post-Doctoral fellow)

Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting or interviews:

Dr Unice Goshomi and Dr Kushupika Dube

Womens’ University in Africa 

The NIHR Global Health Unit on the Prevention and Management of Stillbirths and Neonatal Deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, led from the Centre for Childbirth, Women’s and Newborn Health at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine UK, is an established equitable multidisciplinary partnership between Africa, Asia and UK-based researchers. As an international centre of research excellence, our goal is to end preventable stillbirths and newborn deaths, ensure adequate support for parents and families whose baby dies and reduce associated stigma.

Using a whole systems approach, we work across high burden settings in India, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We aim to gain better understanding of facilitators and barriers to effective community engagement through a grounded theory approach. We will work with CEI groups that have previously been involved in research to prevent and manage the death of babies before, during or after birth to approach potential participants, these include healthcare providers, women and families and members of the research team. We will seek informed consent from the participants once they fully understand the study; they will be given written information and enough time to think about being part of the study. Once they have provided informed consent, we will hold interviews with each participant (telephone or face to face). Telephone interviews will be recorded and transcribed. We will analyse data using codes after each telephone interview; collecting and analysing in a cycle as we go through these processes. We expect to conduct a maximum of thirty-two interviews.

Stillbirth happens when a baby dies before or during birth. It happens in about 14 out of every 1,000 births worldwide, with higher rates in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Preventing stillbirths and caring for families who experience them is a big issue, especially in lower-income countries. One way to improve this is by focusing on care that includes both women and their families. Stillbirth prevention and bereavement care following stillbirth remains a cause for concern, particularly in LMICs (UNICEF 2020).  One approach to improvement is the prioritisation of women and family-centred care (Mockford 2012). However, to understand the challenges faced, it involves including the parents who have experienced stillbirths to be part of the research team: this is called community engagement and involvement (CEI) or patient and public engagement and involvement (PPIE). This is supported by International Stillbirth Alliance (Rice 2019). CEI is a process of inclusive participation in research that supports mutual respect, values, strategies, and actions for a partnership of people affiliated by geographical location (Holzer 2014). Furthermore, there is a shared interest to address issues affecting community wellbeing (Ahmed 2010). CEI has become an integral part of healthcare, with an emphasis on empowering individuals and communities in shaping health and social care services (Mockford 2012).

The NIHR created a strategy (2024) to encourage long-term partnerships to support shared ownership and mutual learning between researchers and communities. The objectives were to improve the relevance and quality of research by integrating public input, to enhance design, conduct, and dissemination of research through collaboration with patients and communities, and to ensure research reflects diverse perspectives and addresses health inequalities. Despite reports demonstrating the positive impact of UK-CEI (NIHR 2024), and effective involvement in stillbirth prevention research and bereavement care (Rice 2019), there is little understanding about CEI experiences in LMICs, especially in stillbirth prevention and bereavement care research. Our ongoing NIHR-funded, maternal and newborn health research formulated and integrated CEI groups in eight LMICs within stillbirth and bereavement research. The findings will provide researchers with understanding of CEI experience, its impact to practice, policy, research and evidence that can be used in developing and sustaining CEI groups in the longer-term.

Job Description

The Research Assistant will work on a project related to experiences of the CEI members and Researchers working together during Global Health Research. Over the last decade, increasing calls have been made for quality to be central to strategies aimed at improving maternal and newborn outcomes. Previously a neglected area, it is now generally acknowledged that quality of care in the intrapartum period is critical for maternal and newborn survival. Half of all stillbirths occur in the intrapartum period and the majority of these are avoidable. High-quality care ensures that women and newborns receive evidence-based intrapartum interventions aimed at reducing or managing complications; it also optimises the childbirth experience. The WHO proposes 6 dimensions of quality of care, stating that health care should be effective, efficient, accessible, acceptable/client-centred, equitable, and safe. These dimensions underpin the latest WHO Intrapartum guidelines for a positive childbirth experience, highlighting the importance of woman-centred care through a holistic, human rights-based approach. However, implementation of guidelines is acknowledged to be complex, and their effectiveness may be limited in the absence of a clear strategy. This research programme brings together leading researchers, with expertise in stillbirth prevention and bereavement care to work with colleagues who have long-standing experience and skills of working in maternity care in low- and middle-income countries. The team includes midwives, obstetricians, paediatricians and research methods experts.

The project objectives are to:

1. To understand CEI group member experiences of contributing to research within a large global health programme.
2. To understand researchers’ experiences of engaging with the CEI group within a large global health programme.
3. To understand social processes that guide relationships between CEI members and researchers within a large global health programme.
4. To produce an explanatory theory to underpin a working framework to support relevant research projects and programmes.

The focus of the Research Assistant’s work will be on ensuring that the project objectives are met. This will include a range of activities including gaining ethical approvals, recruitment and data collection, contributing to data analysis, data management, providing progress reports and liaising with stakeholders, Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI) groups and the wider team. Additional research activities may also be required, according to the needs of the project. Opportunities for training will be available throughout the programme.

Overall Purpose of the job

• To ensure timely delivery of project objectives
• To fulfil the aim of the research work stream
• To contribute to project reporting, dissemination and publications

Key responsibilities, accountabilities or duties

Research

• To support the development of research protocols.
• To secure local ethical and international ethical approvals.
• To carry out recruitment of participants.
• To collect and manage data.
• Contribute to analysis of data.
• To liaise with key stakeholders.
• Meet regularly with CEI groups.
• Contribute to monitoring and evaluation activities.
• To work within research governance, ethical and safeguarding principles.

Team work

• Assist in the co-ordination of local meetings.
• Attend and contribute to relevant meetings.
• Contribute to activities outlined in the Communication Plan.

Planning

• Coordinate and ensure the implementation of the project activities and according to the action plan.
• Manage own research and administrative activities.

Communication

• Communicate research information, orally, in writing and electronically.
• Report monthly to the Work Stream lead [and research co-ordinator] on project activities.
• Provide regular written progress reports.
• Disseminate research findings, locally, nationally and internationally, through oral presentations.
• Contribute to research publications.
• Build internal contacts and join external networks for the exchange of information and to form relationships for future collaboration.
  

Person Specifications

Essential  

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Experience of multi-disciplinary working.
• Research experience in an academic and/or relevant health care setting.
• Methodological expertise relevant to the programme.
• Good overall understanding of research methods and evaluation research
• Ability to read, critique and synthesise research literature.

Interpersonal skills

• Self-motivated and able to work flexibly independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Able to liaise and work professionally, collaboratively and effectively with local and international partners.
• Experience in interactions with key stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to coordinate and facilitate of meetings.

Project skills

• Information technology literate including high proficiency in using MS Word and PowerPoint.
• Attention to detail and highly developed organisational skills.
• Able to manage own work on a day-to-day basis.
• Able to prioritize workload and manage time.
• Able to work to tight deadlines.
• Excellent report writing skills.

Other

• Excellent written and oral communication skills with a high level of attention to detail and ability to communicate to scientific, lay and stakeholder audiences.
• Commitment, motivation and flexibility
• Knowledge of developments in policy and practice
• Willingness to perform a wide range of tasks as directed and as required

Desirable Qualifications

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Knowledge in multidisciplinary research
• Any Honours First degree: 1^st or upper second-class.
• 2 years’ experience as a Registered Midwife, Nurse or allied health professional is an added advantage.
• At least 1 year experience of using qualitative research approaches.
• At least 1 year experience in data management and analysis.
• At least 1 year of being familiar with regional approaches to healthcare.
• At least a record of two publications and/any other dissemination activities is an added advantage.
• At least 1 year experience of engagement with CEI groups.

WOMEN’S UNIVERSITY IN AFRICA IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER AND WOMEN AND DIFFERENTLY ABLED CANDIDATES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.

Interested candidates should submit 6 sets of applications with detailed curriculum vitae, certified copies of academic and professional qualifications including transcripts by Wednesday 21 February 2025 at 12 pm to:

The Deputy Registrar, Human Resources and Administration

Women’s University in Africa

P.O Box GD 32 Greendale

Harare

Or

Hand deliver to

The Deputy Registrar, Human Resources and Administration

Women’s University in Africa

Number 549 Arcturus Road Greendale

Harare

Or

Hand deliver to

Women’s University in Africa

Bulawayo Campus

Number 5 and 6 Bradford Street

Belmont Bulawayo