Research Assistant at TechnoServe Nigeria

TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. We are a non-profit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital, and markets. Our work is rooted in the idea that given the opportunity, hardworking men and women in even the poorest places can generate income, jobs, and wealth for their families and communities. With more than four decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Research Assistant

Requisition Number: PROJE01443
Location: Nigeria
Job Type: Full-Time

Description

We’re looking for a Research Assistant for a research project

About the Project

The project is to support the building of a knowledge base of community-based actors in the agriculture value chain and strategically defining and implementing an expansion plan that increases the volume of goods traded on the Cellulant Agrikore platform as well as creates work opportunities for at least 50,000 youth. Project actors are farmers, aggregators, transporters, and youth engaged in the agriculture sector across 6 states and 50 LGAs in Nigeria. The database of market actors will include at least 30,000 farmers, 2,500 agribusinesses, and 20,000 youth.
Primary Purpose: The project requires a research assistant who will review existing reports, reach out to stakeholders for additional state and LGA-level data, and conduct additional stakeholder interviews as needed. The Research Assistant will also support data analysis and provide inputs for final report writing. The successful candidate will work under the guidance and supervision of the Project Manager in line with the guidelines and deliverables of TechnoServe and its partners with respect to strengthening data quality and assurance. Due to COVID-19 the successful candidate will work mostly remotely but may be expected to make short trips to the field periodically. The tasks below are the key deliverables but they are not exhaustive.

Responsibilities

Design data points for data collection especially secondary data
Conduct literature reviews
Collect, analyze data and report secondary data for the approved data points
Prepare materials for submission and prepare interview questions
Recruit and/or interview subjects and Summarize interviews
Maintain accurate records of interviews, safeguarding the confidentiality of subjects, as necessary
Maintain database for all interviews
Manage and respond to project-related email
Travel to field sites to collect and record data and/or samples as appropriate
Code and verify data in accordance with the specified research protocol and coding procedures and enter data into a computer database and/or spreadsheet application for subsequent analysis
Develop or assist in the development of interview schedules; contact potential subjects to introduce and explain study objectives and protocol and to arrange interviews, either in person or by telephone
Identify and compile lists of potential agribusinesses to be interviewed
Conduct and record face-to-face and/or telephone interviews with subjects, in accordance with predetermined interview protocol, data collection procedures and documentation standards
Perform miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned

Minimum Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Social Science, Economics, Statistics, Agriculture, Computer Science, etc
Experience in digital platforms for monitoring, planning and project management
Very good computer skills (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, google forms/sheets)
Experience in statistical analysis software is an added advantage
Previous experience working with data collectors in the humanitarian sector is a plus
Good communication skills and ability to present documents and activity reports clearly
Experience in team management, coordination, problem-solving and working under pressures to deliver a quality product is required

Top skills & proficiencies: