Researcher

Contract length: up to 31st December 2024, extension possible depending on funding

Hours: 50% to 80%

Location: Home-based, available GMT (UTC±0) core working hours

Travel: Short periods of time for research delivery. Non-travel time will be home-based

Reporting to: Global Researcher

Remuneration: 4,500-5,100 USD/month (prorated to part-time hours)

Deadline for applications: 28 September, 2023*

*Due to the urgency of the vacancy, screening and interviews will commence immediately and the candidate can be selected at any stage before the closing date.

CLEAR Global is an equal-opportunity employer, committed to having a diverse team where individuals of all backgrounds collaborate and learn from one another. We believe we can be most effective with diverse experience and expertise in our team. We recruit on merit, actively seek diverse applicant pools and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, marital or parental status, or sexual orientation, and welcome all types of diversity.

We offer in addition to salary:

• an innovative work environment with a diverse and passionate team
• accommodation and location-specific allowance when on deployment
• 20 days of annual leave and 10 days of floating holidays

The role

The Researcher will report to the Global Researcher and support the International Programs Team to build an evidence base for language and communication support needs in the aid sector. They will be responsible for designing and delivering research related to language and communication challenges to support the development of CLEAR Global’s programs and advocacy efforts.

The Researcher will be responsible for leading, designing and delivering mixed-methods research projects, engaging and supervising research assistants and interpreters during field work, acting as a technical resource person for country-level researchers, analyzing and managing data, writing reports for non-academic audiences, and liaising with various partners and constituents involved in the research process. They will present research findings and showcase CLEAR Global’s excellence in research processes. They will also contribute to building CLEAR Global’s research toolkit and document research-related processes and learning as needed.

The Researcher will work in close partnership with different CLEAR global program teams in country offices and the Program Technology team.

The role will evolve during the course of the deployment as projects and activities develop, so flexibility and the willingness to adapt to changing circumstances is crucial.

Responsibilities

Research development and design

• Develop research proposals for funding, narrative and financial. Input into proposal development processes when projects have a research component
• Develop operational research, applying qualitative, participatory, and mixed-methods.
• Liaise with a wide-range of organizations to discover and gather information that relates to the provision and effectiveness of language support.

Research delivery

• Design, conduct, and deliver research projects and assessments (full research cycle), in contexts where CLEAR Global does not currently work, often with limited logistical support, as well as remotely.
• Conduct secondary research related to language and communication challenges in humanitarian and development contexts.
• Design sampling frameworks for both qualitative and quantitative research activities.
• Recruit, train, and supervise research assistants and data collectors to support with various research activities.
• Conduct semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with humanitarian workers and affected populations.
• Administer remote surveys related to language and communication to humanitarian organizations working across different responses.
• Design and carry out quantitative comprehension research to field-test the effectiveness of various written, audio, and video communication products.
• Code and analyze quantitative and qualitative data, manage and organize data
• Guide and support CLEAR Global colleagues working on research projects throughout the full research cycle

Reporting

• Produce research reports for external publication.
• Produce evidence-based recommendations and guidelines related to communication and language to support other humanitarian agencies.
• Produce and present findings in presentation format to various humanitarian agencies and donors.

Advising

• Support in-country research teams and external consultants to conduct research-related activities
• Provide methodological and analytical support to researchers engaged in CLEAR Global projects as needed to ensure that organizational research standards are followed

Qualifications

The Researcher should be a creative self-starter with a strong sense of initiative and enthusiastic about the importance of increasing access to knowledge through language. The right candidate is an energetic team player who agrees with CLEAR Global’s core values and can work in field locations and virtually to collaborate with team members based throughout the world.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in a relevant subject
• 4+ years of program and/or research experience in humanitarian or development contexts; experience of Communicating with Communities (CwC) programming a plus
• Experience designing and implementing field-based applied research projects utilizing qualitative or mixed methodologies
• Willingness to work in insecure environments required, experience of working in insecure environments a plus
• Willingness to work in a fast-paced work environment
• Flexibility to be deployed at short notice for extended periods
• Ability to communicate scientific data to communities, program staff, and partners in a simple and clear manner
• Verbal and written fluency in English; strong written communication skills
• Verbal or written fluency in French, Arabic and/or Spanish, and other languages a plus
• Ability to analyze and graphically represent quantitative data using Excel or Google Sheets a plus
• Experience and competency working with data analysis software such as Dedoose or NVivo, SPSS, ArcGIS, Tableau, or other specialized software a plus
• Experience designing and conducting surveys using Kobo DataCollect a plus

About CLEAR Global

CLEAR Global exists to help people get vital information, and be heard, whatever language they speak. We believe that everyone has the right to give and receive information in a language and format they understand. We work with nonprofit partners and a global community of language professionals to build local language translation capacity, and raise awareness of language barriers. Our network of over 100,000 community members translate millions of words of life-saving and life-changing information a year.

Core values

CLEAR Global employees and volunteers are people who believe passionately about the value of this work and take personal responsibility for achieving the mission. CLEAR Global’s mission and organizational spirit embody the core values established in its strategic framework:

• Excellence: As the leading voice for communicating humanitarian information in the right language, CLEAR Global is a leader in the translation industry and in the non-profit sector.
• Integrity: CLEAR Global believes that every person, whether it’s the people who we serve, our volunteers or our staff, has value, deserves respect and has inherent dignity.
• Empowerment: CLEAR Global believes in using language to empower people around the world to control their own development and destiny.
• Innovation: CLEAR Global recognizes and celebrates the power of innovation to address humanitarian and crisis issues around the world.
• Sustainability: CLEAR Global recognizes that meeting our mission necessitates establishment and maintenance of a solid financial and organizational infrastructure.
• Tolerance: Our staff and volunteers are highly knowledgeable and skilled; value each other, our partner and our recipients; create a supportive work environment; and conduct themselves professionally at all times.

CLEAR Global may re-advertise the vacancy, cancel the recruitment, offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration at its discretion.