African Population & Health Research Centre Careers

The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is an African-led and Africa-based international research institute engaged in multidisciplinary, evidence-based policy research. Our researchers address important issues and challenges facing Africa in areas such as education, health, population, aging, urbanization and wellbeing. We engage with policymakers in the region to disseminate our research findings and influence policy decisions to improve the quality of life in Africa.

APHRC seeks to recruit at least four researchers to work in its Human Development theme.

Responsibilities (dependent on level appointed):

• Provide leadership to scientific research team or project in an area related to education and/or youth empowerment;
• Contribute to policy engagement and the theme’s strategic planning;
• Lead and contribute to proposal development and fundraising for research projects in the theme;
• Mentor young researchers, and facilitate in the Center’s training programs as needed;
• Secure and manage the necessary human, financial and material resources in the theme, project or program;
• Represent the Center at high level national, regional and international forums, including relevant technical working groups and expert committees;
• Contribute to institutional publications including and not limited to lay dissemination materials such as policy/research briefs and fact sheets; and
• Oversee data quality and analyses.

Qualifications and Experience:

• PhD in literacy and/or numeracy related studies, mathematics education, teaching and teacher education, economics with a demonstrated focus on education, test and measurement, teaching methods, curriculum and instruction, education technology, higher education, youth and community studies or any other related discipline.
• Experience working in a research institution, conducting education and/or youth related research, leading research programs or managing research projects.
• Experience with conducting impact evaluations of education interventions or implementing early learning interventions or developing early learning measurement tools (Eg. EGRA/EGMA will be an added advantage.
• Must be fluent in English; being multilingual (English and French) will be an added advantage.
• Excellent scientific writing skills.
• Good quantitative or qualitative skills; experience with mixed methods will be an added advantage provided one is very strong in quantitative or qualitative methods.
• Strong proposal writing skills and track record of winning research grants.

Successful candidates may be appointed at Postdoctoral level (0-2 years after PhD), Associate Research Scientist (3-5 years after PhD), Research Scientist (6-11 years after PhD) or Senior Research Scientist (12+ years after PhD) levels depending on experience and track record. These positions are classified under Internationally Recruited Positions (IRP), Grades III to VI in our scales.

How to apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit their application in English, and include:

1. A letter of application;
2. A statement of research interests and goals (1-2 pages); and
3. CV with contact details of three referees through Researchers-Human Development.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the positions are filled.

Only short listed candidates will be contacted; shortlisted candidates will be required to have a Police Clearance Certificate.

Special Notice

APHRC is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Manage the routine research projects activities such as leading the development of field and training manuals, obtaining ethical approvals and research permits, training and supervision of field workers, data management, data analysis and scientific writing.
• Coordinate policy engagement and dissemination of project research findings to appropriate audiences.
• Take lead in preparing progress and end-of-grant reports to donor.
• Develop study tools on topical issues in immunization and skills development, training manuals and field guides to use for data collection.
• Coordinate the recruitment, training and supervision of field teams.
• Coordinate fieldwork and be responsible for data quality.
• Mobilize and sensitize immunization stakeholders about research projects.
• Participate in the development of research proposals.
• Conduct literature review and participate in writing scientific papers.
• Carry out policy analysis on specific issues in immunization areas of work.
• Prepare regular field and project reports.
• Prepare policy briefs and fact sheets from the projects’ findings.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in any of the following areas: Demography, Epidemiology, Applied Statistics, Sociology, Measurement and Evaluation, or related disciplines.
• At least 3 years’ post qualification experience, preferably in immunization.
• Good computer literacy skills.
• Knowledge of multiple statistical such as STATA, SPSS, R, e.t.c. Knowledge of qualitative software packages NVivo or ATLAS.ti. will be an added advantage.
• Good quantitative analytical skills.
• Experience working with survey data (DHS, MICs, e.t.c) and routine health facility data information systems (DHIS 2).
• Experience in conducting field research and managing research projects and teams.
• Experience in engaging policy makers with research evidence.
• Excellent oral and written communication in English and/or French, and at least one African language.
• Ability to work independently, set priorities, juggle tasks and meet tight deadlines.

DEADLINE:  December 4, 2023

Duties and Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development of information systems and provision of analytical methodological support and advice to researchers.
• Lead and contribute to proposal development and fundraising for research projects in the unit.
• Provide statistical advice and support to researchers developing proposals and writing scientific papers.
• Supervise and mentor junior staff to contribute to the design of proposals for grant applications, scientific writing analytical support and/or information systems development.
• Supervise and mentor junior staff to conduct literature reviews.
• Lead the recruitment, training and supervision of field interviewers.
• Oversee/lead development of field and training manuals.
• Ensure ethical approvals and research permits are obtained.
• Oversee fieldwork during the execution of the research projects to ensure timely implementation of field activities.
• Participate in community mobilization and education of the community in relation to the research.
• Contribute to the development of project reports.
• Contribute to institutional publications including and not limited to lay dissemination materials such as policy/research briefs and fact sheets.
• Contribute to policy engagement and the unit’s strategic planning.
• Contribute to cultivation of relations with key institutional donors.
• Represent the Center at high-level national, regional and international forums, including relevant technical working groups and expert committees.
• Begin to define own area of research interest through developing proposals, concept notes and publishing.

Qualifications and Experience

• PhD in Demography, Populations studies, Public Health, Sociology, Statistics, Data Science, Econometrics, or equivalent in related disciplines
• Have at least 2 years of relevant post-doctoral experience.
• Strong writing skills and good record of publications, which utilize defined analytical methodologies.
• Experience in developing proposals. Evidence of previous successful grants will be an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in managing research projects, including experience in conducting, coordinating and managing surveys.
• Proven experience in conducting desk reviews.
• Strong quantitative skills (managing, analyzing and interpreting data), with good familiarity with quantitative statistical packages (e.g. STATA, R) and working with large dataset.
• Expertise in political economy research or qualitative methods, including familiarity with qualitative analysis software packages (e.g. NVivo) will be an advantage.
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills and ability to work in a culturally diverse team.
• Experience in immunization research will be an advantage.
• Experience working with surveys data (DHS and MICS).
• Experience working with the Health Management Information Systems (DHIS2) data will be an advantage.
• Experience working in Francophone West Africa.
• Fluentcommunication and writing in French is necessary.

Aim of the study

• This research aims to explore the feasibility of APHRC’s Mbeteza board game to effectively influence policies and programs on key health issues so as to build a prototype of the game that can be replicated across APHRC’s thematic research areas across SSA.

Responsibilities

• Develop a problem statement for a research study informed by the expected output of the research.
• Formulate clear objectives for the study guided by the information given in this ToR as well as supplemental information that shall be provided by the APHRC team.
• Conduct a desk review so as to provide a deeper understanding of how of educational board games can be used for education, discourse, and impact.
• With the support of the APHRC team, conduct play sessions with various potential stakeholders, including policymakers, young people in high school, university/college students, partner organizations, funding bodies, and non-profit organizations, focusing on the key issues highlighted in the game.
• Produce relevant pre- and post-gameplay surveys to track players’ experiences with the game using both qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches.
• Share monitoring and evaluation report.
• Make recommendations on ways to ensure sustainability and scalability of the game so that the game remains relevant with the target audience.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience Required

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Design, Education, Sociology or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in research within the creative space.
• Good computer literacy skills.
• Knowledge of health and population challenges in Africa.
• Prior experience in gaming for impact and human-centered design.
• Excellent oral and written communication in English; knowledge of French is desirable
• Ability to work independently, set priorities, juggle tasks, and meet tight deadlines.
• Experience in reaching and engaging a range of different and high-level stakeholders with research evidence.
• Experience in conducting field research and managing research projects and teams.
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills and ability to work in a culturally diverse team.
• Experience in the gamification for social impact space is desired.

Method of Application

Interested applicants should submit the following:

• Cover letter & CV
• 3 samples of relevant published research works
• Work Plan & Budget
• 3 references.

to [email protected] by 27th October 2023. Please use ‘MBETEZA BOARD GAME RESEARCHER’ as the subject title of your email; only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Cover letters should be addressed to:

The Human Resources Officer

African Population and Health Research Center, Inc. APHRC Campus, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, Kitisuru

P. O. Box 10787 GPO 00100, Nairobi. 

 Duties/Responsibilities

• Prepare and continually refine a synergistic government liaison strategy.
• Support advocacy and policy engagement efforts by actively identifying opportunities with relevant government agencies and facilitating APHRC’s participation.
• Map and maintain a stakeholder database and manage the day-to-day relationships with all key influencers and other partners in various government agencies.
• Represent and offer support in relevant government technical meetings and engagements and actively seek out, identify, advice on, and implement opportunities for collaborative work across different government departments.
• Prepare and give feedback to government agencies on the program impact realized periodically and prepare joint plans.
• Ensure timely preparation of application documents for speedy submission to the relevant government agencies for approvals, and follow-up with relevant authorities.
• Engage with programs providing insights on government priorities and mode of operation
• Oversee implementation of agreed plans.
• Contribute to fundraising providing inputs relevant to their role.
• Lead the identification of government priorities in research, policy and capacity strengthening.
• Manage risks and mitigation strategies, and public policy matters that could impact APHRC’s interests in Kenya.
• Participate in managing APHRC reputation through strategic engagements with the National and County governments, the ministries, international agencies, donor community, NGOs/CBOs, and local communities.
• Participate in building relationships to strengthen the strategic positioning, skill and effectiveness of selected local, national and regional coalitions key policymakers, legislators and governments to influence policy and practice.
• Ensure that relations with other Governments and international organizations are carried out in accordance with standard liaison practices.
• Coordinate government official visits to APHRC, both inbound and outbound.
• Facilitating meetings, ensure proper etiquette for official engagements, and streamline interactions with dignitaries and other VIPs.

Qualifications, Skills, and Experience 

• Masters level degree in Social Sciences or related field.
• At least 7 years of relevant experience engaging governments on issues relevant to APHRC work.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively in a diverse environment.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Exceptional organizational and coordination skills.
• Very proactive with the ability to inform, influence, negotiate and connect with the relevant people.
• Stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated networks in government, civil society etc.
• Understanding of different policy-making processes in Kenya.

Duties/Responsibilities

 Workforce Planning

• Partner with hiring managers to evaluate staffing needs and determine specific position responsibilities and requirements to ensure accurate candidate sourcing.

Recruitment- Regular and Temporary Staff, Consultants

• Collaborate with line managers to ensure job descriptions are reviewed, complete and accurate.
• Prepare advertisements for vacant positions.
• Provide oversight on recruitment and selection processes and ensure that all phases are conducted in an efficient manner, and in accordance with APHRC policies and procedures.

Employee Onboarding

• Prepare orientation schedule and ensure new staff are oriented within the first one month of reporting.
• Ensure staff are aware of relevant policies and procedures and implications of not adhering to them.
• Ensure that new staff information is recorded and filed properly.
• Ensure new staff have appropriate work space and resources.

Employee Data and Reporting

• Manage a filing system and database for HR information and ensure confidentiality of the information.
• Collect and evaluate HR data to be used for communicating HR metrics.

Performance Management

• Coordinate the performance management processes including goal setting, probationary period reviews, performance improvement plan (PIP), mid-cycle and annual performance appraisals. Ensure the processes are completed and feedback given within agreed timelines.
• Support in giving feedback to staff on issues emanating from performance appraisal discussions.
• Work with line managers to support staff on issues affecting their performance.

Employee Learning and Development- Unit Specific

• Support the line managers in conducting periodic staff training needs assessment & development of annual training plan.
• Contribute to identification of learning and development opportunities and recommend such opportunities to individuals based on needs.
• Organize and track professional development and capacity building activities for staff.

Leave and Attendance

• Oversee the management and general administration of employee leave.
• Update all staff leave records and produce periodic reports.
• Collaborate with supervisors to ensure utilization of leave in line with Unit plans.

Employee Separation

• Ensure proper planning and preparation in respect of departing staff, including fulfilment of all handover responsibilities; oversee off- boarding process for staff exiting the organization including conducting exit interviews, termination of benefits etc.
• Work closely with Finance in preparing staff separation documents and dues for settlement.
• Review the clearance and exit surveys for employees leaving the organization for feedback on improvement and staff development areas.

 Qualifications, Skills, and Experience 

• Bachelor’s degree preferably in the Human Resources Management or relevant field.
• Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP), Higher Diploma in HRM or equivalent.
• Professional certification in Human Resources Management/Membership with IHRM.
• At least 6 years’ post-qualification work experience as a HR Officer, preferably in a not-for-profit organization/INGO.
• In depth knowledge of Kenyan labor laws.
• Experience working in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment.
• Familiarity with any Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) software.
• Good interpersonal and organizational skills and ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to multi-task and have a flexible work attitude.
• Good verbal and written communication skills in English, knowledge of French language will be an added advantage.
• Proficiency in the use of MS Office suite.
• Ability to work independently, set priorities, juggle tasks and meet strict deadlines.

Duties/Responsibilities

 Compensation Administration

• Ensure APHRC’s compensation practices are compliant with our policies and labor laws and regulations.
• Conduct and or participate in salary and benefits surveys for benchmarking.
• Coordinate job evaluation and salary structure processes.

 Staff Contracts Management

• Maintain and update a database of contract expiry dates and advise Line Managers for further direction and action.
• Timely preparation and issuance of employment and consultancy contracts.
• Provide timely updates to employees on their contract status.
• Follow up and coordinate various employee lifecycle actions – promotion, re-assignment and separation.

External and Internal Audit Support

• Prepare and share necessary documents required during audits.
• Track audit reports, lead the HR team in developing action points and follow up the implementation of the audit recommendations.

Administration of Pension, Medical, Group Life Assurance and Group Personal Accident Schemes

• Maintain an up-to-date insurance coverage for employees: medical, pension, WIBA/GPA and/or GLA.
• Focal person for benefits orientation, timely enrolment and deletion of staff onto the relevant schemes, and facilitation of claims reimbursements.
• Provide timely support to staff and dependents to ensure they access benefits and maintain an up to date records on usage.
• Regular engagement with the insurance service providers to ensure provision of quality service.

Employee Assistance Program

• Develop coordinated and consistent approaches that strengthen staff representation mechanisms for staff engagement.
• Identify and assess issues related to duty of care, including physical, mental health and safety of APHRC’s workforce.
• Promote effective communication with employees and key stakeholders to build positive relationships, employee involvement, and commitment.
• Create platforms for both formal and informal counselling on areas of concern for staff.
• Promote work/life integration.

Employee Learning and Development

• Manage a training plan that details required training that is delivered within the agreed/specific timescales and ensure outcomes are appropriately measured and reported.
• Facilitate staff training as may be required.
• Work with the Research and Related Capacity Strengthening function to coordinate training programs, workshops, and other learning opportunities for employees.
• Participate in assessments of staff training and development needs.
• Evaluate and report on learning and development programs and their effectiveness, and submit proposals for their improvement, as necessary.
• Process staff development requests and ensure the implementation of identified staff development activities.

Teambuilding- Organization wide

• Coordinate staff wellness and engagement initiatives e.g. welfare association, staff retreats, team building and meetings, wellness activities.
• Participate in employee engagement action planning and interventions with the aim of improving morale, team cohesion, learning and development and other prioritized areas.
• Establish a team-building mechanism and activities to foster openness, trust and cooperation.

 Qualifications, Skills, and Experience 

• Bachelors in Human Resources Management or relevant field.
• Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) or Higher Diploma in Human Resource.
• Professional certification in Human Resources Management/membership with IHRM.
• At least 6 years’ post-qualification relevant work experience, preferably in an INGO.
• Demonstrable knowledge of compensation practices and principles.
• In depth knowledge of Kenya labor laws.
• Experience working in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment.
• Familiarity with any Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) software.
• Experience developing dashboards and using data visualization tools preferred.
• Good interpersonal and organizational skills and ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to multi-task and have a flexible work attitude.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; ability to explain technical information to employees at all levels.
• Ability to work independently, set priorities, juggle tasks and meet strict deadlines.

The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is a leading Africa-based, African-led, international research institution headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. APHRC conducts policy-relevant research on population, health, education, urbanization and related development issues in sub-Saharan Africa.

APHRC seeks to recruit a Researcher to work in the Chronic Diseases Management Unit within the Research Division, mainly focusing on health systems strengthening. This is a new role arising from the implementation of the current five-year strategic plan which has, subsequently triggered tremendous growth in our programs.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Conduct research on vaccinations and health systems related areas which may include leading community-based trials and health facility and household surveys. Tasks may include study conceptualization and design, project management and coordination including, obtaining ethical approvals and research permits for studies, recruiting and training of field interviewers, supervision of field work and data management, data analysis, report writing.
• Co-design and test digital interventions with stakeholders to inform policy & practice on delivery and uptake of vaccinations and other health services.
• Lead and contribute to financial sustainability of the unit through contributing to fundraising efforts in the unit and cultivating relations with key institutional donors.
• Lead and contribute to scientific paper writing on vaccinations and health systems.
• Supervise, mentor and train junior researchers in the unit and the Center at large.
• Lead policy engagement, knowledge translation and communication to appropriate audiences.
• Participate in strategic planning for the unit and contribute to regular unit reports.

Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

• PhD preferably in a health related field including Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Systems or Clinical Medicine.
• Post-doctoral experience in research on health systems in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Experience in developing proposals and attracting research grants, particularly in health systems.
• Demonstrated experience in managing research teams and partnerships.
• Experience in managing community-based cluster trials, health facility audits and household surveys.
• Strong quantitative skills (managing, analyzing and interpreting data), with extensive familiarity with quantitative statistical packages (e.g. STATA, SAS or SPSS).
• Excellent communication skills and good record of publications on relevant areas in sub- Saharan Africa.
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills and ability to work in a culturally diverse team and an understanding of working among vulnerable populations such as in urban slums and rural populations.

Desirable

• Expertise/experience in working with healthcare workers, caregivers and policy makers.
• Expertise in design of community-based cluster randomized trials and quasi experimental studies.
• A good grasp of chronic care models and application of modern technology in enhancing care and prevention.
• Expertise in qualitative methods, including familiarity with qualitative analysis software packages (e.g. NVivo).

The successful candidate may be appointed at Post-doctoral Research Scientist (0-2 years after PhD), Associate Research Scientist (3-5 years after PhD), or Research Scientist (6-11 years after PhD) levels depending on experience and track record. These positions are classified under Internationally Recruited Positions (IRP), Grades III to VI in our scales.

How to apply

Interested candidates are invited to submit their application in English, and include:

1. A letter of application;
2. A statement of research interests and goals (1-2 pages); and
3. CV with contact details of three referees

through this link. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled.Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates will be required to have a Police Clearance Certificate.

Special Notice

APHRC is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.

Duties and Responsibilities

The ideal candidates for these roles are dynamic leaders, comfortable working with cross-functional teams and collaborating with colleagues from diverse technical backgrounds. The Policy Engagement Managers will be primarily responsible for leading thematic-based strategic policy engagement efforts using either the Center’ signature issues approach (2 positions) or traditional policy engagement approaches (1 position). Specifically, the incumbents will:

• Institute a strategic approach to policy engagement across the Center. Develop and implement strategic policy engagement plans for selected programmatic areas.
• Conduct policy landscaping and mapping to identify opportunities for engagement in line with the Center’s research priorities.
• Provide technical input into the conceptualization of research-to-policy ideas and actively infuse these ideas into grant applications.
• Lead the implementation of research-to-policy activities in funded projects underpinned by strategic policy engagement plans.
• Ensure fidelity to strategic policy engagement plans in designing new projects within assigned research units.
• Ensure policy engagement activities are adequately resourced by overseeing budgeting during grant applications, forecasting resource needs and submitting timely requests for necessary resources.
• Leverage national, regional, and international networks to facilitate strategic policy engagement by the Center’s researchers.
• Identify networking and engagement opportunities with relevant audiences at all levels and coordinate relationship-building for researchers and policymakers in relevant international, regional and national forums.
• Produce policy outlook papers to support research projects addressing wider policy-relevant research questions.
• Develop and deliver policy engagement training for research and research-related capacity-strengthening programs.
• Facilitate learning and knowledge sharing, producing learning materials for continuous improvement and adoption of lessons learned from cross-cutting collaboration.
• Supervise a team of early career policy engagement and communications professionals.
• Perform any other duties as required for the role.

Qualifications, Skills, and Experience

• Master’s degree in Development Communications, Journalism, Public Policy, Public Health, Public Administration, Politics, International Relations, Social Sciences, or other relevant fields.
• At least twelve (12) years of post-qualification work experience in communication, writing, policy analysis, landscaping, and mapping, preferably at an international or research organization.
• Demonstrable track record in policy engagement, including landscaping, mapping, and trend analysis.
• Knowledge of policy-making processes and experience working with policymakers and government officials.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to translate complex scientific facts into accessible messages for general audiences, make strong presentations, briefings, and produce high-quality written reports for various audiences.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Excellent existing network of contacts at the national and international levels.
• Experience in policy engagement, knowledge translation, research and science communications, advocacy. Demonstrated experience in policy engagement or advocacy in any of APHRC’s priority programmatic areas will be an added advantage.
• Understanding of research to policy frameworks and experience in applying them.
• Experience in strategy development, project design, budgeting, and resource allocation. Demonstrated experience in grant writing will be an added advantage.
• Knowledge of or experience in research-to-policy organizations and processes is preferable.
• Knowledge of project management methodologies, and experience applying them to complex projects. Demonstrated ability to work independently and simultaneously coordinate multiple projects will be an added advantage.
• Excellent leadership and team management skills, with the demonstrated ability to foster a culture of teamwork and collaboration.