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The Institute of Public Opinion and Research (IPOR) in collaboration with the Governance and Local Development Institute (GLD) at the Universities of Gothenburg in Sweden and Cornell in USA is seeking eight (8) ethnographic Research Assistants for their project: Survive, Thrive, or Deprive? Drivers and Outcomes of Resilience During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malawi (also called Resiliency). These are six-week positions, to be based in either of the following districts: Balaka, Chikwawa, Chitipa, Dowa, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Mchinji and Nkhata Bay.  

About the Resiliency project  

The Resiliency project examines why some individuals and communities respond better than others to crises, and the longer-term effects of crises on governance and welfare. Examining community governance in Malawi during the Covid pandemic, it aims to answer three questions: 

1. What explains when and how communities implement and enforce policies to mitigate the pandemic's negative effects? When/why does this impact poverty and inequality?

2. How do community factors and individuals' characteristics affect how individuals manage crises?

3. How has the pandemic altered community social ties and authority?

About the positions 

We are seeking motivated and skilled Research Assistants to support a six-week ethnographic study in Malawi. This will entail living in the selected case study site for the period. This opportunity is ideal for individuals who are passionate about, or have an interest in, qualitative research, fieldwork, community research, participatory research and social science research. Tasks will include, but are not limited to: negotiating access into communities, collecting and collating observational data, conducting and note-taking of formal and informal walk-around interviews, writing background reports, and assisting with qualitative data management and analysis. Specific tasks will be determined based on the needs of the project.

Education

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, Sociology, Development Studies, Public Health, or a related field.

• Candidates studying for (or possessing) postgraduate studies or with relevant research experience will have an added advantage.

Skills

• Strong qualitative research skills, particularly in ethnographic methods such as participant observation and in-depth interviews

• Experience conducting fieldwork in rural settings

• Proficiency in the local language (s) spoken in the respective areas

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport with diverse community members

• Strong organizational and data management skills, especially note-taking and transcription

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a resource-limited setting

Benefits

• A generous compensation that will include a stipend to cover living expenses during fieldwork

• Hands-on experience in ethnographic research within a real-world setting

• Field support, including an online research training prior to fieldwork

If you are interested in applying, please submit your CV (maximum 2 pages) with contacts of two referees and a brief cover letter (maximum 1 page) outlining your relevant experience, motivation and knowledge/attachment of any of the districts for this role. In the email subject and on the letter, indicate the district to which you would like to be based.

For inquiries or submissions, send an email to: dave.namusanya@gu.se with copies to: recruitment@ipormw.org 

Deadline for applications: 19 February 2025 at 5 PM Malawi time

Only those who are shortlisted will be contacted for online interviews 

One of the goals of the Government of Malawi is to ensure that all primary school learners have equal access to adequate and safe learning spaces. To support this objective, the Institute of Public Opinion and Research (IPOR) partnered with Center for Evaluation and Development (C4ED) and the World Bank, with funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), to conduct an independent school survey called the Malawi Longitudinal Schools Survey (MLSS).

As part of the preparatory activities, IPOR conducted a pretest of the survey tool, trained enumerators, as well as carried out a pilot to ensure that we uncover potential issues in the research design or methodology, such as unclear instructions, logistical challenges, or unforeseen variables.

Field Manager for the Project, Edson Ntodwa, said the team did not experience any huge hiccups during the pretest. He attributed this to the fact that school officials at Sagawa school in Mulanje, where the exercise was carried out, warmly welcomed and assisted the team in collecting data without any challenges.

Ntodwa added: “We are happy to report that we were able to administer almost all of the tools successfully, with the exception of a few students who have dropped out of school and no longer reside in nearby communities.”

Through the study, IPOR will interview respondents from 85 schools in Mzimba, Chikwawa and Kasungu Districts.