Background
Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH), in collaboration with the University of Stirling (UK) as the lead, has received funding from The British Academy for a project entitled “
The politics of evidence-informed prevention policy in Africa: understanding attitudes, systems and norms in evidence usage in alcohol policy in Uganda”. The aim of the project is to understand the attitudes, systems, norms, and other influences on evidence usage in NCD-prevention policy using a case study of two alcohol policy processes in Uganda. The study will explore the experiences, understanding and preferred ways of working of evidence users, evidence providers and intermediaries involved in the two case studies, and draw out the structures, institutions, power dynamics and political economy of the use of evidence in policy (EIP), to draw lessons on how to improve EIP in alcohol and NCD prevention more generally in future.
MakSPH seeks to recruit a committed and self-motivated Senior and ordinary Research Assistant to work on this 11-month project. Most of the interviews will take place in Kampala. Public transport costs will be reimbursed for any required local travel for the study.
The job description for each position is shown below:
Job Title 1: Research Assistant (Senior)- 1 Position
Main role: The Senior Research Assistant will work in close collaboration with the Ugandan study Co-investigator and the Principal Investigator in the UK. The post will involve working with the project team to undertake high-quality qualitative research with a range of stakeholders (evidence producers, evidence users, and intermediaries in the policymaking environment). Data collection methods will include elite in-depth interviews to understand the experiences, attitudes, systems, and norms in evidence usage in alcohol policymaking in Uganda, with applicability for other areas of non-communicable diseases (NCD) policymaking.
Duties Description
The Senior Research Assistant will conduct all the duties described below ( the list is non-exhaustive) and is expected to:
- Organise and undertake all aspects of data collection (recruiting participants, gaining consent, arranging and conducting the interviews) and supervise the Junior RA in their undertaking of those tasks.
- To oversee and take responsibility for the data management in line with the Data Protection Impact Assessment and data protection policies at MakSPH and the University of Stirling (UK).
- To liaise directly with relevant stakeholders (e.g. ministers, elected politicians (MPs), Chairs of Parliamentary Committees, technical advisors, other civil servants; academic researchers, consultants, researchers in non-governmental organisations, intermediaries in senior/leadership roles in NGOs including advocacy coalitions; and to maintain strong relationships with these key stakeholders, with support from the MakSPH Co-Applicant, .
- Be responsible for arranging transcription and translation of the data in a confidential manner
- To oversee and take a lead in the coding and analysis of the transcribed data (using the NVivo software for which training will be provided); to share and discuss early and ongoing findings proactively with the Senior member of the Research team.
- Take an active part in any research capacity training provided by the Team for the conduct of the study
- To organise and take part in monthly team meetings; to oversee the writing of minutes for each required meeting (any team and analysis meetings).
- To support the RA (Ordinary) with all administrative needs for the study
- To work with the international team to write up findings in the form of briefings and academic articles to be submitted to high-impact journals; the Senior RA will be expected to lead on the drafting of some outputs as first author.
- To supervise, support, and oversee the work of the Junior research assistant in undertaking all tasks laid out above and all others required by the study.
- There may be opportunities to contribute to the development of future funding proposals.
Contract Duration: The appointment is valid for 11 months
Qualifications
- Educated to PhD level (preferably) or MSc level in a relevant discipline within Health or Social Sciences (e.g. public health, social policy, nursing, social work, medicine, pharmacy, and other disciplines)
Essential Skills and Attitude
- Evidence of being able to conduct research independently and oversee the work of an ordinary Research Assistant.
- Evidence of having Extensive data analysis and writing skills
- Experience in qualitative research and data collection, data coding, analysis, and writing
- Experience in recruiting participants into qualitative research studies (full familiarity with issues of ethics and informed consent).
- Self-starter, able to work independently, and to self-direct their learning
- ability to use time effectively, and prioritise, to deliver high-quality work to tight deadlines
- able to line-manage a junior colleague
- Proven ability to establish rapport and interact effectively with colleagues
- Excellent interpersonal skills with stakeholders at all levels (especially policymakers)
- Evidence of good administrative and project management skills
- Evidence of excellent oral and written communication skills
- Good IT and computing skills
- Trustworthy and reliable
- Knowledge of alcohol policy and/or current issues in alcohol harm ( or other addictive substances)
Desirable criteria
- Experience in conducting in-depth elite interviews (face-to-face or over the phone)
- Experience of using the NVivo software to support data analysis
- Experience in working in multi-disciplinary academic teams or with multi-country teams
Job title 2: Research Assistant (Ordinary) 1 Position
Main role: The Research Assistant (ordinary) will work in close collaboration with the Ugandan study Co-investigator and Senior Research Assistant (RA), and the Principal Investigator in the UK. The post will involve working with the project team to undertake high-quality qualitative research with a range of stakeholders (evidence producers, evidence users, and intermediaries in the policymaking environment). Data collection methods will include elite in-depth interviews to understand the experiences, attitudes, systems, and norms in evidence usage in alcohol policymaking in Uganda, with applicability for other areas of non-communicable diseases (NCD) policymaking.
Duties Description
The Research Assistant (ordinary) will conduct the duties described below (the list is non-exhaustive), with support and supervision from the Senior Research Assistant. He or She will be expected:
- To help organise and undertake all aspects of data collection (recruiting participants, gaining consent, arranging and conducting the interviews)
- To support the data management in line with the Data Protection Impact Assessment and data protection policies at MakSPH and the University of Stirling (UK).
- To contribute to liaising with relevant stakeholders (e.g. ministers, elected politicians (MPs), Chairs of Parliamentary Committees, technical advisors, other civil servants; academic researchers, consultants, researchers in non-governmental organisations, intermediaries in Junior/leadership roles in NGOs including advocacy coalitions; and to maintain strong relationships with these key stakeholders, with support from the MakSPH Co-Applicant
- Support the transcription and translation of the data in a confidential manner
- To undertake coding and analysis of the transcribed data (using the NVivo software for which training will be provided)
- Take an active part in any research capacity training provided by the Team for the conduct of the study
- To organise and take part in monthly team meetings, and undertake the writing of minutes for each required meeting (any team and analysis meetings).
- To perform all administrative duties required for the study
- The RA (Ordinary) will be expected to work closely with the Senior RA and with the international team to support the writing of outputs such as of briefings and academic articles to be submitted to high-impact journals.
- There may be opportunities to contribute to the development of future funding proposals.
Contract Duration: The appointment is valid for 11 months
Qualifications
- Educated to Master’s level in a relevant discipline within Health or Social Sciences (e.g. public health, social policy, nursing, social work, medicine, pharmacy, and other disciplines)
Essential Skills and Attitude
- Experience in qualitative research and data collection, coding, analysis, and writing
- Evidence of being able to conduct research independently. Knowledge of alcohol policy and/or current issues in alcohol harm (or other addictive substances)
- Experience with identifying and recruiting policymakers
- Experience in recruiting participants into qualitative research studies (full familiarity with issues of ethics and informed consent).
- Self-starter, able to work independently, and to self-direct their learning
- ability to use time effectively, and prioritise, to deliver high-quality work to tight deadlines
- Proven ability to establish rapport and interact effectively with colleagues
- Excellent interpersonal skills with stakeholders at all levels
- Evidence of good administrative skills
- Evidence of excellent oral and written communication skills
- Good IT and computing skills
- Trustworthy and reliable
Desirable criteria
- Experience in conducting in-depth elite interviews (face-to-face or over the phone)
- Experience in using the NVivo software to support data analysis
- Experience in working in multi-disciplinary academic teams or with multi-country teams
Submission of application
Interested persons should submit their applications, including copies of academic documents, an updated curriculum vitae, and state at least two referees. These should be addressed to the Dean, School of Public Health, Makerere University. Please provide a reliable 24-hour phone contact and WhatsApp line if different. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.
The submission deadline is Wednesday, 16th July 2025
Deliver the application to MaKSPH reception.
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