Research Consultant for Gender-Responsive Health Intervention in Nepal

Project Background: “Agripath – Study on Women’s Health in Farming Households”

The Agripath project aims to empower smallholder farmers through gender-responsive advisory. The University of Lausanne and the Centre for Development and Environment at the University of Bern, Switzerland, seek to implement a field study to explore the social, cultural, and psychological aspects of women’s health in farming communities in Nepal in several districts in the Terai region. The project will engage participants in workshops to promote self-image, foster empathy and dispel common misconceptions regarding women’s health. The effectiveness of different workshop formats will be evaluated through a randomized design that measures scientifically rigorous and state-of-the-art outcomes. The ultimate goal is to improve the well-being of participants and reduce practices that participants themselves consider harmful.

Task Description

As a Research Consultant, you will support the project lead (PL) and the co-leading local NGO in the implementation and evaluation of the project, including the fine tuning of the scientific design, development of survey tools and research protocols, as well as planning and execution of field activities (including sampling, randomization, intervention implementation and data collection).

Specifically, the tasks include:

• Assist in identification of study regions (in collaboration with PL and NGO)
• Assist in fine-tuning the scientific design (with PL)
• Support the NGO in producing video content for the intervention
• Assist PL in the development and programming of survey tools
• Assist PL in the development of research and field protocols
• Support the NGO in obtaining local research permits and IRB approval
• Assist the NGO in the recruitment a qualified field team of approximately 10 enumerators and 10 workshop facilitators
• Support PL in the development of data monitoring strategies
• Provide high level support for quality assurance of field activities as needed including short qualitative interviews of study participants
• Assist data cleaning after data collection
• Help with organizing logistics for team meetings, workshops, and field visits

Qualifications

• MA or PhD degree in Social Sciences, Public Health or related field
• Experience with experimental social science research methods
• Experience with quantitative data collection
• Experience with programming software (in particular R)
• Residency in Nepal
• Fluency in English and Nepali
• Experience with survey development and programming (using survey software such as SurveyCTO, ODK, Survey Solutions or Qualtrics) is a plus
• Practical experience with farming or agricultural development projects in Nepal as a plus

Practical Information

Compensation: Appropriate to the qualifications of the consultant. Travel and accommodation costs for research preparation and fieldwork are reimbursed.

Timeline: Starting date as soon as possible, but no later than December 15. Research activities in Nepal are carried out between Q1/2025 and Q3/2025, requiring physical presence and in-country travel. The consultancy is expected to be completed by Q4/2025 at the latest.

To apply, please send a CV and cover letter written in English to:

Eva Marti

eva.marti@unil.ch

The cover letter should address prior experience with quantitative data collection, field management, data cleaning and analysis, and availability during the study period.

Application Deadline: 6 December 2024. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.