IRC Hiring Consultancy-Qualitative Facilitators

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a leading humanitarian and development agency, supporting communities in transition in 40 countries. Simultaneously a global technical leader and proven implementer, IRC has shaped youth priorities and approaches at the national level and implemented programs at the community level since its founding in 1933.

IRC has worked in Kenya since 1992, implementing highly effective programs in youth livelihoods, economic development, women empowerment, integrated healthcare, and nutrition.

Background

Job Overview/Summary:

The International Rescue Committee is seeking Qualitative Research Facilitators to work in Nairobi on the second wave of the Re:BUiLD Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT).

The facilitators will support the qualitative evaluation of the Wave 2 RCT intervention that will commence in July 2024. Re:BUiLD, is a five-year, multi-stakeholder urban livelihoods program implemented in Kampala and Nairobi providing livelihood interventions to urban refugees and vulnerable host community members to enhance their economic self-reliance. The facilitators will be part of the Re:BUiLD project team under the IRC for a fixed period of time.

Qualified urban refugees from all nationalities possessing a refugee ID are strongly encouraged to apply.

Statement of work:

The qualitative facilitators will be expected to perform the following roles (not limited to):

• Conduct key informant interviews with clients to learn about their experience in the program, their business, and their business habits
• Translation and transcription as required by the research team.
• To carry out other duties as assigned and agreed upon with the supervisor.

Additional information

Research Objectives and Questions

The qualitative research component for Wave 2 of Re:Build will serve two objectives. The first is a descriptive research objective to provide information on network structure, development, and economic and social dynamics. We will pair this with our quantitative survey data to identify differences between, and characteristics of, business networks in different areas of Kampala and Nairobi and among different population groups.

While our survey data collects information about egocentric network size, numbers and types of ties, and centrality of connections, the qualitative component will gather information about the meaning of these ties, along with process-related aspects of network develop-ment and maintenance.

Second, this research will serve an impact evaluation objective by helping us interpret the quantitative findings from the RCT, unpack the mechanisms driving our results, and interrogate the underlying theory and assumptions of the Re:Build program. This will also help us to understand the quality of program implementation, particularly the networking component.

Our primary research questions are:

1. What do business networks look like in mixed and homogeneous refugee and host communities in urban developing cities?
2. How do refugees, compared to urban hosts, develop their business networks? How does this differ across characteristics such as gender, nationality, industry, and business experience?
3. How do refugee and host participants in Re:Build perceive the quality and utility of the program, particularly the networking interventions?
4. How and why did Re:Build interventions contribute to improvements, or lack thereof, in economic and social outcomes for participants?

a) What were the intended and unintended consequences of the interventions, according to participants?

Approach

In-depth Interviews with Re:Build Participants

To answer research questions 2-4 above, we will interview 50-60 participants in each city. We will include people in all four treatment groups, men and women, and refugees and hosts. This will be split into two groups:

1. 30-40 participants in each city interviewed at both baseline and endline (1 year apart).

• Participants will be selected to ensure a diverse sample based on key characteristics, e.g. gender, nationality, location, business experience.
• Participants will initially be interviewed after the baseline survey and before the program begins.
• The focus of these interviews will be on providing descriptive data about business networks which will complement our quantitative analysis. We aim to understand how refugees and host communities with different characteristics (gender, age, nationality) build their business networks, and how and why an intervention like Re:Build might have shifted their networking behavior over time, in ways that may not be captured in our survey data.
• At baseline, participants will be asked questions about how they developed their professional networks (including through social interactions and pre-existing networks) since they arrived in the city, what strategies they used to build ties, and how these networks have developed over time and contributed to their work (business or otherwise). At endline, participants will be asked about how their networks and approaches to networking have changed during the course of the intervention and in the year since.

2.    20 participants in each city interviewed only at endline. Participants will be selected based on their response to the intervention, including 10 “high performers” (people whose economic and social outcomes and/or business networks saw marked improvements at the end of the intervention compared to the beginning, according to our survey data) and 10 “low performers” (people who didn’t see improvements in their economic and social outcomes). This is essentially a “most-similar” case selection design, if we can compare pairs with similar characteristics.

• The focus of these interviews will be on the participants’ experience of the intervention. We will aim to understand why some participants fared better than others and to diagnose reasons why some participants benefited less.

Estimated LOE

 The team of local qualitative researchers (outside of IRC) are to complete the in-depth inter-views/qualitative survey. We will consider getting in touch with local universities and outreach to teams of sociology/anthropology graduate students with help from Annet and Alex.

The In-depth interviews will entail:

• Repeated 30 interviews: two teams of researchers for two weeks after baseline & end-line.

a) Pull clients from first two weeks of baseline survey to start.

b) Incentives for interviewees.

• Training, piloting, and oversight of researchers.

Qualifications

• Certificate or Diploma in Social Sciences or Humanities or any other related field.
• Experience in leading key informant interviews and qualitative research. Data collection experience is an added advantage
• Experience working with vulnerable communities.
• Strong communication and report-writing skills.
• Flexible approach to the changing nature of work.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and within a multicultural team.
• Computer skills, especially Ms. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Applicants able to communicate in Swahili, French, Oromo, Somali, Amharic, Arabic, Congolese, Rwandese are encouraged to apply.
• All applicants should have Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) PIN.
• Availability: – (1st – 30th August 2024)

Policies

• Ensure compliance with organizational performance standards, code of conduct, and safeguarding policy.
• Adhere to confidentiality procedures and policies when collecting, storing, and sharing data.

Deliverables:

a) Qualitative transcripts.

Applications should include:

1. Cover letter containing:

• Prior experience with leading qualitative research including key informant interviews
• Languages spoken

2. CV

3. Copy of identification document

4. Copy of KRA pin

Standards of Professional Conduct: The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equity. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity Anti-Retaliation and Combating Trafficking in Persons.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other encouraging benefits and allowances.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

Kenyan nationals are encouraged to apply. International allowances are not available for this position. Salary and employee benefits are compliant to the Kenyan NGO Sector.

Disclaimer:

Please take note that International Rescue Committee (IRC) does not ask for any fees in connection with its recruitment processes.

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