Senior Research Officer

BBC Media Action

BBC Media Action is the BBC’s international development charity. BBC Media Action uses media and communications to reduce poverty and promote human rights in developing countries. Our aim is to inform, connect, and empower people around the world. We work in partnership to provide access to useful, timely, reliable information. We help people make sense of events, engage in dialogue, and take action to improve their lives. Audiences are at the heart of all we do. Our audiences include the journalists and others we train, as well as listeners and viewers. Our work is built on insights from our research and engagement with communities. 

BBC Media Action’s Research and Learning Group, based in London and in each of our country offices, provides research to support the development and evaluate the impact of media development and communication for development projects. We undertake research at audience, practitioner, organisation and system levels, including:

• Formative research to guide the development of projects, including literature reviews, secondary data analyses, and qualitative and quantitative primary research
• Pre-testing/piloting of media outputs with audiences, to feed into programme development
• Monitoring project progress, including audience reactions 
• Evaluation of the impact of our projects
• Research for learning what works in media development and communication for development.

The Research and Learning Group supports our country and regional teams to develop creative programmes in multi-media formats that inform and engage audiences around key development issues. We also work to strengthen the media sector through building professional capacity and infrastructure. We work closely with BBC Media Action’s Health, Governance, and Humanitarian Response and Resilience Advisors to understand and contribute to the development of best practice in our key thematic areas.

Job Purpose

The Senior Research Officer will lead on the all research deliverables under the supervision of the Senior Programme Manager (SPM) and the London-based R&L Research Manager. S/he is responsible for the delivery of field work and data collection, preparing reports and delivering presentations in line with project requirements across all projects. S/he will be responsible for managing a Research Officers. 

The Senior Research Officer will work closely with the creative/ production team and the project partners to understand their research needs and priorities; and with the research suppliers to coordinate timely and accurate delivery of the research outputs. With supervision and support from research staff in London, the Research Manager will design qualitative and quantitative research instruments, support the commissioning of research agencies, recruit research participants, moderate focus groups, conduct interviews, analyse qualitative and quantitative data and write research reports and present research findings. 

The Senior Research Officer will be responsible for overseeing the commissioning and quality control of quantitative audience survey research at baseline and end-line for project impact evaluation; conception, design and dissemination of pre-testing research; conducting formative research; conducting research for case studies of impact and/or challenges; and supporting research to evaluate capacity building of community radio partners. 

The Senior Research Officer will be based in Addis Ababa, and some travel within Ethiopia will be required. S/he will be part of BBC Media Action’s global Research and Learning Team, with opportunities to share knowledge and develop skills. 

Main Duties

The Senior Research Officer will be the lead on all research activities and supervise a team of research staff, including freelancers. His/her main duties will be:

Line Management

• To manage a team of Research Officers, and freelancers including through inductions, appraisals and providing relevant supervisory support.

• To oversee the effective planning and communication of all Ethiopia research outputs through working closely both with the Ethiopia team and BBC Media Action in London. 

  Research 

• To oversee the implementation of qualitative and quantitative studies, including developing instruments; supervising fieldwork; monitoring quality, budget and timely delivery of research outputs; and processing, cleaning and analysing primary and secondary data. 

• To support the design and implementation of qualitative and quantitative research inputs, contributing to research strategy, study design, methodologies and analysis of data. 

• With supervision of the Research team in London, support the designing and implementing a comprehensive set of research tools and setting up research databases for each project which captures the capacity building, outreach and production impact of the projects. 

• To oversee the coordination of data collection fieldwork and monitor quality and ethics in fieldwork including in recruitment of research participants and moderation of focus group discussions and interviews.

• To supervise the analysis of all quantitative and qualitative data from project research conducted by commissioned agencies and/or in-house.

• To contribute to the design of exploratory and strategic research as well as production orientated research (pilot, concept and pre-testing) to ensure the quality of all outputs. 

• To oversee the commissioning of qualitative and quantitative studies, including negotiations on technical matters, such as recruitment, sampling, and analysis.

• Ensure all research activities are conducted in accordance with BBC Media Action’s Assuring Integrity in Measurement (AIM) quality control and ethical standards and in line with GDPR legislation.

Project Management

• To manage the research budget in collaboration with Project Managers and SPM as appropriate.

• To ensure close collaboration, quality support and supervision of the project partners where relevant particularly those supporting research and monitoring. 

• To engage proactively and collaboratively with non-research staff to support the development and use of research in the production of BBC Media Action and partners creative outputs, and communication with donors. 

• To support development of new business by writing research contributions to project and programme proposals.

Capturing and sharing learning

• To write research reports and prepare presentations that inform the production process and monitor and evaluate project effectiveness, for internal and external audiences.

• To regularly present research findings to project management and production teams and to assist in external research and project presentations to partners and donors where required.

• To document methods and practices in qualitative and quantitative research currently employed by Media Action’s research projects to support the identification of lessons learned and best practice for organisation-wide learning.

• To identify, develop, pilot and document new approaches and methodologies for project research (e.g. ethnographic research, brand mapping/research, content analysis).

Safeguarding

• Complying at all times with BBC Media Action’s Code of Conduct and Safeguarding Policy and ensuring that all direct reports, freelancers and external suppliers are aware of their responsibilities under these policies. Reporting any related concerns as soon as they become apparent.   
• Ensuring that all recruitment is conducted according to BBC Media Action policies with a strong focus on safeguarding considerations across the entire recruitment cycle, including an assessment of the safeguarding risks associated with the role which is reflected in the assessment and interview process as appropriate, rigorous checks of professional references and enquiries made with relevant authorities. 

Relevant competencies

• Planning and Organisation – Is able to think ahead in order to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action for self and others. Prioritises and plans activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, staffing and resources requirements. 

• Communication – The ability to get one’s message understood clearly by adopting a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information.

• Influencing and Persuading – Ability to present sound and well-reasoned arguments to convince others. Can draw from a range of strategies to persuade people in a way that results in agreement or behaviour change. 

• Managing Relationships and Teamworking. Is able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people.  Works co-operatively with others to be part of a team, rather than working separately or competitively.

• Resilience – Can maintain personal effectiveness by managing own emotions in the face of pressure, set-backs or when dealing with provocative situations. Can demonstrate an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy. 

• Analytical Thinking – Able to simplify complex problems, processes or projects into component parts, and to explore and evaluate them systematically. Able to identify causal relationships, and construct frameworks, for problem-solving and/or development. 

• Decision Making – Is ready and able to take the initiative, originate action and be responsible for the consequences of the decision made. 

Location: Addis Ababa (with possible travel within Ethiopia) 
Special Requirements: thiopian national or already permitted to work in Ethiopia
Department/Business Unit: BBC Media Action 
Reports to: Senior Projects Manager, Ethiopia
Line Manages: a team of BBC Media Action research staff and freelancers
Duration:    6 months with possible extension depending on performance and budget.

Essential Knowledge, skills, and experience

• At least three years experience in a similar role in the qualitative and quantitative market or social research in a reputable development or research organization, preferably with thematic specialization in an area relevant to BBC Media Action’s work.

• Graduate/post-graduate in social sciences/international development or related fields.

• Strong qualitative and quantitative research skills including instrument design, data collection, quality assurance, data management, analysis, and reporting. 

• Strong IT skills, including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and a statistical software package (preferably SPSS). 

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and influencing skills. 

• Strong report writing and presentation skills, communicating complex technical ideas using non-technical language to a wide range of audiences from journalists, production staff and development practitioners. 

• Demonstrable understanding of cultural diversity and cross-cultural research.

• Ability to plan and conduct work with minimal supervision and good time management skills, with a track record of delivering research findings on time and to a high standard of quality.

• Strong written and spoken English, and knowledge of local languages an asset.

• Willingness and ability to travel within Ethiopia when required.

Desirable knowledge, skills, and experience

• Familiarity with media communications research approaches and methodologies (advertising and/or brands and/or marketing). 

• Experience of and/or interest in research on international and development issues.

• Experience of working with media professionals in production-oriented teams.

• Prior experience of working on capacity building, media and/or governance projects. 

How To Apply

Interested applicants who meet the above requirements should ONLY send cover letter and CV with three names of reference to info@et.bbcmediaaction.org  before OR July 10, 2024.

 Note: 

• Copies of transcripts, academic degrees or recommendation letters should not be included with your application. You will provide the documents upon request.

• Only applicants meeting the minimum qualification will be short listed and contacted.

• This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of responsibilities and duties.

BBC Media Action is an equal opportunity employer.