Job Title: Research Manager (Steer the work of CfA’s Investigative Researchers and Analysts)
Location: Nigeria
Summary
- We have an immediate vacancy for a full-time Research Manager to join our CivicSignal team.
- The position is based at one of our regional hubs in Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal or South Africa. We’re also open to exceptional applicants from elsewhere in Africa.
- The successful candidate will join CfA’s transnational CivicSignal research team, which drives analysis of the continent’s media ecosystem and emerging civic technology sector. You will be part of a multinational and multilingual team that uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine intelligence tools and digital surveys/analysis to create research reports and datasets for a global audience and international institutional partners.
- Candidates must have demonstrable experience in managing research teams, in planning and coordinating the execution of data-driven digital research projects, and transforming the research insights into publishable formats.
- The ideal applicant is fluent in English. Additional proficiency in international languages such as French and/or Arabic would be an advantage.
About the Role
- The successful candidates will join CfA’s CivicSignal Research team, managing, conducting and publishing research projects focussed on African media ecosystems.
- Previous research partners included the Global Disinformation Index Media Market Analysis for South Africa and Kenya, as well as several Reuters Institute Digital News Reports.
- Fundamentally, CivicSignal addresses issues and topics that impact democracies and civil society, seeking to provide the data and analysis necessary for government and citizens to make informed decisions.
- The projects range across a broad spectrum, including internal and external mis/disinformation, media sustainability, monitoring of hate speech and xenophobia, and general media ecosystem mapping.
- As part of a multinational team within a growing organisation, you must be agile and able to thrive in a multicultural environment.
- You will need to work easily with people from different backgrounds who may speak different languages.
Responsibilities
Your daily responsibilities will include:
- Setting the research agenda, overseeing research projects, and coordinating and managing the research team
- Standardising research methodologies/taxonomies/schema, research approaches and documentation according to international benchmarks.
- Ensuring research outcomes are aligned with organisational goals and lead to meaningful outcomes.
- Designing, and reporting on, research projects for external and internal partners.
- Collaborating with the CfA tech and data teams to ensure that CivicSignal is in sync with larger organisational goals.
- Work proactively and think critically to help improve data and research capabilities in CfA’s research department.
- Liaise with the Senior Programme Manager for our Engagement and CivicSignal teams, to coordinate report launches and related events.
Required
Minimum requirements include:
- Evidence of managing a substantive research project, or research team.
- Experience in building design approaches and methodologies for research teams, and a familiarity with taxonomies and schema that inform research projects.
- Strong analytical and logical skills, with a demonstrable track record translating data into actionable insights.
- An understanding of media ecosystems and economies and/or digital advocacy and/or digital civic engagement.
- Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write for publication, present research insights and shape research proposals.
- Meticulous eye for detail to ensure data integrity and analytical precision.
- The ability to collaborate with a diverse set of multidisciplinary project stakeholders.
- Experience in working with remote, distributed teams with agile methodologies.
- Previous experience of contributing to reports and research publications
- Proactive, solutions-oriented approach to problem solving
- Ability to work under tight deadlines with good prioritisation and time management skills
- Ability to work with minimal instruction in a teamwork environment
- Strong organisational, analytical and interpersonal skills
- High professional standards and ethics.
Preferred:
Candidates who are able to demonstrate the following will have an advantage:
- Competence in open source intelligence (OSINT) research techniques, including data scraping, data mining and other intelligence gathering techniques.
- Competence in computational linguistics, natural language processing (NLP), and specifically the methodologies and tools offered by the MediaCloud.org platform.
- Multiple languages, such as French, Arabic and other languages spoken in Africa.
Language and Location Requirements:
- Location: Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal or South Africa. Exceptional candidates from elsewhere in Africa will be considered.
- International Languages: English
- Preferred but not required: Arabic, French, KiSwahili or any other major language spoken in Africa.
What We Offer
- A competitive salary, subject to experience, with opportunities for performance-based growth, both in terms of career path and public stature.
- A dynamic workplace, with a transnational team, occasional international travel, and generous vacation benefits.
- Ongoing opportunities to learn new cutting-edge skills and techniques / technologies to future-proof yourself in a rapidly evolving industry.
- A chance to shine on a global stage, writing for international audiences and interacting with colleagues around the world.
Apply Now
Deadline: February 10, 2023
Job Features
Job Category | Research / Survey |