Research Assistants for Qualitative Research

Call for consultancy: RESEARCH ASSISTANTS FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH                     

Background

Family Health International (FHI 360) is a nonprofit international development organization dedicated to improving lives through integrated and locally driven solutions. FHI 360 works in health, education, nutrition, environment, economic development, civil society, gender, youth, research, technology, communication, and social marketing etc. Headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, FHI 360 serves more than 60 countries and all U.S. states and territories. FHI 360’s work is grounded in research and by advancing science, strengthened by partnerships and focused on building the capacity of individuals, communities and countries to succeed.

Since December 2020, FHI 360 office in Vietnam has been in partnership with National TB Programme of Vietnam National Lung Hospital under the Support to End TB activity, funded by USAID. This project aims to support the Government of Vietnam to end TB by 2030, by supporting strategic and innovative new approaches for case detection, improved treatment outcomes, and prevention.

As part of the effort above, FHI 360 is seeking 02 temporary research assistants to provide fieldwork consultant services for a qualitative study on Gender and Social Inclusion relating to TB. Main objectives of the study are to identify barriers and to understand how challenges related to gender and stigma manifest for patients during DS-TB diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The study will collect data from around 200 informants across 4 selected provinces (one northern, one central, and two southern provinces).

Key duties and responsibility

The research assistants will support the project to collect data from approximately 100 in-depth interviews/focus group discussions in 4 selected provinces. The key duties for each research assistant hired for a consultancy may include but is not limited to the following:

• Participate in a preparatory training to be conducted by FHI 360
• Complete preparatory and follow-up task after the fieldwork
• Recruit participants via phone calls from the potential list provided by FHI 360, in accordance with protocol and training provided by FHI 360
• Invite interested individuals to the study
• Obtain consent from informants/participants during interviews and focus group discussions
• Maintain consent forms with signatures from participants (ensuring they are secure) and submit forms to the FHI 360 office in Hanoi following fieldwork
• Maintain devices provided by FHI 360 (e.g. voice recorders) and return to the Hanoi office upon completion of the fieldwork
• Take notes and support the facilitation of focus group discussions
• Take responsibility to ensure the interviews/focus group discussions are recorded at high-level of timeliness, quality and security
• Translate documents from English to Vietnamese and vice versa
• Support quality assurance for transcripts and translated documents (Vietnamese and English) by reviewing selected transcripts and/or translations for accuracy and completeness
• Other assistance as needed

Period of contract: 2.5 months, from August 10^th  to October 31^st , 2021

Location of work

Hanoi (50%), and 4 study provinces (50%)

Travel

The research assistants are required to travel to 4 provinces for the fieldwork. FHI 360 will manage logistics and payment for required travel in accordance with company travel policies.

Qualifications

• Vietnamese citizen
• Bachelor’s degree in public health or social science
• Experience in epidemiologic and social research
• Computer proficiency in word processing
• Good communication skills, able to work well with government and communities
• Computer proficiency in word processing, databases, and spreadsheets
• Well-developed written and oral communication skills in both Vietnamese and English is an asset
• Able to travel frequently

Evaluation Criteria

Applicants will be evaluated based on their experience (50 points) and qualifications (50 points) as detailed above.

Required Documentation

Proposals must include the following components:

• Applicant’s CV
• 2 references, including contact information
• Letter of interest
• Proposed daily rate
• FHI 360 Biodata form [1]

FHI 360 Disclaimers

• FHI 360 may perform a background check on any selected candidates.
• FHI 360 may cancel the solicitation and not award
• FHI 360 may reject any or all responses received
• Issuance of the solicitation does not constitute an award commitment by FHI 360
• FHI 360 reserves the right to disqualify any offer based on failure of the offeror to follow solicitation instructions
• FHI 360 will not compensate any offeror for responding to solicitation
• FHI 360 reserves the right to issue award based on initial evaluation of offers without further discussion
• FHI 360 may choose to award only part of the activities in the solicitation, or issue multiple awards based on the solicitation activities
• FHI 360 reserves the right to waive minor proposal deficiencies that can be corrected prior to award determination to promote competition
• FHI 360’s supplier terms and conditions can be found here [2] while our consultant terms and conditions can be found here [3]  

Application

Application to this call should be submitted by email to [email protected] [4] with a copy to [email protected] [5] and [email protected] [6] no later than 5:00 pm Hanoi, July 29^th 2021 with subject line “[SET_Application for Research Assistants].”