About DMI

Development Media International (DMI) delivers media campaigns aimed at changing behaviours, promoting health and saving lives in developing countries. We are the first organisation to scientifically demonstrate that mass media can increase life-saving behaviours (see the results of our RCT that proved our interventions can save thousands of children’s lives, here).

DMI has two priorities: first, to continue to generate ground-breaking research, second, to take our proven strategies to scale, saving as many lives as possible. We work across a range of health issues, including child survival, reproductive health, nutrition, hygiene, and early childhood development. DMI works in close partnership with leading experts in health, including WHO, UNICEF and LSHTM and has been funded by some of the world’s most prestigious organisations including the Wellcome Trust, DFID, Comic Relief, the Global Innovation Fund, Unorthodox Philanthropy, and the Mulago Foundation.

We are an innovative and rapidly growing organisation, working at the nexus between science and creativity. DMI has demonstrated that knowledge is not only a human right but is also the key to saving lives in a cost-effective way. Our intellectual rigour, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn from both our successes and mistakes, makes us distinct. Our ethos is non-hierarchical: all our staff are intellectually high-powered, and we have a “best idea wins” culture. By working at DMI you will have a genuine, measurable impact on improving lives in low-income countries.

DMI has a permanent presence in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania and also currently works in Mauritania, Uganda, and Zambia. DMI’s headquarters overlooks the Regents Canal near Kings Cross in London and provides the strategic direction for the whole organisation.

DMI is ranked as one of the most cost-effective non-profit organisations in the world by The Life You Can Save.

Job description

DMI is looking to recruit a Research Manager to join the expanding Uganda Office. The Research Manager will play a critical role within the team, overseeing DMI’s research activities in Uganda and ensuring that our campaign materials are closely informed by the knowledge, attitudes, practices and behaviours of the communities they are targeting.

More specifically, the Research Manager role will include the following responsibilities:

1.    Planning, organising and executing all research activities at national level, including logistics, relating to DMI Uganda projects working closely with the Country Manager, Senior Campaign Manager and UHQ-based technical team.

2.    Conducting qualitative research, usually via Focus Group Discussion (FGD), Key Informant Interview or In depth Interview, on knowledge, attitudes, practices and behaviours to inform social and behaviour change communications (SBCC) campaigns on various public health topics.

3.    Where necessary, contributing to quantitative research activities relevant to DMI’s work/projects – this may take the form of working with external contractors or conducting research directly. Ideally, the successful candidate will be familiar with standard data collection, data quality, and data management processes for surveys.

4.    Working closely with DMI's HQ-based technical staff to help them understand the local context and ensure that all campaign materials accurately represent local culture and address key barriers to behaviour change.

5.    Conducting pre-testing of DMI's SBCC campaign materials via FGDs, working closely with government officials and project stakeholders, and ensure rich feedback and insights are integrated into the subsequent revision of materials, working closely with the technical teams at DMI HQ and the Production Technician.

6.    Establishing strong working relationships with relevant government authorities, including Health Promotion personnel at national, Provincial and District levels, to facilitate project delivery.

7.    Preparing research reports in English to inform project design and delivery, including concisely synthesizing data, conducting evidence-based literature reviews, and consolidating qualitative research fieldnotes into summary documents.

8.    Other tasks as required by DMI

Person specification

Required knowledge, skills and experience

1.    Strong intellectual ability as evidenced by tertiary academic qualification in a related field and minimum five years professional experience in a similar role in public health, social sciences or a related discipline.

2.    Experience conducting qualitative research (Focus Group Discussions, Key Informant Interviews, In Depth Interviews) in Uganda and preparing detailed reports of findings and experience working on or managing quantitative surveys, including data collection, management and quality checks.

3.    Proficient in Excel or alternative data management solutions, and the ability to present qualitative and quantitative research data in an accurate and compelling way. This will require familiarity with basic statistics.

4.    Experience working within the health sector in Uganda in a similar role, liaising with government representatives in day-to-day work.

5.    Ability to conduct literature reviews and write summaries of key findings.

6.    Excellent professional proficiency in English (written and spoken), proficient in at least two other Ugandan languages.

7.    Self-motivated with good time-management skills, an ability to plan, manage and prioritise a varied workload, with an eye for detail and a concern for accuracy, together with the ability to keep sight of the strategic picture.

8.    Willing and able to travel up to 50% of the time within Uganda.

Desirable knowledge, skills and experience

1.    Previous experience working on SBCC projects, or on reproductive, maternal or child health projects.

2.    Experience of conducting quantitative research including study design, data collection, piloting survey instruments, managing and training research assistants, analysis and report writing.

3.    Practical experience with, and good working knowledge of, statistical analysis software programmes, such as Stata, SPSS, R, or SAS, and strong general IT skills including questionnaire design, database development, and working with complex spreadsheets.

4.    Proficiency in several of Ugandan local languages.

DMI is committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

DMI operates a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and is committed to the protection and safeguarding of vulnerable individuals. Where appropriate, successful candidates will undergo background and reference checks. All DMI employees will be required to self-declare prior issues of sexual or other misconduct, termination of past employment, criminal records, and concerns registered with government authorities regarding contact with children.