Research Coordinator - BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD)

Paula Lopez-Pena (Queen’s University), Nina Buchmann (Stanford University), Sakib Mahmood (BRAC Institute of Governance and Development - BRAC University), and Atonu Rabbani (Dhaka University) are seeking to appoint a Research Coordinator that will be based at the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Project background

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is often used as an instrument by men to gain or maintain control over women’s behavior and household resources. The problem is pervasive in developing countries; and yet, theory and evidence on how to reduce victimization rates remain limited. This project aims to address this knowledge gap by evaluating the impact on IPV rates of a media campaign designed to challenge gender norms that directly affect men’s self- and social-image concerns in Bangladesh. Using a clustered-randomized control trial, we expose 8,800 men to one of three versions of a soap opera:“Shifting norms.” This campaign showcases respected male characters who resolve spousal conflict without resorting to violence. We focus on situations where wives violate behavioral prescriptions for women. IPV is often used to uphold men's reputation in response to affronts and gender norm violations (Perrin et al. 2019). Concurrently, men may internalize harmful masculinity ideals, basing their self-image on dominance over women. To disentangle these motives, we examine whether the campaign's impact differs when viewed privately on a small electronic device or publicly in a community setting. “Building skills.”

This campaign displays positive role models using practical techniques drawn from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for managing daily stressors, anger, and respectful communication with their spouses. These skills are known to improve mental health (Butler et al. 2006; Hoffman et al. 2013). "Placebo". This campaign contains non-IPV-related messages. We will assess the impact of our campaigns on IPV perpetration and mental health. The evaluation will occur one month after the intervention (in-person endline data collection) and again at six to twelve months post-intervention (phone follow-up survey).

Job Responsibilities:

• Planning and managing day-to-day research activities. This includes training, and supervising both field-based and data operations teams, and monitoring data collection quality.
• Designing survey questionnaires and programming them on Survey CTO
• Designing data collection and research management protocols and ensuring that all team members adhere to them.
• Supervising data collection and data-entry processes, and ensuring good quality of the data at both stages; Assisting in data cleaning and preliminary analysis and ensuring ready access to all data for researchers.
• Providing timely updates and responses to PI’s and any partner organizations and participating in meetings with key stakeholders.
• Maintaining accurate records of interviews, safeguarding the confidentiality of subjects, as necessary.
• Preparing progress and results reports to PIs, research partners, and funding agencies, and sharing them timely Monitoring project expenditures and timeline, and preparing financial reports for donors.

Qualification

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, public policy, or other quantitative social science disciplines (Master’s degree preferred);
• Quantitative Skills: Strong technical understanding of economics and econometrics required.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Stata and experience with data management, data cleaning, and regression analysis.

Experience

• A minimum of 1-year of work experience is required.
• Experience managing field staff in developing countries strongly preferred
• Excellent management and organizational skills; ability to successfully complete assigned tasks and meeting deadlines required.
• Experience using Otree and Survey CTO preferred.
• Attention to detail and advanced writing and presentation skills are required.

Language

Excellent verbal and written communication in English required, Bangla helpful but not required.

Commitment and Location

The commitment period for this position is one year. The candidate will be primarily based in Dhaka, with travel to other parts of Bangladesh to oversee fieldwork.