Research Specialist

MSI Reproductive Choices is one of the world’s leading providers of sexual and reproductive healthcare. We believe that everyone should have the right to choose. From contraception to safe abortion and life-saving post-abortion care, we are committed to delivering compassionate, affordable, high-quality services for all.
Today, our organisation has over 9,000 team members working in 37 countries across the world. Our success lies in the fact that MSI teams are locally led, entrepreneurial and results-driven, and are passionate about delivering high quality, client-centred care in their own communities. As a social business, we focus on sustainable delivery, efficiency, and funding models that are built to last, so that the women and girls we serve today will have a choice in the future too.
We know that access to reproductive choice is life changing. For some, it can mean the ability to complete an education or start a career. For others, it means being able to look after the family they already have. For everyone, it means the freedom to decide their own future, creating a fairer, more equal world.
About the Role
The Research Specialist is responsible for quality assurance across the portfolio of research projects at MSI Reproductive Choices. They are a source of expert technical advice on the conceptualisation of research and evaluation studies across the Global Research, Monitoring and Evaluation (RME) Community of Practice, guiding and reviewing the organisational fit, scientific rigor and feasibility at all stages of the research process (design and choice of methods, implementation, analysis, dissemination, and use).
The Research Specialist supports and/or co-leads flagship research studies which contribute to innovation in the delivery of safe abortion and other sexual and reproductive health services that are of global relevance across the MSI partnership and responding MSI’s soon to be launched 2030 Research Strategy. They will be responsible for tight project management, completion within budget and timeline, and research uptake – meaning the application of findings to programmatic action within MSI and beyond.
The Research Specialist assists the Head of Research in advancing the research agenda at MSI by pinpointing gaps in the evidence base and driving resource mobilisation towards them. They offer training and mentoring to members of the global RME community of practice in research skills and research communication to non-technical audiences. Lastly, they will support with the development and maintenance of MSI global research protocols and training materials, including for client exit interviews, mystery clients and data collector training manuals and support resources.
About You
We recruit talented, dynamic people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, all united by a belief in our mission and a focus on delivering measurable results. We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and are committed to creating a fully inclusive workplace, where everyone feels able to participate and contribute meaningfully. You must be open-minded, curious, resilient, and solutions-oriented, and committed to promoting equality, and safeguarding the welfare of team members and clients alike.
To perform this role, it is essential that you have the following skills:

• Ability to independently design and conduct qualitative and quantitate research and analyse and disseminate results.
• Advanced quantitative and qualitative research design skills, including experience in sampling methods and sample size calculations.
• Advanced skill in Excel and other data analysis software (STATA, SPSS, R etc) for quantitative data analysis
• Proven ability for qualitative data analysis, with coursework in qualitative methods highly desirable.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Proven ability to manage projects and deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills in writing and presenting.
• Proven ability to communicate research findings clearly and concisely to non-researcher.

It is desirable that you have the following skills:

• Experienced in using qualitative data analysis software (e.g. nVivo) is highly desirable.
• Programme design and evaluation, with experience in formative research and/or human centred design (HCD) highly desirable.
• Training skills to orient other research managers and data collectors on research methods and implementation.

To perform this role, it is essential that you have the following experience:

• Extensive experience conducting high quality clinical, social, and operational research into health service delivery, user behaviours, or social marketing in international settings.
• Substantial background in a scientific discipline relevant to MSI’s work in sexual and reproductive health.
• In-depth understanding of a range of quantitative and qualitative research, including experimental and quasi-experimental methods and statistics. Experience of advanced quantitative analysis techniques such as Interrupted Time Series Analysis highly desirable.
• Experience in communicating analytics and research findings concisely and effectively to a wide range of audiences highly desirable.
• Experience in publishing (including in peer-reviewed journal articles).
• Experience in writing and editing documents for various audiences, including non-research ones.
• Demonstrated experience in project management.

It is desirable that you have the following experience:

• Experience with health research, reproductive health, abortion and / or family planning highly desirable.
• Experience utilizing a range of research methods (quantitative and qualitative) to evaluate programme activities.
• Experience working in developing countries for extended periods highly desirable.
• Experience within a health service delivery / operations environment highly desirable
• Experience in providing technical research assistance and training to staff, including non-researchers, highly desirable.
• Experience in evaluating communication, demand generation, and marketing initiatives desirable.
• Demonstrated experience in effectively managing substantial research budgets against tight timelines and in an international context.
• Proven experience working

Personal Attributes:
We seek exceptional individuals who are aligned to MSI’s mission and entrepreneurial mindset. You must be a strong communicator, self-motivated and solutions-seeking, committed to driving social change in an environment that measures sustainable results and impact at an individual and global level. You must be able to work effectively with and across diverse teams and be comfortable with ambiguity.
For this role, we’re looking for an individual who is:

• Pro Choice: Energy, drive, and passion for purpose and MSI Reproductive Choices’ mission, able to inspire others with the MSI mission.
• Credible scientist who can easily connect with academic community
• Gifted communicator able to convey complex concepts in plain English to a technical and non-technical audience.
• Resilient and confident leader able to operate under uncertainty and in fast-paced environments.
• Committed to producing practical findings which tangible application and recommendation for MSI operations and wider SRHR community.
• Ability to deliver high quality research outputs under budget, time, data, and political constraints.

For more information about the role, please view the job description and person specification on our website.
Location: London Support Office (hybrid working).
Full-time: 35 hours a week, Monday to Friday (UK contracted hours).
Contract type: 2-year fixed term contract.
Salary: £40,000 - £51,000 per annum for UK based candidates. Discretionary bonus + benefits.
Salary band: BG 9
Closing date: 22nd March 2024 (midnight GMT). Interviews may take place before this date for exceptional candidates.
Please see the job description
For internal employees applying from an MSI country programme, the role will be positioned within the existing salary structure of the country. Local terms and conditions of the country will apply.