Social Researcher

Social Researcher   

Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, is currently looking for a qualified and motivated qualified and motivated Social Researcher.

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency with a mandate to promote and protect durable solutions to conflict and displacement affected populations based on humanitarian principles and human rights. DRC is implementing a multi-sector response to support Ukraine refugees, IDPs, and host populations both within Ukraine and the neighboring countries of Poland, Romania and Moldova, and wider Europe.

Due to the ongoing conflict that began in February 2022, DRC opened offices in Poland, Moldova, and Romania to provide support to the displaced population in partnership with civil society organizations and national NGOs, duty bearers, and other actors. DRC continues to implement in these three countries through partnerships, technical assistance and capacity exchange, and direct implementation in some cases.

Overall purpose of the role:

The primary objective of the Social Researcher’s role within the Terms of Reference (ToR) designed by Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is to provide a mentorship guidance for Key Informants Interviews and Focus Group Discussions to be organized in the period of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) Survey (supported by UNICEF and in realization of DRC). The Social Researcher will help determine the sampling strategy and sample size to ensure the data collected is representative. At the level of technical expertise, the Social Researcher will guide and oversee the work of DRC KAP interviewers (data collectors) during the preparation and realisation of survey practices, as per plan provided by DRC prior to consultancy. Social Researcher will analyse data and prepare KAP Study Report based on the outcomes of KII and FGD. Social Researcher will be working closely with Information Management Officer and DRC WASH Teams comprising Community Engagement and Hygiene Promotion Officers, as well as WASH Environmental Engineers who are in direct communication with interviewees (schoolchildren, teaching and administrative staff) in schools in Moldova.

Scope of Action:

The KAP Survey (supported by UNICEF) in schools covers WASH, including Menstrual Health and Hygiene, its management, operation/maintenance of infrastructures and provides recommendations on how the WASH interventions improve the quality of education, as well as recommend for the sustainability of WASH services. The KAP survey will be conducted in 125 schools in Moldova. Data gathering (qualitative) and analysis will be realised through key informant interviews (KII) and focus groups discussions (FGD) with a sample size of 355 schoolchildren, teaching and administrative staff in Moldovan schools.

Responsibilities:

• Understand the needs of the KAP survey, i.e. the research questions it needs to respond to;
• Design an appropriate methodology to deliver the survey;
• Apply a range of research techniques to gather relevant information, including desk review, focus groups and key informant interviews;
• Contribute to the tools development in relevance to methodology and design the survey questionnaires to investigate the attitudes, behaviour and experiences of individuals on specific issues;
• Train, liaise with and orient the data collectors (community engagement and hygiene promotion field interviewers) to gather information from key informants and focus group participants;
• Assist in making an adequate selection sample of interviewees and coordinate the DRC staff in FGDs and KIIs’ roll out , enabling quality data collection and subsequent analysis;
• Contribute to running the pre-testing of questionnaires to data collection in a number of pilot interviews;
• Addressing shortcomings identified in the pilot research and adjust the tools accordingly;.  
• Contribute to direct gathering of information by coordinating actions of data collectors and making field spot-checks of qualitative fieldwork, in close collaboration with DRC Project Manager (WASH);
• Analyze and evaluate research and interpret data using a range of analysis packages;
• Prepare, present and disseminate results in the form of the draft report and presentation;
• Review the draft report to incorporate the inputs of the donor community, national & local counterparts and/or DRC as requestors;
• Deliver KAP Final Report  - a comprehensive document providing insights into Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices. This report will offer a thorough analysis, as well as present a broad spectrum of recommendations to enhance hygiene practices around WASH services in 125 schools in Moldova;
• Offer research-based briefing and advice, as per finalized KAP survey Report;
• Be available for consultations with the project management, donor community and national & local counterparts during the exercise roll out.

Qualifications and experiences required 

• University degree in behavioral science, economics, education, statistics, social policy or related social sciences.
• Demonstrated experience at national or international levels in design and implementation of research;
• Demonstrated experience in qualitative and/or quantitative research and evaluation designs and methods, including experimental methods;
• Experience in conducting Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) survey and designing KAP survey reports and related activities;
• Experience in using common online / offline data collection packages (e.g. ODK, Kobo, Surveymonkey, etc.) an asset;
• Data and analytical skills and extensive knowledge of common statistics software packages(SPSS, Stata);
• Experience in managing data collection and related trainings;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and excellent attention to details;
• Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work well as part of a geographically dispersed team;
• Ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment;
• Commitment to UNICEF’s core values of care, respect, integrity, transparency and accountability;
• Experience working in the UN and/or INGO, LCSO an asset;
• Computer literacy (Microsoft Office).
• Education:University degree in behavioral science, economics, education, statistics, social policy or related social sciences.
• Languages:
• Fluency in English required;
• Fluency in Romanian required;
• Familiarity with Ukrainian
• Familiarity with Russian.

We offer: 

Contract length: 3 months (~15 January – ~ 15 April 2024)

Duty base: Chisinau

Start date: 15.01.2024

Application Process:

All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV in English. Applications sent by email will not be considered.

Closing date for applications: January 09th, 2024.

DRC as an employer

By working in DRC, you will be joining a global workforce of around 8000 employees in 40 countries. We pride ourselves on our:

• Professionalism, impact & expertise
• Humanitarian approach & the work we do
• Purpose, meaningfulness & own contribution
• Culture, values & strong leadership
• Fair compensation & continuous development

DRC’s capacity to ensure the protection of and assistance to refugees, IDP’s and other persons of concern depends on the ability of our staff to uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation DRC’s values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. DRC conducts thorough and comprehensive background checks as part of the recruitment process.

If you have questions or are facing problems with the online application process, please visit drc.ngo/about-us/job-and-career/support-for-job-seekers.


Danish Refugee Council is an equal opportunity employer and we consider all applicants regardless of race, age, ability, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or marital status. We have a strong ambition to further enhance the diversity of our workforce and our goal is to achieve 50% gender balance and at least 50% representation of national staff in management roles. We acknowledge the importance of fostering a diverse and inclusive team to successfully achieve our organizational goals and positively impact the communities we serve.