Research Engagement Officer: Real Choices, Real Lives at Plan International

The Opportunity 

In this role as the Research Engagement Officer, you will reporting to the Research Manager of Plan International's Real Choices, Real Lives project. The project, which has tracked a cohort of girls from nine countries since 2006, aims to provide deep qualitative insights into the experiences of girls growing up in diverse contexts over 18 years. With the final data collection completed in 2024, the focus now is on analyzing this comprehensive dataset to understand the evolving realities of girls' lives and embedding these findings into Plan International's broader efforts to combat gender inequality. This is a pivotal time to contribute to this unique and impactful research initiative.

About you 

• Masters level qualification or equivalent experience in research methods, development studies, international studies, or a related subject. 
• Strong knowledge of undertaking qualitative research analysis, ideally using evidence from across multi-country contexts, to produce targeted outputs.   
• Technical knowledge of gender issues and girls’ rights. 
• Knowledge and experience of coordinating qualitative research activities, including the design of questions/tools to explore specific themes and development/delivery of training.   
• Strong analytical abilities, including the use of qualitative research software to identify/extract themes etc.   
• Ability to develop research training materials and guidance that is simple and practical for programme implementors/staff to understand and use, including on research delivery/uptake.   
• Ability to organise large amounts of qualitative data to generate powerful reports and information.   
• Experience developing different research output products for different audiences to support evidence dissemination and uptake.  
• Excellent written communication skills, with experience writing for different audiences and for different outputs (e.g. reports, blogs, briefs etc.). Ability to communicate complex technical concepts and terminology in simple language to non-experts. 
• Strong understanding of, and commitment to, principles of feminist ethics of research and safeguarding principles, ideally with demonstrable experience of applying this to research processes. 
• Experience in providing project management support, including developing workplans, creating activity budgets and tracking spend against budgets, creating terms of reference for consultants and service providers, and contributing to risk management processes. 
• Strong collaboration skills, able to build cooperation and negotiate compromises. Proactive approach to co-creation, working with diverse staff across the organisation  
• Organised and efficient, with a strong attention to detail.   
• Ability to work independently, prioritise workload effectively, and proactively escalate issues as required. 
• Promotes innovation and learning.  
• Fluent in English with strong verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills.