Research Associate, Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health

Entity: Aga Khan University

Location: Qambar Shahdadkot

Introduction:
The Aga Khan University is a private, international university committed to international standards of excellence in teaching, research and service. Its teaching hospital, the Aga Khan University Hospital has been accredited by the prestigious Joint Commission International for achieving the highest international healthcare standards.

As an equal opportunity employer, AKU believes in promoting a diverse and inclusive culture and is committed to adopt appropriate standards for safeguarding and promoting a respectful relationship with and between diverse workforce of its faculty, staff, trainees, volunteers, beneficiaries, wider communities, and other stakeholders with whom it works, including children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees/trainees and partners to share this commitment.

This a grant funded contractual position.

Responsibilities
You will be responsible to support the Research Specialist (RS) CoE to facilitate the effective implementation, conduct and evaluation of CoE programs and ensures that programs are adhering to ethical, medical and humanitarian principles. You will be responsible for:

• support implementation of the project activities at community and health-facility levels according to approved work plans, protocols, SOPs and guidelines;
• conduct assigned quantitative and qualitative data collection using approved tools, including CRFs and/or questionnaires, where applicable, and ensure accurate and complete recording of information;
• adhere to approved research protocols, SOPs, ethical requirements and applicable Good Clinical Practice (GCP) requirements, where relevant to assigned research activities;
• support hospital/mortality surveillance and disease surveillance from project and non-project health facilities, as assigned, including collection, verification and timely reporting of required information;
• support planning and arrangement of community and adolescent engagement activities, including meetings, sessions, outreach and other project events, and participate in and document these activities as required;
• support community mobilization and engagement with community leaders, influencers, adolescents/youth representatives, health workers and other relevant stakeholders under the supervision of the Research Specialist/Manager;
• assist in outreach camps and other community-based service and engagement activities, including logistical coordination, participant/community mobilization and documentation;
• conduct field visits and provide routine updates on implementation progress, challenges and emerging issues;
• ensure completeness, accuracy and timely submission of collected data, surveillance information and field documentation;
• support routine data-quality checks, verification and correction of identified discrepancies in coordination with the Research Specialist and data/M&E team;
• maintain organized records of questionnaires/tools, CRFs, attendance sheets, activity reports, surveillance records and other project documentation, as applicable;
• support monitoring of project indicators and collection of evidence required for routine project reporting;
• prepare daily/weekly field updates and contribute to monthly project reports as required;
• support logistics and coordination for project meetings, trainings, community and adolescent engagement sessions, outreach camps and other field activities;
• report field-level implementation challenges, data-quality concerns, ethical or safeguarding issues and other significant issues promptly to the Research Specialist or Manager;
• participate in training, orientation, review meetings and capacity-building activities related to the project;
• undertake any other research, monitoring or project-related responsibilities assigned by the supervisor within the scope of the position.

Requirements:

You should have:

• Bachelor's degree in Public Health, Social Sciences, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Development Studies, Nursing, Allied Health Sciences, or another relevant discipline;
• master's degree in a relevant field will be an advantage;
• preferably 2–3 years of relevant experience in community-based research, public health programmes, data collection, monitoring or field implementation;
• fresh graduates with strong field research and communication skills may also be considered, where appropriate;
• basic knowledge of surveys, research methods and community-based data collection;
• basic understanding of monitoring and evaluation and data-quality procedures;
• good communication and interpersonal skills;
• ability to interact respectfully with communities, adolescents, health workers and stakeholders;
• good organizational, documentation and reporting skills;
• basic computer skills, particularly MS Word and Excel;
• ability to accurately collect, record and maintain research and programme data;
• basic understanding of research ethics, confidentiality and adherence to approved protocols/SOPs;
• ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team;
• willingness to work in field settings and travel within the assigned district;
• knowledge of local language(s) will be an advantage.

Comprehensive employment reference checks will be conducted.

Primary Location

Pakistan

Organisation

Aga Khan Hospital & Medical College

Employee Status

Contractual

Job Type

Standard

Job Posting

21/09/2026, 11:01:18 AM

Closing Date

27/09/2026, 6:59:00 PM