Position: Research Assistants (Short-term).

Project: Multiple micronutrient supplementation with digital layering among adolescents in Tanzania.

Position Reports To: Project Coordinator.

Location: Ilala Municipality, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania.

Employment Term: One month between March and April 2026.

Level of Effort (LOE) per week: 100%

 

Background

Africa Academy for Public Health (AAPH) is a Tanzanian non-profit, non-governmental research organization established in 2009 with a focus in advancing public health priorities of sub-Saharan Africa through collaborative research, training, capacity building and knowledge translation. AAPH also works in close collaboration with different partners to support the government of Tanzania in advancing efforts around some of key health and nutrition agenda, especially of children and women.  In collaboration with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) and the ARISE Network partners, AAPH is planning to implement the project titled “Multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) with digital layering among adolescents in Tanzania”. Among others, the project aims to co-design and prototype two digital nutrition intervention strategies for adolescents aged 15-19 years and evaluate the impact of layering these two digital intervention strategies onto supplementation with MMS on the risk of anemia (primary outcome) among adolescents aged 15-19 years. For this, AAPH is hiring temporary study research assistants for the baseline data collection as described herein.

Job summary

Reporting to the Project Coordinator, the Research Assistants will work with the Principal Investigators and the project team as key enumerator in ensuring that the baseline data are collected as per the study protocol. The Research Assistants will serve as a primary point of contact interviewing up to 1200 adolescents aged 15-19 years in Dar es Salaam region.

Position Responsibilities

  • Complete the required training before conducting any fieldwork.
  • Master and demonstrate effective interviewing skills using the Open Data Kit (ODK) platform.
  • Conduct and document informed consent (for adolescents and adults aged 18 years or older) and assent for minors (aged 15-17 years) to eligible study subjects, as described in the study protocol and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure voluntary participation.
  • Interview study respondents in Kiswahili, following the wording and order of questions in the quantitative survey.
  • Follow the study SOPs, i.e., understand and implement the methods detailed in the protocol.
  • Adhere to the applicable ethical standards and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) for research involving human subjects, that include maintaining participant privacy and confidentiality and ensuring voluntary participation of all study subjects.
  • Ensure completeness, accuracy, and quality of collected data and take corrective measures where needed
  • Carefully handle all survey instruments and protect project equipment from damage.
  • Act responsibly, treat participants and community with respect and demonstrate integrity and work ethics.
  • Ensure timely submission (upload) of data in the ODK servers daily.
  • Perform other miscellaneous study-related duties as shall be assigned by the supervisor(s) and project investigators.

Qualifications

  • The ideal candidate should have a diploma or bachelor’s degree in medicine, nursing, clinical medicine, sociology, pharmacy or any other health-related field. A health-related Master degree or higher will be an added advantage.
  • Demonstrated experience with health-research and field data collection, such as studies related to nutrition, mental health, and sexual and reproductive health, use of digital technologies, or clinical trials among young people.
  • Familiar with the usage of electronic devices, such as tablets or smart phone for quantitative data collection, such as ODK, KoboToolbox, Survey Solutions, and RedCap.
  • Reading, written, and verbal fluency in Kiswahili and English.
  • Demonstrate the ability to work independently and in a team.
  • Demonstrate adequate oral and written communication skills.
  • Must be available for the entire training period and anticipated periods of data collection.
  • Only applicants with the Responsible Conduct of Research and Human Subjects Protection Training or GCP certificate obtained within the past three years will be considered.

How to Apply

Interested candidates for the above position; should submit an application letter with the following subject “Application for Research Assistant: Digital Layering Project, Dar es Salaam”, Academic Certificates, Curriculum Vitae (CV), a valid Responsible Conduct of Research and Human Subjects Protection Training/GCP certificate and Contact Information (email addresses and telephone numbers) of three professional references. Applications should be submitted electronically to the Senior Human Resource and Administration Officer at Africa Academy for Public Health (AAPH) by Friday the 9th March 2026 through LINK.

Applicants will be selected on a rolling basis. Kindly note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Deadline: 
March 09, 2026