International Republican Institute
Job Description
Position Title –Research Associate Ukraine
Job Summary
The International Republican Institute (IRI) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing democracy worldwide. Every employee of IRI is responsible for carrying out the Mission of IRI and demonstrating the Core Values in their day-to-day operations. The Core Values, which are IRI’s foundational building blocks include:
Excellence– We believe in quality results delivered by investing in people. Freedom– We believe in exploration and experimentation to be agile and responsive. Respect- We believe in trust, empathy, and empowering people. Teamwork- We believe in diversity, inclusion, and the power of global collaboration. Transparency– We believe in open communication and clear decision-making. Accountability- We believe in personal responsibility as the foundation of success.
The Research Associate is an entry- to mid-level position in IRI’s Kyiv office and provides research support for current and developing public opinion research studies in Ukraine and potentially in other countries in Eurasia.
Position Requirements
- Undergraduate degree in statistics, political science, international relations or related field.
- 1-3 years of experience in public opinion research or related field
- Intermediate or higher understanding of statistics (at least one course) required, and of research methodology (at least once course) preferred.
- Experience with Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint required.
- At least 100 hours experience working with SPSS or similar statistical software required.
- Excellent writing, research and communication skills.
- Attention to detail.
- English and Ukrainian language skills.
Primary Functions & Responsibilities
This role supports the IRI Kyivoffice with assorted research tasks such as sampling design, instrument design, data quality control and analysis on a variety of quantitative and qualitative research studies in Ukraine (and potentially in other countries in the Eurasia region), ranging from large nationally representative polls to small focus group discussions. The Research Associate will execute these tasks based on standards set by IRI’s Center for Insights in Survey Research CISR. Explicit guidance will be provided for each task, and the Research Associate is expected to perform assigned tasks largely error-free and in a timely and efficient manner after receiving initial training.
- The major responsibility of this position is to review SPSS datasets of survey data for quality control purposes. Such checks will include, but are not limited to, a review of the weighting scheme and census data, various internal cohesion checks to identify potential contradictions and/or deviations from fieldwork protocols, problematic patterns linked to specific interview languages/interviewers/regions etc., data structure review for potential indications that a question was not administered correctly such as a base being smaller or larger than expected, comparison of the data against previous IRI polls and/or third-party data, comparing actual sampling points to the sampling plan, a review of all aggregates and a selection of disaggregates flagging any unexpected findings, etc.
- Another major responsibility is to compare the raw data against figures cited in presentations and/or reports and/or dashboards and/or to produce custom crosstabulations or data comparison exported to excel.
- Another major responsibility is questionnaire design, i.e. drafting questionnaires based on stakeholder discussions and rendering research objectives into questionnaires compliant with best practices for questionnaire design.
- Less frequently assigned responsibilities include:
- Preparation of codebooks.
- Produce data graphs and charts for PowerPoint presentations.
- Review and coding of qualitative transcripts.
- Produce research memos on various topics.
- Assist in briefings of research findings for a variety of stakeholders.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Reports to: Ukraine Resident Country Director
An employee will perform other reasonably-related job responsibilities as assigned by management when required. IRI reserves the right to revise or change job functions as the need arises.
Application Procedure
If you wish to apply for this position, please send your resume and application letter in English, with “Application for Research Associate” in the subject line to [email protected] no later than January 20, 2021.
