Research Officers (2) “Disrupting Harm”

ECPAT International

Vacancy Notice

Position:Research Officers (2) “Disrupting Harm”

Location: Bangkok, Thailand or Home-based

Reports to: Head of Research and Policy

Duration: 18 months, full time

Starting date: As soon as possible

Organisational Context

ECPAT International is a global network of organisations working together for the elimination of the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in all its manifestations i.e. exploitation of children in prostitution, online child sexual exploitation, sale and trafficking of children for sexual purposes, sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism and some forms of child, early and forced marriage. The ECPAT Network currently consists of 109 members working as independent organisations or coalitions at national and local levels in 96 countries.

The ECPAT International Secretariat coordinates the global work of the organisation and is based in Bangkok, Thailand. The Secretariat designs and implements global and regional level programmes, and undertakes programming, campaigning, advocacy and research to facilitate a range of network initiatives.

project background

ECPAT International recently secured funding for the implementation of the project Disrupting Harm: evidence to understand online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA), a collaborative project along with Interpol and UNICEF office of Research – Innocenti (Global Kids Online) supported by the Fund to End Violence Against Children. The project will assess the scale, nature and context of this issue in 14 countries across Southern and Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia, starting in early 2019 and ending in early 2021.

The three organisations will leverage existing research and rally key partners and multi-sectoral stakeholders to:

· Establish context by conducting extensive research to map the policy and legal landscapes;

· Analyse the threat via the collection and analysis of crime data;

· Ensure children’s voices are heard via cross-sectional, nationally-representative household surveys.

The research framework and outputs are envisioned as an important step towards in-depth analysis of online child sexual exploitation and abuse, to produce key findings and identify priority areas for interventions. The project will also pilot a new methodology to determine the context, scale and manifestations of these crimes in 14 countries, with recommendations expected to have relevance for a broader audience.

The countries of focus in Southern and Eastern Africa region are: Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique, South Africa and Namibia. The countries of focus in the Southeast Asian region are: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

project description

Within this collaborative partnership, ECPAT is responsible for “contextual research” component of the project. ECPAT will undertake this research in two distinct phases: phase one of the project involves comprehensive exploration of the existing secondary data on legislation and systems addressing OCSEA at country level, and in phase two ECPAT will directly undertake primary research activities to fill gaps in the data that were identified in the first phase. This research will be tailored to the country contexts.

Fourteen national level reports and two regional level reports will be generated as well as data reports for the five major primary research activities. ECPAT’s role in the project includes the consolidation of findings of all three project partners in country and regional level reports.

With the technical advice and support from experts within ECPAT’s Secretariat, a project-team will be established, including a Project Manager, Regional Specialists and Research Officers, and a team of about 12 specialised research consultants for country level research and regional consolidation. Recruitment of key positions in the project team is currently ongoing.

Two Research Officers and one Senior Research Officer will be responsible for researching and developing the research tools and the methodology of phase one secondary data analysis for 14 countries. They will also be responsible for processing and managing data for the phase two research deliverables, and consolidating the research findings to be used by the Head of Research and the Regional Specialists to conclude the country and regional level reports. The Research Officers will report to ECPAT’s Head of Research and Policy, and will be part of the Project team under the overall leadership of the Project Manager, and as such will also work closely with Regional Specialists and all of the others project consultants and advisors as needed.

Key Areas of Responsibility

Research, data entry and analysis

1. Design the tools and methodology to support the data collection by the research consultants (Access to Justice, Social Norms etc.);

2. Support the Legal and Policy Consultants in conducting in-depth desk-based secondary research on online child sexual exploitation for 14 countries;

3. Organise and categorise a large volume of source materials, maintain consistent referencing adhering to ECPAT style requirements;

4. Data entry and management of large sets of quantitative data using statistics package (likely STATA or SPSS);

5. Support the Head of Research and the Regional Specialists responsible for the reports through quantitative data analysis (and occasionally advisors to the project);

6. Develop draft research reports in English that objectively and responsibly capture the quantitative and qualitative findings which will be used to produce the national and regional reports;

7. Ensure all research activities are conducted systematically and with high ethical standards;

8. Under the overall leadership of the Project Manager, and under the guidance of the Regional Specialists identify, gather and catalogue a large volume of data sources;

9. Support the Legal and Policy consultants and Children Protection consultants in the collection of multiple data sources;

10. Support the Head of Research in managing the overall compilation of sources from three Disrupting Harm partner organisations to conclude drafts of national and regional reports;

11. Support the validation of the reports by the Regional Specialists and by others such as the Senior Advisor;

12. Work to deadlines to ensure their deliverables meets overall timelines.

Profile

Core Competencies

• Track record of research projects in social sciences;

• Technical knowledge of sexual exploitation of children or child protection and ideally of online child sexual exploitation;

• Ability to work autonomously to meet agreed objectives;

• Knowledge of statistics and quantitative data analysis;

• Experience with qualitative and desk-based research;

• Proficiency with a range of statistical analysis software, knowledge of Tableau or other data visualisation tools an advantage;

• Excellent capacity to write for different audiences, science communication experience;

• Fluency in English; other relevant languages for identified countries an advantage;

• Demonstrated commitment to ECPAT’s mission and values.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelors level qualification in social sciences, Masters an advantage;

• Knowledge and experience in statistical analysis;

• 1-2 years’ experience in international development or research roles an advantage;

• Experience working with large quantitative data sets;

• Experience encoding and analysing qualitative data sets.

Additional Information

• Both positions are open to Thai nationals and to international applicants. ECPAT cannot provide work permits for these positions; international candidates are expected to work home-based. Contractual details and arrangements may vary depending on candidates’ place of residence.

• All staff are expected to act at all times in a manner consistent with the values of ECPAT International and in compliance with the organisation’s policies and procedures including Child Safeguarding Policy and the Staff Code of Conduct.

Application process

On how to apply please visit ECPAT website: http://www.ecpat.org/about-ecpat/employment/

Deadline: Sunday 23 June, 2019

Interview and selection process may start as soon as potential qualified applicants are identified.

ECPAT International is committed to keeping children safe. The selection process reflects our commitment to the safeguarding of children.