Research Assistant - Kenya

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Company Profile: SoCha (a portmanteau of Social and Change) is an independent Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) firm that provides bespoke solutions to social challenges.

We are a US-registered, veteran-owned small business and staff support offices in Nairobi, Bangkok, and Mauritius.

SoCha currently supports multiple foreign assistance interventions across Asia and Africa.

Background: SoCha is contracted to deliver the USAID/Kenya and East Africa (KEA) Localization, Inclusion, and Sustainability Activity (LISA) with the aim of assisting USAID staff and stakeholders to be more efficient, effective, transparent, inclusive, and skilled in achieving development outcomes.

USAID/KEA is collaborating with the National Council for Persons with Disability (NCPWD) to undertake a landscape analysis on people living with disabilities (PWDs) at the national and county levels to gain insights and understanding of policies, programs, and emerging challenges.

The analysis will cover select counties across Kenya where USAID is implementing its programs. The target counties for the analysis will be in urban, rural, and marginalized contexts in Isiolo, Kiambu, Makueni, Nakuru, Bungoma, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kisumu, Kisii, Turkana, Samburu, Marsabit, and Mombasa.

Position Responsibilities:

The Research Assistant (s) will be responsible for implementing the following tasks:

Qualitative Data Management and Analysis

• Note-taking and Transcription: Transcribe audio recordings of Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) using appropriate software and tools. Take notes during interviews to capture important information and context.


• Deconstruction: Analyze the transcribed data by breaking down the data into meaningful units of text, such as sentences or paragraphs.


• Interpretation: Identify key themes and patterns in the deconstructed data using NVivo version 12 and flow chart matrices.


• Reconstruction: Reconstruct the data by grouping and categorizing themes and patterns to identify common threads and insights.


• Emerging patterns and themes: Establish emerging patterns and themes by applying a predetermined structure based on research questions to guide the analysis process.

Quantitative Data Management and Analysis

• Data cleaning: Clean and prepare the quantitative survey data sets in MS Excel format, including checking for outliers, missing data imputation, and variable transformation.


• Descriptive analyses: Carry out descriptive statistics, with frequencies, percentages, means, medians, and standard deviations computed in the analysis.


• Exploratory analyses: Compute indicators, cross-tabulations by county and gender, and correlations to facilitate deeper insights into the program indicators.


• Labeling: Label various variables in the quantitative data sets to ensure accuracy and consistency in the analysis process.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Background in a relevant field, such as statistics, data science, social sciences, or another relevant discipline. A Bachelor's or Master's degree is preferred, but relevant work experience can also be considered.


• Previous demonstrated experience working with research data (qualitative and quantitative) and different data management and analysis methods is required.


• Knowledge of NVivo, MS Excel, and SPSS is required.


• Strong attention to detail.


• Excellent time management skills.


• Excellent communication skills and able to explain data management and analysis processes to other members of the research team in a clear and concise manner.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates must submit their CV by end of day, 20 June 2023.

To apply, kindly click on this link: https://jobs.socha.net/disability-landscape-analysis-research-assistant/06/13/2023/