Summary
Date Posted: Friday, May 06, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
The Organisation
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.
We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

TERMS OF REFERENCE – PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (4-month contract)
Photovoice Study
Plan International – PlayMatters
Uganda
March 2022

Background:
PlayMatters is a 5-year project funded by the LEGO Foundation and led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in partnership with Plan International and War Child Holland. The goal of the project is to bring playful learning to 800,000 refugee and host-community children ages 3—12+ across Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania. PlayMatters emphasizes Learning through Play (LtP) and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) to achieve a holistic set of outcomes among children.

Study Details:
To ensure the PlayMatters project is child-focused, Plan International will lead on a photovoice study with refugee children in Uganda. Photovoice is a type of qualitative participatory action research that enables participants to identify, represent, and explore their community and life circumstances through photography. The methodology of photovoice puts cameras in the hands of a group of participants to observe and record their daily lives, analyze what they have taken photos of, tell their story to a wider audience, and work together to bring about positive social action and change in their communities.
The main research question of this study is: What are refugee children’s perceptions of play and learning through play in their community?

The more specific objectives of this photovoice study are to:
• directly engage refugee and host community children to document their lived experiences in their communities through photography;
• explore ‘play’ from the perspective of refugee and host community children, including in relation to learning through plan
• provide refugee children with the opportunity to have fun, play, learn new skills, and build their confidence;
• support refugee children to develop the five skills for holistic development (i.e. cognitive, social, emotional, physical, & creative);
• provide refugee and host community children a platform to tell their stories and have their voices heard;
• facilitate group dialogue to identify opportunities for positive social action and change;
• and appeal to key stakeholders about the importance of play and learning through play for refugee children.

To answer the research question and achieve these objectives, the Principal Investigator (PI) will work with Plan International country staff and refugee and host community members to engage 2 groups of (approximately) 10 children ages 9-12, (mixed gender 50/50) teach them how to use cameras, lead them through photo-taking sessions in their community, facilitate dialogue with the child participants and support them to select key photos, and support the execution of a community showcase event for the child participants to share their work with their community. Some parameters of the study such as sample size, age range and location will be revisited based on local consultation.

Once activities have been completed with the child participants, the Principal Investigator will be responsible for working with Plan International regional staff to analyze study data and contribute to a findings report to be presented and shared with the PlayMatters consortium members, including the LEGO Foundation. See key deliverables section for more specific information. The PI will receive some basic onboarding from Plan International regional and country staff on the key objectives and methodologies of the study at the start of their contract.

Required Experience and Qualifications:
• Undergraduate degree or equivalent qualification (or higher) in social sciences, education, or research methods
• Significant experience leading on research or data collection, including coordinating data collection
• Experience in qualitative research/data collection and analysis
• Experience conducting research/data collection with children or youth
• Good communication, facilitation, and project management skills
• Working knowledge of Juba Arabic is an advantage
• Ability to summarize findings and contribute to a report that is understood by a wide audience
• Able to demonstrate sound knowledge of research ethics and accountability

Desired Experience:
• Experience using photovoice or similar participatory or child-led research methodologies
• Experience conducting research or data collection with refugee/displaced communities and/or other vulnerable groups
• Experience conducting research on education, child rights or recreational programming
• Demonstrated experience of working in challenging conditions in a remote area with limited resources

Key Deliverables:
• Work with Plan International Uganda (PIU) PlayMatters’ MEAL team to revise and deli work plan and study schedule as necessary
• Work with PIU to stay within the budget of the project
• Work with PIU to conduct a safeguarding risk assessment
• Work with PIU to recruit, hire, and train refugee facilitators
• Work with PIU to conduct community awareness and sensitization activities to alert community about the study and get support and buy in
• Select study participants and obtain consent from parents/caregivers
• Work with refugee facilitators to conduct an introduction workshop with parents/caregivers and child participants
• Work with refugee facilitators to conduct training workshops with child participants and subsequent photo-taking sessions and dialogue sessions
• Conduct data collection and initial analysis and contribute to the findings report, with support from PIU PlayMatters and Plan Denmark staff
• Work with PIU staff to plan and execute a community showcase event
• Be prepared to work with Plan International regional staff to deliver presentation of study findings to PlayMatters consortium

Time Frame:
We are seeking a principal investigator to begin this contracted assignment no later than May and complete all deliverable activities by the end of August.
Location of Assignment:
This project will take place in Adjumani. As such, the PI must be prepared to be located there for the duration of the activities. They may return to Kampala or their home location when doing analysis and compiling the findings report.

Education Requirement: No Requirements

Job Experience: No Requirements

Work Hours: 8

Job application procedure
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