Qualitative Research Specialist – Uganda

Aninver Development Partners SL (www.aninver.com) is looking for a Qualitative Research Specialist for a governance, private sector consultancy assignment financed by UNICEF in Uganda.

Aninver Development Partners SL is seeking an expert Qualitative Research Specialist for an upcoming assessment supporting UNICEF in Uganda. This initiative focuses on evaluating the implementation, emerging outcomes, and institutionalization-readiness of the national Life Skills Programme across diverse settings, including urban, rural, and refugee-hosting contexts.

The selected specialist will play a crucial role in gathering deep contextual insights into how life skills toolkits are utilized, capturing stakeholder experiences, and assessing psychosocial and socio-emotional learning outcomes among learners. The assignment spans governance and private-sector dimensions within the national education framework over a 3.5-month duration.

Aninver is preparing a proposal for this assignment. The selected expert will be part of the proposed team; the engagement is conditional on the contract being awarded to Aninver. The full Terms of Reference for the position are shared with shortlisted candidates.

Objectives of the assignment

• Assess the quality of programme implementation and adherence to the Life Skills Toolkit across targeted schools and learning environments.
• Examine stakeholder experiences, including the capacity, readiness, and perceptions of teachers, school leaders, and district officials.
• Identify and document emerging learner outcomes related to psychosocial well-being, resilience, and life skills acquisition.
• Evaluate the readiness of the national education system for the institutionalization and phased expansion of the Life Skills Programme.
• Generate actionable, evidence-based qualitative recommendations to inform policy decisions and future scale-up strategies.

Scope of work

• Conduct a comprehensive desk review of all relevant programme documents, curricula, monitoring reports, and previous evaluations.
• Finalize the qualitative assessment framework, methodology, data collection tools, and sampling strategy in consultation with key stakeholders.
• Obtain necessary ethical clearance and research permits prior to qualitative field deployment.
• Facilitate Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with learners, teachers, school management committees, and government officials.
• Ensure strict adherence to child safeguarding principles, ethical guidelines, and protocols for research involving children and adolescents.
• Code and synthesize qualitative transcripts to identify recurring themes, operational bottlenecks, and emerging outcomes.
• Participate in stakeholder validation workshops to present preliminary qualitative findings and gather feedback from key partners.
• Draft and contribute to the comprehensive assessment report detailing qualitative findings, conclusions, and strategic recommendations.

Your role as Qualitative Research Specialist

• Lead the design and execution of all qualitative research activities for the education sector assessment in Uganda.
• Develop culturally appropriate qualitative data collection tools, including structured guides for KIIs and FGDs.
• Facilitate participatory inquiry and qualitative consultations directly with adolescents, teachers, and education stakeholders.
• Ensure all qualitative fieldwork strictly adheres to child safeguarding principles and ethical research standards.
• Perform rigorous qualitative coding, thematic analysis, and synthesis of interview and discussion transcripts.
• Collaborate closely with the quantitative and team leadership specialists to integrate mixed-methods findings into a cohesive narrative.
• Contribute qualitative insights to the inception report, preliminary findings presentations, and the final evaluation report.

Requirements

• Education: Advanced degree in social sciences, anthropology, sociology, education, psychology, development studies or a related field
• At least 5 years of experience conducting qualitative research, participatory inquiry, facilitating KIIs and FGDs with adolescents and education stakeholders, and qualitative coding

Desirable

• Prior professional experience working on education or life skills initiatives in East Africa or Uganda.
• Experience operating within mixed-methods assessment teams for international donors like UNICEF.
• Familiarity with institutionalization-readiness assessments in the public education sector.

An experienced Qualitative Research Specialist with a strong background in participatory inquiry, adolescent engagement, and rigorous qualitative coding within the education sector in Uganda.

Assignment details

• Location: Uganda
• Financed by: UNICEF
• Sector: Governance, private sector
• Estimated duration: 3 months
• Contract: individual consultancy (conditional on award)

About Aninver Development Partners

Aninver is an international development consulting firm headquartered in Spain. It supports governments, development banks, UN agencies and bilateral donors with feasibility studies, technical assistance, evaluations and capacity building across Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Asia-Pacific, working with a network of international and national experts.

Why apply

• Join a multidisciplinary team on a UNICEF-financed project in Uganda.
• Individual consultancy: flexible, output-based engagement with an experienced proposal team.
• Your CV stays in Aninver's expert network for future assignments that match your profile.

How to apply

Sign in (or create a free account) and upload your CV in English. Add your LinkedIn profile, indicative daily rate and availability to speed up the assessment. Aninver will contact the shortlisted candidates.

Frequently asked questions

Is the position confirmed? The engagement depends on the contract being awarded to Aninver. Shortlisted experts are included in the proposal with their consent.

Can I apply if I am not based in the country? Yes, unless the requirements say otherwise; relevant regional experience is an asset.

What happens with my CV? It is used to assess your fit for this and future positions and is not shared with third parties without your consent.