PHD Research Internship at HSRC

Job Description

As part of the HSRC’s Learning and Development activities, RIA currently has nine MA and PhD research interns. As part of developing the required capacity to achieve its mission, RIA wishes to appoint a suitable candidate to the following position:

Three year contract

For this PhD research internship position we are seeking applicants with interests in one or more of the following areas – quantitative social science analytical techniques, secondary data analysis, social media analytics, and critical discourse analysis – who will be attached to either the Evaluation & Learning, Impact Assessment or Science Communication & Gender sections. The internship experience is intensive and is suited for self-driven emerging scholars who are able to work as part of larger teams. The appointed intern will be provided with pertinent training and gain research experience whilst completing their PhD degree studies.

Key Responsibilities:

In addition to completing their degrees, research interns are required to participate in all aspects of the research process as they work on research projects. Among other duties, they will participate in the following activities under supervision:

• The conceptualisation of projects;
• The formulation of research questions and writing of funding proposals;
• The submission of research proposals for ethical review;
• Implementation of research projects and policy dialogues;
• Collection and analysis of data;
• Write-up of research findings including research reports, conference presentations, policy briefs, and manuscripts for journal publication;
• Assist with project management and administration.

Key Requirements:

• Have graduated with a Master’s degree and be eligible to register or have recently registered for a PhD in the Social Sciences/Humanities or a relevant field in a tertiary institution in South Africa;
• Have an interest in practices and research that seeks to enhance the use and impact of scientific research;
• A proven research interest aligned to the work of the Evaluation & Learning, Impact Assessment or Science Communication & Gender sections.
• Computer literacy including MS Office and appropriate software packages;
• Good planning and organisational skills, including the ability to working well under pressure;
• Good communication skills (verbal as well as report writing);
• A sound conceptual grounding in a discipline and in quantitative or qualitative research methods;
• Applicants must be South African citizens or citizens of another African country.

If you do not receive any response from us within eight weeks, please accept that your application was unsuccessful. Only candidates who are interviewed will be advised of the outcome of their application.

THE HSRC reserves the right to not make an appointment.

APPLICATIONS FROM RECRUITMENT AGENCIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Closing date : 27 July 2015. We encourage applicants to submit before that date.