Associate Researcher 3.01 (AC.09.4) at University of the Witwatersrand

• We are looking for an Associate Researcher to join the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care as part of uGOOD Reason to Live Project. The overall goal of this project is to generate evidence on suicidality and key “reasons to live” among youth in peri-urban areas of South Africa, Tanzania, and Ghana, and to develop tools for surveillance, case identification, and support.
• The post holder will work closely with the Principal Investigator (PI), Co-PI, and collaborators to support the planning and implementation of the project. The post holder will be required to enrol for a PhD training at Wits University utilizing part of the project work for the PhD.
• The key responsibilities will involve field work, office-based work, project equipment management, recruitment of the study participants, qualitative and/or quantitative data collection, quality control, data analysis, drafting and writing potential abstracts and papers (as part of the project and the PhD work), amongst other research tasks.
• The successful applicants will be based at the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care at Philip V Tobias Health Sciences Building but may be required to travel periodically to Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, and Western Cape for data collection.  

Brief Description        
Responsibilities

• Attend the collaborators meetings
• Quality control
• Field work including participant recruitment and consenting
• Equipment management
• Training on measurement techniques
• Ensuring project timelines are met
• Financial and project administration
• Data collection (in field and onsite)
• Data management
• Data analysis
• Drafting and writing abstracts and papers for publication
• Attend and present in relevant local and international conferences

Relevant Experience, Skills and Knowledge

• A master’s in health sciences preferably in Public Health, Epidemiology, Psychology, Public Health, Mental Health
• Strong interest in mental health research
• Relevant research experience (study design, ethics process, participant mobilization data collection, data management, data analysis, reporting and dissemination – presentations at the conferences, publications)
• Excellent organisational skills
• Experience with capturing and checking data quality
• Teamwork
• The ability to work independently
• Willingness to assist, and take instruction for the principal investigator and project coordinator to ensure smooth operation of the project
• Knowledge of sound ethical practice in the conduct of research
• Self-motivated, proactive, innovative, and able to use initiative where appropriate

Deadline: 18th July, 2025