Research Director at Human Sciences Research Council (HRSC)

Job Advert Summary

The HSC division is looking to appoint a suitably qualified researcher and specialist to take on the responsibilities of Research Director for the Identity and Belonging sub-division. The Director position supports and assists the Human and Social Capabilities (HSC) Divisional Executive (DE) in implementing the five-year strategic plan of the HSRC. The Human and Social Capabilities division conducts transdisciplinary, intersectional, policy and programme-relevant research to improve health, well-being and promote a socially just and cohesive society.

The HSC therefore seeks to appoint a Research Director on a permanent and indefinite contract; the suitably qualified incumbent that is being sourced must be an accomplished scholar with experience in the research area in health policy and conducting research that is transdisciplinary, intersectional and is aimed at improving health and well-being; and the promotion of a socially just and cohesive society.

Minimum Requirements

Key requirements:

• A PhD in either in Social Sciences or Humanities;such as Gender Studies, Psychology, Anthropology or Sociology or related areas;
• Ten (10) years’ experience conducting, leading and managing research, team leadership preferably in a research institution or a university;
• An established research career as evidenced by at least twenty (20) publications (journal articles, reports, book chapters, books) of which several must be international and first or sole authored;
• Experience and strength in social sciences methods and design;
• Evidence of successful research fund raising;
• Evidence of existing funding and research networks at country and international levels;
• An interest and experience in one of the priority research areas of the HSC Division;
• Experience in supporting and managing the professional development activities of young researchers and PhD and Masters interns;
• Personal qualities that include intellectual and personal integrity, imagination, drive, and the ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Ability to work independently and in a team environment;
• Good communication and leadership skills;
• The versatility to apply qualitative and/or quantitative methodologies to challenging subject matter across disciplinary boundaries will be advantageous;
• Proficiency in or working experience with some of the following data software packages: STATA, Epi Info, SPSS, Nvivo, AtlasTI or other relevant statistical packages;

Duties & Responsibilities

Key responsibilities:

• Developing the work of HSC by providing leadership in a cluster of key areas of the identity and belonging sub-division’s research agenda;
• Networking with major national and international users and funders of social science and humanities research to understand their research needs, and build research links;
• Responding to calls for research funding proposals as well as initiating and formulating grant applications for major long-term problem-oriented interdisciplinary research projects;
• Leading senior research specialist and teams in conducting high quality research, data analysis and evaluation (using qualitative and/or quantitative methodologies) that has both strategic and policy relevance;
• Delivering high-quality outputs and reports to budget and deadline;
• Managing and leading research teams and large-scale long-term research projects;
• Disseminating research findings in different forums (conferences, webinars, etc) and publishing in accredited and refereed journals;
• Participating in public debates as part of disseminating project outputs; and
• Mentoring and developing the research capacity of young South African researchers and supporting colleagues to advance their research careers.