Research Intern -(6 month contract) Johannesburg at World Food Programme

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Data analytics and research support – EGU research agenda 
The Evidence Generation Unit (EGU) believes in the continuous improvement of its research and analytics systems to support the efficient and effective delivery of WFP's and Governments' interventions. The Research Intern is expected to contribute with his/her knowledge in terms of internal and external data sources and data management tasks conducted by the unit to understand food systems, food security, and nutrition in the Southern African region.  
With this aim, the main activities of the Intern will comprise: 

• Literature review to support the development of concept notes, thematic analysis and peer-review articles part of the Evidence Generation Units research agenda. 
• Data management, including data gathering, cleaning, and processing of WFP's and other surveys available in the countries in the region, following high standards of reproducibility.  
• Writing contributions for thematic analysis and peer-review publications.  

Rapid Rural Transformation Project 
The Research Intern will support the coordination of the impact evaluation of the RRT as well as the data analysis and writing of the evaluation report.  
The portfolio of work within the RRT will entail: 

• Field Coordination: development of questionnaires, data quality protocols and training materials for enumerators as well as support during data collection with high-frequency checks.  
• Literature review: this includes a thorough literature search of decentralized renewal energy interventions needed for the evaluation and scaling up of the project.  
• Data management: This includes the cleaning, processing and analysis of the data collected for the impact evaluation.  

Other tasks
Support EGU in undertaking any other activity relevant to the development or continuation of its research agenda.  
Most activities will be carried out in Johannesburg. However, the Research Intern may be required to travel to other WFP Country Offices on an ad-hoc basis to streamline data analytics.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Be currently enrolled in an undergraduate programme (for example, Bachelor’s degree) from a recognised university and have completed at least two years of the programme. Candidates should have attended classes in the past 12 months; or
• Be currently enrolled in a graduate programme (for example, Master degree) from a recognised university and have attended classes in the past 12 months; or 
• Be a recent graduate from an undergraduate or graduate programme (within six months prior to the application to the internship programme) from a recognised university and have attended classes in the last 12 months of enrolment in the university.
• Field of study in Economics, Development Economics, Statistics, Data Science, or other related field.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Experience using a variety of quantitative tools and methods.  Use of statistical software  (STATA required, R of advantage)
• Fully computer-literate with excellent skills in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and database management; 
• Excellent quantitative analytical knowledge, including statistical/econometric methods for impact evaluation; 
• Demonstrated ability to manage data, analyze, quality assure and communicate them; 
• Experience in survey design (programming) for ODK or KOBO or SurveyCTO.

Languages:

• Working knowledge (proficiency/level C) of English. Knowledge of French or Portugues is an advantage.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• Interns receive a monthly stipend from WFP up to the maximum amount of US$1000 per month depending on the duty station of assignment. 

• WFP is not responsible for living expenses, arrangements for accommodation, necessary visas and related costs.
• Depending on the duty station of assignment, WFP will reimburse travel ticket for candidates who are nationals of developing countries and are pursuing their studies in their home country.
• WFP will recognize candidates’ educational credentials from recognised institutions that have been certified by competent international or national authorities such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) or Ministries of Education;

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

This Vacancy Announcement will close on Thursday 05 January 2023 at 11:59pm Johannesburg Time.