PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR JOBS ZIMBABWE- NATIONAL STUDY ON THE DETERMINANTS OF ADOLESCENT FERTILITY

Zimbabwe has a young population with one third being between the ages of 10-24 years. These young people face a myriad of challenges related to their development. These include unemployment, limited educational opportunities, gender based violence, intergenerational relationships, child marriage, HIV infection and other negative reproductive health outcomes including teenage pregnancy. There is currently a vigorous debate through the print and electronic media on the issue of teenage pregnancy, with many diverse perceived causes and solutions to the problem being proffered. Current statistics available on teenage pregnancy point to a prevalent issue, however there is no available information on the determinants of this phenomenon which will enable programmers to make informed decisions on key interventions that will effectively address this challenge.

In order to develop robust and effective adolescent pregnancy prevention interventions, there is need to understand the national, community, peer, family and individual factors that contribute to teenage pregnancy in Zimbabwe. The Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC), the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have thus commissioned a national study to establish the determinants of high adolescent fertility, with in-depth analysis on geographic location and socio-economic determinants.

PURPOSE OF THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Under the overall supervision of the MoHCC – Director Family Health and guidance of the Technical Review and Management Committee, the Principal Investigator (PI) will be responsible for the conduct of the national adolescent fertility study.

QUALIFICATIONS OF CONSULTANT

The Principal Investigator must possess the following qualifications and experience:

· Experienced social sciences researcher with demonstrable experience in quantitative and qualitative research; samples of previous work for both methodologies must be submitted with the resume;

· Experience in conducting secondary analysis of large population-based researches like the Census or Demographic Health Survey an advantage.

· Strong appreciation of Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and HIV programming (including community interventions);

· Experience in attaining appropriate ethical clearance for research (preferably operations research or a similar approach);

· Excellent evidence-based report writing skills

· Very good communication skills

· Experience in Zimbabwe and/or other countries in the region

· Good interpersonal skills and experience in conducting research about sensitive topic relating to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and HIV.