The position

• The MSc student will join an interdisciplinary team based at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) as part of the “Go Heal Mastitis” project. This groundbreaking initiative seeks to pioneer a phage-based intervention to combat mastitis in goats and mitigate the dependency on antibiotics in Kenyan goat farming. Part of the project mandate is to understand gender and social dynamics that influence the potential uptake of the phage-based intervention with the goal of increasing access and minimizing any unintended negative consequences.
• The student will assist in all aspects of the qualitative gender research activity from start to finish as described in the Terms of Reference. They will be supported by a gender Scientist and gender Research Associate at ILRI and will join two master’s students who will be assisting with the laboratory component of the project.

Terms of reference

The successful candidate will be expected to;

• Conduct literature review on goat mastitis and gender in East Africa.
• Design a qualitative study including guides for focus group discussions and key informant interviews that address the team’s research questions.
• Help recruit and train a small field team (2-4 people) and conduct fieldwork in Kenya.
• Transcribe audio recordings from fieldwork.
• Thematic analysis of data using NVivo.
• Help team in writing a peer-reviewed journal article and be a co-author.
• Prepare an output to share findings back with the community (e.g. poster, one page brief, small talk).

Minimum requirements for the ideal candidate

The ideal candidate should

• Hold a BSc degree in sociology, anthropology, gender studies, community development, or a related topic.
• Possess work experience (1+ years) on a field-based research or development project an added advantage.
• Have experience with livestock or agriculture an added advantage.
• Demonstrate experience with collecting qualitative data an added advantage.
• Be fluent in English and preferably Swahili.
• Be enrolled in an MSc degree in the stated related fields at an East African University.
• Ideally have completed coursework in an MSc degree in the stated related fields above is an added advantage but not required.