The Research Associate will be responsible for acting on the ground and support our team in conducting user research activities, following a human-centered design approach. The successful candidate will play a key role in understanding user needs and enhancing the user experience of the Artemis suite of tools.

Key duties & responsibilities

Plan and Conduct Context Exploration Research:

• Apply evaluative methods (e.g., field observation, interviews, diary studies) to comprehensively understand the needs of breeding programs in different target countries.
• Draft and translate interview scripts to facilitate effective data collection.
• Lead the organization and coordination of research activities on the ground.
• Document methodologies and insights derived from research activities.
• Support information synthesis activities to transform findings into actionable insights.

Plan and Conduct Context Exploration Research for the on-farm context in Tanzania:

• Utilize evaluative methods to understand the needs of Artemis tool users in the on-farm context in Tanzania.
• Draft and translate interview scripts for effective data gathering.
• Coordinate research activities on-site and ensure thorough data collection.
• Document methodologies applied and insights gathered for reference.
• Assist in synthesizing gathered information to inform design decisions.

Plan and Conduct Usability Testing:

• Support the planning and coordination of usability testing sessions for the Artemis tool interface.
• Draft and translate usability testing scripts to guide the testing process.
• Conduct usability tests with breeding teams and on-farm users to gather feedback.
• Measure tool performance based on user interactions.
• Document insights gathered during usability testing and contribute to information synthesis efforts.

Support Testing and Development of Onboarding Material:

• Assist in creating onboarding material for the Artemis tool.
• Conduct user testing sessions with the created onboarding material to assess effectiveness.
• Document user feedback and insights gained from testing sessions.
• Contribute to synthesizing feedback to refine and improve onboarding materials.
• Work with the user research group to better understand breeding and agronomic process flows as well as iterative testing of app model development

Requirements

• Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Plant Sciences, Data Science, or a related field.
• 3-5 years of experience in conducting user research, applying evaluative methods such as interviews, field observations, and diary studies.
• Strong analytical skills for synthesizing complex information into actionable insights.
• Full professional proficiency in Swahili and English; proficiency in other local languages is advantageous.
• Previous experience in UX/UI design
• Proficiency in Figma for UI/UX design tasks.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills for effective teamwork.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and iterative design processes is desirable
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across teams and stakeholders in the agricultural and research fields.
• Ability to apply evaluative methods and analyze data to understand user needs and tool performance.
• Good Organizational and time management skills: Coordinating and managing research activities, documentation, and synthesis of information to meet project deadlines