Department of Global Health and Population | Harvard School of Public Health
651 Huntington Avenue, 7th floor
Boston, MA 02115 USA
Research Program on Children and Global Adversity (RPCGA)
Summer Internship Opportunity
Duration: Flexible
Location: Rwanda (preferred) or Boston
Remuneration: Unpaid
About the RPCGA in Rwanda:
The RPCGA has been working in Rwanda for over seven years in the area of child and adolescent mental health, family-based interventions, child development, and child protection. The current research portfolio includes an NIH-supported pilot project of a home-based mental health promotion intervention for families affected by HIV in collaboration with Partners In Health. In 2014, the RPCGA is launching two early childhood development projects with partners at the World Bank and UNICEF to evaluation the state of early childhood development in Rwanda and develop a holistic, home-based intervention to support early childhood development through parenting coaching, nutrition education, health education, and promoting behavior change around sanitation/hygiene in Rwanda’s most vulnerable households.
Position Description:
The Research Intern will work under the Rwanda-based program manager to support the RPCGA’s work on early childhood development. The Research Intern will spend time in both rural and urban areas of Rwanda. If the Research Intern prefers a Boston placement, work will be done with the Rwanda-based team remotely.
Activities that the Research Intern may be involved in include:
Supporting local data collection teams to ensure data quality
Helping monitor and clean incoming data
Coding qualitative data
Field visits with data collection team to observe data collection across Rwanda
Working with local research team members to review existing early childhood development interventions and training materials
Helping develop locally-relevant intervention and training materials for a home-based early childhood development intervention
Qualifications:
Prior experience in quantitative and/or qualitative research required
Strong interest in working with vulnerable children and families is required
Flexibility and willingness to travel to remote areas are necessary if Rwanda-based
Previous experience with data management/mobile data collection preferred
Background/prior experience in nutrition, child development, or education is a plus
Previous experience working in a developing country is a plus
Logistics:
The Research Intern will be responsible for the costs associated with travel to Rwanda/Boston as well as living expenses. The Program Manager will assist the Research Intern with budgeting for costs of traveling to and living in Rwanda. It is strongly preferred that the Research Intern be based in Rwanda, however being Boston-based could be considered.
To apply: Please email a cover letter and your CV/resume to Cat Kirk (ckirk@hsph.harvard.edu). Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until filled.