Research Coordinator, Community Health Sciences

Location: Karachi, Pakistan

Introduction

Aga Khan University, chartered in 1983 as Pakistan's first private international university, is committed to the provision of education, research, and health care of international standards relevant to Pakistan and the region. The affiliated Aga Khan University Hospital provides state-of-the-art clinical facilities and well-equipped diagnostic services. The University currently has teaching sites in Pakistan, East Africa, the United Kingdom, and Afghanistan, and is a major component of the Aga Khan Development Network.

As an equal opportunity employer, AKU believes in promoting a diverse and inclusive culture and is committed to adopt appropriate standards for safeguarding and promoting a respectful relationship with and between diverse workforce of its faculty, staff, trainees, volunteers, beneficiaries, wider communities, and other stakeholders with whom it works, including children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees/trainees and partners to share this commitment.

The Department of Community Health Sciences (CHS) is the leading unit of its type in Pakistan, recognized regionally and internationally for the relevance, quality, and extent of its work in support of public health and the development of primary health care systems. It comprises five major operational sections: Epidemiology & biostatistics, Health policy & management, Population & reproductive health, Environmental health & climate change, and Non-communicable diseases & mental health.

This is a grant-funded contractual position.

Responsibilities

You will be responsible to:

• support the preparation, organisation, and implementation of approved research tools and data collection instruments
• coordinate quantitative and qualitative data collection activities in accordance with approved study protocols and timelines
• support field teams with orientation, logistics, communication, and day-to-day coordination to facilitate timely completion of data collection activities
• conduct data management, quality checks, cleaning, validation, and basic analysis of research data
• organise quantitative and qualitative findings to support data synthesis and interpretation
• maintain research databases, tracking sheets, data collection logs, and other study-related documentation
• ensure secure handling of research data in accordance with data protection, confidentiality, and research ethics requirements
• support the preparation of research reports, manuscripts, presentations, literature reviews, and other research and dissemination materials
• coordinate with researchers, field teams, and relevant stakeholders to facilitate the smooth implementation of research activities
• support the scheduling of meetings, documentation of discussions, follow-up on action points, and compilation of feedback
• maintain organised records of research activities, fieldwork, meetings, and project-related communications.

Requirements

You should have:

• master’s degree in public health, social sciences, epidemiology, or a related field
• at least one year of relevant research or project coordination experience
• experience in health, social protection, community-based research, or related areas will be an advantage
• familiarity with data management or statistical software such as Excel, Stata, SPSS, R, NVivo, or equivalent is desirable
• good organisational, communication, coordination, and documentation skills
• basic understanding of research ethics, data confidentiality, and research documentation
• ability to work effectively with researchers, field teams, and multiple stakeholders.

Comprehensive employment reference checks will be conducted.