Research Specialist, Department of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Location: Kotli Sattian

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 Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) at Aga Khan University is committed to developing future leaders through a transformative, interdisciplinary education that fosters critical thinking, innovation and ethical leadership. By integrating the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences with experiential learning and research, FAS prepares graduates to address complex local and global challenges while making meaningful contributions to society.

This is a grant-funded contractual position.

Responsibilities

You will be responsible to:

• establish and operationalise the water quality laboratory, ensuring adherence to recognised quality and safety standards
• support equipment procurement, installation, calibration and commissioning activities
• develop and implement laboratory procedures, quality control measures and staff training programmes
• coordinate laboratory visits, school engagement activities and environmental learning initiatives
• support the establishment of science laboratories and environmental monitoring facilities within project sites
• coordinate project implementation activities with internal and external stakeholders
• prepare project plans, monitor progress against milestones and support timely delivery of project outputs
• oversee field operations, logistics, documentation and stakeholder communications
• provide supervision, mentoring and technical guidance to research team members
• review work plans, educational resources and project updates to ensure quality and alignment with project objectives.

Requirements:

You should have:

• master's degree in environmental sciences or a related discipline
• at least three years of relevant experience
• demonstrated experience in environmental research, laboratory operations or project implementation
• knowledge of laboratory quality standards, environmental monitoring and data management
• experience coordinating multi-stakeholder projects and field-based activities
• strong report writing, communication and organisational skills
• ability to supervise, mentor and support multidisciplinary teams
• willingness to travel within project areas as required.

Comprehensive employment reference checks will be conducted.