Research Assistant - Transcriber

Purpose of the GOAL Research Study

There are over one million Syrian refugees living in Lebanon, with the majority living in Lebanon for over five years. Lebanon is experiencing many of the health challenges found in other protracted displacement settings, such as high unmet mental health needs among refugee and host populations and fragmented health policy responses. While effective mental health services exist, there are major gaps in access to them. The challenge is how to best deliver such services, including designing health systems to support effective delivery. This requires the close involvement of Syrian refugees and Lebanese living with mental disorders in designing relevant and impactful services and systems. 

GOAL is a three-year research project which began in February 2020 with funding from the United Kingdom’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).  It is a collaboration between the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the National Mental Health Program of Lebanon, St. Joseph’s University of Beirut, Abaad, War Child Holland (Lebanon office), and Positive Negatives.

The overall aim of GOAL is to support government and partners in strengthening the ability of health systems to meet the mental health needs of refugee and host communities affected by protracted displacement, focusing on Lebanon.

The specific objectives of GOAL are to:

1. Explore barriers and facilitators to strengthening health system governance for supporting access to culturally appropriate mental health care for Syrian refugees and host populations in Lebanon
2. Strengthen mental health service user participation in health system governance in Lebanon
3. Identify sustainable financing mechanisms that can strengthen health system responses for mental health services for Syrian refugees and host communities in Lebanon
4. Strengthen capacity on governance and health financing to support a resilient and sustainable health system addressing the mental health needs of Syrian refugees and host populations in Lebanon
5. Maximise the value of the project findings and methods for other protracted displacement settings in ODA countries

General objective of the job

The focus of this role will be supporting qualitative data collection and analysis of the GOAL research through transcription and translation of the available interviews.

Roles and responsibilities

5. • Transcribing and translating qualitative data collected into written English transcripts in a timely manner and reviewing drafts for any spelling, grammar, or formatting errors, as well as other inconsistencies.
     • Adhering to all confidentiality guidelines and respecting sensitive information related to transcription and translation.
     • Communicating with the supervisor when there are issues.
     • Submitting completed drafts to the RC and correcting any errors as per their feedback.
     • Keeping typing skills sharp by completing regular typing drills.
   • Perform timely checking of the quality of the transcripts, anonymize names.
6. Reporting

• The Research Assistant will report to the Research Coordinator (RC).
• S/he does not manage staff.

7. Profile

Essential:

• A bachelor-level degree in in relevant field (e.g. Translation, English Literature, Social Sciences)
• Extensive experience working within Lebanon
• At least 1 year experience in transcription and translation
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English (oral and written) and Arabic (oral and written).
• Ability to operate independently with minimal supervision
• Available on demand.
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Desirable:

• Previous extensive experience with qualitative research methods, including participant observation.
• Previous experience working within the mental health sector in Lebanon

8. Job Location: Lebanon

9. Time frame:   The assignment is expected to start as soon as possible.