Main Purpose of the Position:
The main purpose of the role will be to contribute to the coordination activities required for research
projects undertaken by the Institute. It will be mainly performing research i.e., data collection, data
entry; compiling specific parts of the project, interpreting and applying rules and regulations, and
participating developing innovative solutions to enable meeting the department’s key deliverables.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The Research and Innovation Officer will perform be responsible for following duties:
1. Develop research activities and implement in line with the strategic focus of UICT and Lead the
automation of Research Management
2. Create applied research models and innovative solutions or tools through the application of
academic research and theory.
3. Develop plans for implementation of identified opportunities for action research that UICT will
participate in and present to the respective supervisor.
4. Participate in implementation of approved research ventures and lead a team of research
assistants where necessary.
5. Participate in drafting research reports, executive summaries, policy briefs and the preparation of
research abstracts and publication of research findings and other documents for internal and
external use.
6. Participate in identifying knowledge gaps within UICT projects and suggest how these can be filled
within action research, Plan and develop research project proposals (needs assessments,
appraisals, and pre‐project studies)
7. Participate in conceptualizing, designing and implementing action research projects and facilitate
the creation of a platform/forum for regular stakeholder engagement and knowledge sharing.
8. Prepare informed and standard research papers with guidance from supervisor and support from
the Monitoring and Evaluation team
9. Present research findings for background research and implementation of the projects in internal
or external meetings when called upon and coordinate the undertaking of research, storage and
dissemination such as publication of the research in reputable journals
10. Coordinate, collate, and conduct research (including research on innovative approaches) to inform
and include in the development of norms, standards, guidelines, tools and new technologies for
the advancement of UICT’s programmes.
11. Collaborate with other departments to incorporate technical aspects of their ICT efforts to (1)
assess and enable digital educational technologies, and support them to make decisions about
how to prioritize, integrate, implement and regulate them and (2) identify, foster and scale up
ready evidence-based innovations at national level, to address gaps in primary health care and
accelerate impact.
12. Support research and innovation within partnerships and technical cooperation initiatives of the
Institute.
13. Perform all other related duties as assigned.
PERSON SPECIFICATIONS
A. Academic Qualifications
i. Bachelor’s in computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, Statistics
or their equivalent;
ii. A Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems,
Software Engineering or a closely related field will be an added advantage;
iii. Professional/ Industry IT Certification such as ITIL, MCSE, CISSP, CISM, CGEIT, CRISC, PMP
etc. are an added advantage
iv. Certification in Research Administration such as Certified Research Administrator (CRA) is
an added advantage
B. Skills and Attributes
i. Clear understanding of research processes and methodologies;
ii. Experience in analysing qualitative and quantitative data
iii. Very good command of English language with Superior Presentation Skills
iv. Strong interpersonal skills, supporting a tactful and collaborative approach;
v. Demonstrate commitment to organization’s values and principles.
vi. Knowledge and understanding of innovation in ICT solutions and systems development
including technology innovations, business modelling and process innovations, and the
various enablers of innovation, including digital tools plus requirements for scaling and
sustaining of innovations
vii. Should have relevant experience with statistics and statistical software
viii. Experience in implementation of an ERP system would be an advantage.
ix. Good specialised knowledge of the business processes in the company.
C. Experience
i. A minimum of 2 years serving in a university, higher education learning institution, research
facility and/or ICT related Organisation with research led focus.
ii. At least 2 years of demonstrable post-graduation experience linked to research activities,
preferably conducted in an international context is desirable.