Research Assistant (Senior) or Research Associate (CARE/AC)

National University of Singapore; Singapore; On-site; SGD 56,000 - 89,000; Full time

Job summary

The Centre for Ageing Research and Education (CARE) at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, is seeking a full-time Research Assistant (Senior) or Research Associate to lead qualitative research for a randomized-clinical control trial aimed at optimizing health and social outcomes for frail older persons post hospital discharge.

You will design, conduct, and analyze interviews in English and Mandarin/Malay, develop coding frameworks, manage data, and contribute to reports and publications.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant social science, public health, health services research or related discipline is strongly preferred.
• At least 2 years of experience in conducting semi-structured or in-depth interviews and independently analysing qualitative data.
• Experience developing coding frameworks and conducting thematic or framework analysis.
• Proficient in English with ability to interview older adults and caregivers; Mandarin/Malay as applicable.

Responsibilities

• Lead the qualitative component of an evaluation study, including design, fieldwork, analysis, interpretation and dissemination.
• Develop and refine semi-structured interview guides informed by relevant frameworks.
• Develop and manage purposive sampling strategies across multiple participant groups.
• Conduct in-depth interviews with older adults, caregivers and healthcare professionals in English and Mandarin/Malay as appropriate.
• Manage qualitative data preparation, including transcription review, translation checks, anonymisation, fieldnotes, secure storage and data quality assurance.
• Develop and maintain the qualitative coding framework using deductive and inductive approaches; lead coding, framework/thematic analysis, double-coding and analytic discussions.
• Maintain an audit trail, analytic memos and documentation of methodological and analytical decisions.
• Work with the wider study team to integrate qualitative findings with study implementation and outcome findings; contribute to reports, presentations and manuscripts.
• Liaise with study stakeholders regarding recruitment, fieldwork, interpretation and study procedures.
• Support ethics/governance submissions, protocol amendments and study documentation relating to the qualitative component.
• Train or support other research staff involved in qualitative data collection and analysis.
• Assist with CARE's other initiatives as needed.

Skills

Qualitative research

Interviewing

Data analysis

Team collaboration

Education

Master's degree in social science/public health

Tools

NVivo

Job description

Company description:

The National University of Singapore is the national research university of Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest higher education institution in Singapore

Job description:

Job Description

The Centre for Ageing Research and Education (CARE) is a vibrant, multidisciplinary academic research centre in Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore. Our mission is to conduct research that policy makers can use to achieve health, social inclusion, and a high quality of life for older adults in Singapore and globally. CARE's research is situated in eight broad thematic areas: Population Health, Social and Psychological Aspects of Ageing, Family Caregiving, Productive Ageing, Falls Prevention, Community-Based Health and Social Care Services, Ageing and the Environment, and Health Communication.

We are currently seeking a full-time Research Assistant (Senior) or Research Associate who excels at qualitative research to join our team at CARE. This role offers an excellent opportunity to gain hands‑on experience working on a randomized-clinical control trial aimed at optimizing health and social outcomes for frail older persons post hospital discharge.

The successful candidate will:

• Lead the qualitative component of an evaluation study, including qualitative study design, fieldwork, analysis, interpretation and dissemination.
• Develop and refine semi-structured interview guides informed by relevant theoretical and implementation frameworks.
• Develop and manage purposive sampling strategies across multiple participant groups.
• Conduct in-depth interviews with older adults, caregivers and healthcare professionals in English and Mandarin/Malay as appropriate.
• Manage qualitative data preparation, including transcription review, translation checks, anonymisation, fieldnotes, secure storage and data quality assurance.
• Develop and maintain the qualitative coding framework using deductive and inductive approaches; lead coding, framework/thematic analysis, double-coding and analytic discussions.
• Maintain an audit trail, analytic memos and documentation of methodological and analytical decisions.
• Work with the wider study team to integrate qualitative findings with study implementation and outcome findings, and contribute substantially to reports, presentations, manuscripts and other dissemination outputs.
• Liaise with study stakeholders regarding recruitment, fieldwork, interpretation and study procedures.
• Support ethics/governance submissions, protocol amendments and study documentation relating to the qualitative component.
• Train or support other research staff involved in qualitative data collection and analysis.
• Assist with CARE's other initiatives where required.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Principal Investigator.

Job Requirements

• Possess a Master's degree in a relevant social science, public health, health services research or related discipline is strongly preferred
• Experience in implementation research, process evaluation, health services research, programme evaluation or related applied research would be advantageous.
• Familiarity with implementation science or theory-/framework-informed qualitative research would be advantageous.
• Demonstrated spoken proficiency in the language(s) required to independently conduct qualitative interviews with older adults and caregivers, including English, Mandarin and/or Malay, as applicable to the study population.
• Demonstrate an understanding of local ageing, policy and/or health contexts.
• At least 2 years of experience in conducting semi-structured or in‑depth interviews and independently analysing qualitative data.
• Experience developing coding frameworks and conducting thematic, framework or other systematic qualitative analysis.
• Have interest in conducting both evaluation and exploratory research that impact policies and programmes relevant to population ageing.
• Understand the importance of enhancing qualitative research capabilities in the age/healthcare sector.
• Possess strong interpersonal communications skills, with the ability to interact comfortably with older adults.
• Demonstrate ethical considerations, sensitivities and competencies working with older adults and/or vulnerable populations.
• Collaborative personality with strong people-skills to manage the research team, and interact with administrators, clinicians, and Principal Investigators.
• Possess strong organisational and time-management skills with the ability to manage project-related tasks and meet deadlines.
• Motivated, detail‑oriented, and capable of working collaboratively in a multidisciplinary setting.
• Proficient in English with excellent writing and analytical skills.
• Experience in using NVivo qualitative analysis software or any other equivalent qualitative data software.

Applicants should provide:-

1. Cover letter
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Two reference letters
4. Writing sample of about 3000 words

We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.