Malaria Consortium (MC) is implementing an embedded implementation research study in selected local government areas (LGAs) of Kogi, Plateau and Sokoto States to assess approaches for linking routine immunization (RI) activities with Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) delivery. The approaches comprise: A, structured RI messaging during SMC contact; B, Approach A plus community engagement/social and behaviour change communication (SBCC); and C, Approach B plus immunization-status screening, referral and follow-up. A comparator arm receives standard SMC.
The qualitative component explores acceptability, feasibility, implementation burden, fidelity, perceived effectiveness, equity and scalability. MC seeks six state-based Research Assistants (RAs), two in each state, and other state-level data collection team members (Moderators, Notetakers and qualitative data transcribers) to support the approved qualitative fieldwork. The RAs will work under the day-to-day technical direction and supervision of the Lead Qualitative Research Consultant and within MC-approved study procedures.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Moderator
Location: Kanke, Pankshin, Langtang North - Plateau
Purpose and limits of the assignment
To engage and deploy four complementary cadresState Research Assistants, Qualitative Data Moderators, Note Takers and Qualitative Data Transcribersto undertake approved state-level qualitative fieldwork.
Research Assistants coordinate recruitment, scheduling, field logistics and quality monitoring; Moderators conduct FGDs/KIIs; Note Takers document sessions and support debriefs; and Transcribers produce accurate, de-identified transcripts and approved translations. All cadres work under the technical supervision of the Lead Qualitative Research Consultant and Malaria Consortium (MC) oversight.
This ToR covers field personnel only. No cadre is engaged to independently design or amend the protocol, approve sampling changes, lead the consultancy, undertake study-wide qualitative analysis, or prepare the final integrated research report.
Duties are allocated by cadre and may overlap only when specifically assigned, personnel are trained and competent, and the Lead Consultant authorizes the arrangement.
Locations (Applicants residing in these LGAs are encouraged to apply)
Qualitative Study Participants and Planned Sample
The Lead Qualitative Research Consultant will operationalize the approved multi-stage sampling process with MC and government counterparts. State Research Assistants will implement the approved recruitment plan and coordinate scheduling; Moderators and Note Takers will support eligibility checks and consent within their training and assigned roles; Transcribers will work only with authorized, consented recordings. No field cadre may independently change the sampling frame or respondent targets.
Participant Identification and Recruitment
The Research Assistants, based in Kogi, Plateau and Sokoto States, with the support of the moderators, Note takers and transcribers will coordinate participant identification and recruitment for qualitative data collection in their respective states, working closely with Malaria Consortium (MC), State Programme Managers and relevant state/LGA authorities to facilitate official introductions, access to selected clusters and model facilities, and participant mobilization through appropriate community and programme structures.
The Research Assistants with the support of the moderators, Note takers and transcribers will coordinate the implementation of the MC-approved sampling and recruitment plan, ensuring that approved recruitment lists and eligibility criteria are followed. They will oversee the screening process, maintain accurate screening and recruitment logs, monitor recruitment progress and support the selection of participants representing diverse roles, geographical locations and levels of intervention exposure.
The Research Assistants will coordinate with trained qualitative data collectors to ensure that prospective participants are approached appropriately, eligibility is verified, and recruitment and informed consent procedures comply with the approved study protocol and ethical requirements. Recruitment and consent will be undertaken by trained research personnel who are not directly responsible for providing services to prospective participants to minimize potential coercion and power imbalances.
The Research Assistants will coordinate the identification, recruitment and scheduling of the relevant respondent groups in their respective states, including caregivers and community drug distributors (CDDs) from the selected qualitative cluster in each intervention LGA; health workers from model facilities serving the selected clusters; community/traditional leaders in the three Approach C LGAs; and programme stakeholders purposively selected based on their responsibilities for SMC, routine immunization (RI), primary healthcare (PHC) planning, implementation, supervision or oversight.
The Research Assistants will monitor recruitment against the approved state-level targets and data collection schedule, document recruitment challenges, ineligibility and non-response, and promptly communicate any proposed respondent replacements to the study lead and MC for review and approval. MC will retain final approval of the recruitment matrix and any replacement of a selected respondent.
Supervision and working relationships
The Lead Qualitative Research Consultant provides direct technical supervision to all four field cadres, including orientation, daily task allocation, coaching, fieldwork review, transcription standards and approval of routine adjustments within the MC-approved plan. Research Assistants coordinate state-level scheduling and day-to-day communication, but do not replace the Lead Consultant as technical supervisor.
Research Assistants submit consolidated state updates; Moderators submit session completion records and interview issues; Note Takers submit session notes and debrief records; and Transcribers submit transcripts and discrepancy logs. Each cadre must promptly report consent, safeguarding, confidentiality, security or quality concerns to the Lead Consultant, with escalation to MC under approved procedures.
MC retains overall authority for protocol, ethics, safeguarding, data governance, participant reimbursement and material changes to sampling or field procedures. MC/state/LGA counterparts support official introductions, access and approved mobilization. No cadre may independently substitute participants, alter approved reimbursement or disclose study data.
RAs and other data collection team members do not independently approve protocol changes, substitute respondents, alter reimbursement arrangements or share research data outside authorized channels.
Responsibilities of each Qualitative Data Moderator The qualitative data collection moderator will be responsible for facilitating qualitative interviews and/or focus group discussions in accordance with the approved study protocol and discussion guide. The moderator will:
Conduct interviews and focus group discussions using the approved semi-structured interview or discussion guide.
Establish rapport with participants and create a respectful, comfortable, and non-judgmental environment that encourages open and honest discussion.
Explain the purpose of the session, confirm informed consent, and obtain permission for audio recording where applicable.
Ask questions in a clear, neutral, and non-leading manner, while using appropriate probes and follow-up questions to explore emerging issues in greater depth.
Ensure that all key topics in the discussion guide are adequately covered without unnecessarily restricting participants' responses.
Manage the flow of discussions, ensuring that all participants have an opportunity to contribute, particularly during focus group discussions.
Remain neutral and avoid expressing personal opinions, judgments, or reactions that could influence participants' responses.
Monitor participants for signs of discomfort or distress and respond appropriately in accordance with the study's ethical procedures.
Maintain confidentiality and protect participants' privacy throughout the data collection process.
Ensure that audio recordings and other study materials are appropriately labelled, securely stored, and transferred according to the study's data management procedures.
Conduct debriefing sessions with the note taker after each session to clarify contextual issues, emerging themes, and observations relevant to interpretation of the data.
Document any deviations, challenges, or unusual circumstances encountered during data collection and report them to the qualitative research supervisor.
Participate in regular team debriefing sessions to review data quality, emerging findings, and the need for clarification or refinement of probing techniques.
Expected deliverables by staff cadre
No.
Cadre-specific deliverable
Timing
1
Moderators: session guide/consent/audio checklist; Note Takers: expanded field notes and debrief record; Research Assistants: daily QA log
After each session / daily
2
Moderators/Note Takers: securely handed-over recordings and notes; Transcribers: verbatim transcripts, approved translations and discrepancy log; Research Assistants: handover tracker
Rolling handover during fieldwork
3
All cadres: final handover of assigned records and files, verified by Lead Consultant
By last day of engagement
Field Logistics and Responsibilities
Item
Responsibility/arrangement
Participant identification/mobilization
MC/state/LGA counterparts facilitate approved introductions; Research Assistants coordinate screening, recruitment and scheduling; Moderators verify eligibility/consent as assigned; Note Takers document session codes; Transcribers have no recruitment role.
Venues
MC/state teams support venue identification; Research Assistants coordinate booking and logistics; Moderators assess privacy and suitability; Note Takers prepare recording/notes materials.
Participant transport reimbursement
MC alone approves and administers reimbursement permitted by ethics documents; no Research Assistant, Moderator, Note Taker or Transcriber may introduce incentives or vary arrangements.
Government/state/LGA introductions
MC and government partners provide official introductions; Research Assistants coordinate field access under Lead Consultant direction.
Access to quantitative/programme data for triangulation
MC controls authorised programme data. Field cadres may access only the materials required for assigned tasks, through approved channels.
Qualifications and Selection Criteria for Moderator
Bachelor’s degree in public health, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, or a closely related discipline, with formal training or demonstrated experience in qualitative research.
At least three years of relevant experience in qualitative public health research, with demonstrated experience moderating Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs).
Demonstrated proficiency in qualitative interviewing and facilitation, including effective probing, active listening, follow-up questioning, and exploration of participants’ experiences and perspectives.
Demonstrated ability to establish rapport with participants and facilitate discussions in a neutral, respectful, inclusive, and non-judgmental manner without leading or influencing responses.
Experience managing FGD dynamics, including encouraging participation, managing dominant or reluctant participants, maintaining discussion focus, and ensuring adequate coverage of the discussion guide.
Demonstrated understanding and practical application of informed consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, ethical research conduct, and secure handling of qualitative research data.
Familiarity with semi-structured interview and FGD guides, audio-recording procedures, field notes, and post-session debriefing.
Knowledge or experience in SMC, routine immunisation, primary health care, community health services, or related public health programmes is desirable.
Excellent communication, interpersonal, listening, facilitation, and organisational skills.
Proficiency in English and relevant local language(s) spoken in the assigned state.
Resident in the state of assignment and available to travel to selected LGAs and study sites as required.
Available throughout the agreed data collection period and committed to adhering to the approved study protocol, data collection procedures, and quality assurance requirements.
Ethics, quality assurance and data protection
All four cadres must comply with the approved protocol, ethics approvals, participant information sheets and consent forms. Research Assistants coordinate ethical recruitment and scheduling; Moderators verify and document consent, including separate audio-recording permission; Note Takers protect identities in field notes; and Transcribers process only authorised recordings and redact identifiers. Participation is voluntary and no field staff member may promise incentives. Any permitted transport reimbursement is determined and administered by MC.
Every cadre must use approved study IDs, safeguard identifiable information, use authorised devices and secure transfer channels, and promptly report breaches, distress, deviations or missing records to the Lead Consultant and MC as appropriate. Recordings, notes and transcripts must be handed over securely, and local copies retained or deleted only as instructed by MC.
Quality Assurance Requirements:
Only personnel demonstrating adequate competence during training/practical exercises will be deployed.
All sessions must use the approved version of the relevant respondent-specific guide.
Moderators and Note Takers must participate in post-session debriefs; Research Assistants maintain session QA and corrective-action logs; Transcribers must flag inaudible segments, inconsistencies and translation uncertainties.
Transcribers will verify transcripts against audio and use agreed speaker codes; the Lead Consultant determines independent bilingual review and any subsequent analytical coding/double-coding.
All four cadres document deviations and adaptations within their responsibilities; the Lead Consultant maintains the overall methodological and analysis audit trail.
Each cadre submits its assigned editable field records, notes, audio metadata, transcripts, translations and discrepancy logs in approved formats. Codebooks, coding matrices and analytical projects remain the Lead Consultant’s responsibility.
All editable datasets/files, transcripts, codebooks, matrices, coding outputs and analysis project files must be complete and submitted in agreed formats.
Performance assessment and payment
Performance and payment will be assessed separately for each cadre against its assigned duties: Research Assistantsrecruitment accuracy, schedules, trackers, QA and state handover; Moderatorsethical, complete and neutral FGDs/KIIs, probing and session documentation; Note Takersaccurate, timely field notes, metadata and debrief records; Transcriberscomplete, accurate, de-identified and timely transcripts/approved translations. All cadres must comply with supervision, safeguarding and data-security requirements. Individual contracts will specify working days or output-based units, approved rates, acceptance criteria and payment milestones; no consultant-level analysis or final-report obligations apply.
Data Ownership, Management, Transfer, Retention and Deletion
Malaria Consortium is the Data Controller and retains ownership and control of all study data and outputs generated by every field cadre, subject to contracts and applicable law.
Identifying administrative information must be stored separately from study data. Unique study IDs must be used on research data.
Audio, transcripts, codebooks, matrices and analysis projects must be stored only on password-protected/encrypted devices and MC-approved secure storage locations, with access limited to authorised personnel.
Research Assistants, Moderators and Note Takers must transfer approved field records securely; Transcribers must return transcripts and any approved translations through MC-approved channels. The Lead Consultant verifies completeness and coordinates final handover to MC.
MC retains records according to organisational policy and applicable ethical/data-protection requirements; no field cadre may retain copies beyond the period expressly authorised by MC.
After confirmed handover and on MC’s written instruction, each staff member must securely delete unauthorised local copies and confirm completion; no fixed deletion deadline is imposed here unless specified by MC.
No data may be reused, published, shared or transferred to third parties without prior written authorisation from MC and any required ethics/data-governance approval.
Reporting and Management Arrangements
All four cadres report technically to the Lead Qualitative Research Consultant. Research Assistants serve as state-level coordination focal points; Moderators and Note Takers coordinate session arrangements with the Research Assistants and report technical/session issues directly to the Lead Consultant; Transcribers receive authorised recordings and submit transcripts through the agreed secure workflow. MC retains overall oversight and approval authority. Each staff member must communicate progress, delays, data-quality issues and safeguarding/security concerns promptly.