Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Multilingual Markets: Investigating Language Skills for Informal Employment in Malawi, University of Malawi (INTERNAL ADVERT)

Project Description 

The Multilingual Markets: Investigating Language Skills for Informal Employment in Malawi is an international and interdisciplinary project that is managed by researchers from University of Malawi, University of Sterling and Glassgow University. It seeks to investigate language use and language attitudes in the informal labour market in Malawi. It focuses on language practices in urban and semi-urban marketplaces in each region of Malawi. The project adopts a mixed methods approach, consisting of qualitative ethnography and a quantitative skills survey. We seek a full-time Postdoctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) to work on the project until April 2026. We will consider applications for a part-time position. The reasons for this should be outlined in the cover letter, and the applicant should highlight how they will be able to manage their time to meet the demand of the project.

Duties of the Position

Based at the University of Malawi, the PDRA will be responsible for leading the data collection and analysis, guided and supported by the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator team. The main duties of the PDRA will be:

Collect data in all 6 research sites over the course of the project, ensuring that data collection targets are met and are conducting following appropriate ethical processes.

Lead on tidying, transcribing, and analysing the data, producing translations where necessary.

Manage the Fieldwork Research Assistant team which will consist of 4 RAs assisting on data collection.

Play an active role as a project member, contributing to organising additional project activities such as team meetings, stakeholder engagement, academic talks, and publications.

Lead on the development of accessible, public-facing outputs such as infographics and audio/visual material to provide participants and the wider publication with information on the project and findings.

Maintaining the project website.

Job Criteria 

Essential 

A PhD in Linguistics, or relevant related field obtained within the past seven years.

Experience of ethnographic methods and qualitative data analysis 

Experience of working as part of a team 

Knowledge of English and Chichewa (additional Malawian languages are also desirable)

Desirable 

Experience of managing teams

Experience of international partnerships

Publication history appropriate to career stage

Application details

Please submit:

A full CV 

A cover letter explaining how you meet the job criteria and your research experience and interests in relation to the project focus

An example of a relevant recent academic writing 

Applications should be emailed to multilingualmarkets@unima.ac.mw not

later than Monday, 30th December 2024.