Research Officer

Job responsibilities and accountability

Context

BBC Media Action uses media and communication to reach millions of people through creative communication and trusted media, helping people have their say, understand their rights, responsibilities, and take action to transform their own lives. We work across a range of thematic areas including health, governance and rights, resilience and humanitarian response and we partner with civil society, local media and governments to deliver our work. We have been working in Nepal since 2007 addressing a range of development issues including climate change adaptation, governance, health and humanitarian response. 

BBC Media Action Nepal is seeking a Research Officer to support research activities in implementing the research activities in Nepal. 

“The role may involve working with groups of vulnerable children and adults. For the successful candidate, mandatory training will be provided on BBC Media Action’s safeguarding policy and staff code of conduct. BBC Media Action operates a zero-tolerance policy concerning all forms of abuse and exploitation of vulnerable people.” 

Job purpose

The Research Officer will take a lead role in planning, managing and delivering research activities. This includes conducting literature reviews, drafting and finalising research designs and tools, managing fieldwork, collecting and analysing data, writing reports, and communicating research insights to production, project, and research teams within and outside the organisation. 

This role also requires the ability to work with minimal supervision and to deliver briefs, summaries, or reports quickly, ensuring that findings are integrated into production processes and contribute to evidence based and timely decision-making.

Main duties and responsibilities:

Working closely with research, production and project teams in Nepal, the Research Officer will be responsible for following activities:   

• Design and conduct rapid assessments, formative research, baseline surveys, endline surveys and impact evaluations to generate evidence for project design, implementation, monitoring, and learning. 
• Develop appropriate research methodologies and tools, analyse data, generate insights, and prepare reports.  
• Ensure that research activities align with project objectives and project team requirements. 
• Conduct comprehensive reviews of existing studies and documents relevant to the context. 
• Lead surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions; manage fieldwork logistics; ensure ethical practices including informed consent and safeguarding.
• Recruit and manage field researchers as required to support data collection and data management activities.
• Regularly synthesis, analyse, and communicate research findings to project teams. 
• Validate the research findings with local partners and stakeholders. 
• Stay updated on current trends, theories and methodologies and practices in media, communication and humanitarian research. 
• Prepare high-quality research reports, blogs, presentations and other knowledge products for diverse audiences.
• Participate in research and learning workshops and represent BBC Media Action in other knowledge sharing forums and workshops.
• Participate in relevant mandatory training including Safeguarding and Respect at Work.
• Understand and comply with BBC Media Action’s Safeguarding policy and Staff Code of Conduct. 
• Report any safeguarding concerns immediately, either to the Country Director, or through the Whistleblowing Policy.

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Experience

The role requires an experienced research professional with qualitative and quantitative expertise, ideally within development and communication contexts. The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Minimum University degree in social sciences, mass communication, or a related field, with strong competency in mixed-method research.
• Minimum of four years of experience in managing research, with strong technical expertise in qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Preference for candidates with experience in humanitarian work, emergency response, disaster recovery. 
• Strong ability in developing research design, and tools, field management, data analysis, and interpretation of results and reporting.
• Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative data analysis including experience using statistical software / packages such as SPSS and STATA. 
• Demonstrated experience in report writing and developing PowerPoint presentations.
• Ability to manage complex workloads, multitask effectively, and solve problems proactively.
• Strong team player with the ability to collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams and with external partners.  
• Strong computer skills, including Excel and PowerPoint.
• Ability to plan and conduct work with minimal supervision.
• Willingness to travel to different parts of Nepal, as required by the research team. 
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills in both Nepali and English.

If you are interested in applying for this position, please send a CV and Covering Letter outlining your interest in the role, and demonstrating how you fulfil the essential skills and experience, by 1st October 2026 to application@np.bbcmediaaction.org  (with job title in the subject line).

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further recruitment processes.