Terms of Reference: User Researcher for the CLEAR Global DFAT Marma project

Location: Bangladesh, Khagrachari district

Travel: To locations to be confirmed in Khagrachari district; non-travel time will be home-based

Reporting to: Program Manager

Timeframe: May-July 2024 (up to 30 FTE days total)

Application deadline: Rolling

CLEAR Global is an equal opportunity employer, committed to having a diverse team where individuals of all backgrounds collaborate and learn from one another. We believe we can be most effective with diverse experience and expertise in our team. We recruit on merit, actively seek diverse applicant pools and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, marital or parental status, or sexual orientation, and welcome all types of diversity.

Background

Education in Bangladesh had historically been in Bengali, and there has been limited scope for indigenous children and adults to become acquainted with their mother tongue in written form. In 2010, the government recognised indigenous children’s right to education in their respective mother tongues and updated the National Education Policy with activities to arrange indigenous textbooks and teachers. Since then various initiatives have been taken to implement the policies however the work has not yet reached the desired scale and reach.

CLEAR Global, commissioned by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), has undertaken to investigate language and communication challenges faced by speakers of indigenous languages, focusing on speakers of Marma language in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region. The project is two-fold: a baseline study will be carried out to better understand the communication needs and challenges of the Marma people in Bangladesh, and in parallel, the team will conduct user research to explore how language technology and inclusive digital solutions can improve access to government led initiatives (ICT tools) that aim to increase quality of education through online training and skill development for teachers. The combination of the baseline and user research will subsequently inform CLEAR Global’s work to develop a language technology prototype for the Marma language.

The role

CLEAR Global is looking for a User researcher to lead its in-country user research, supported by CLEAR Global’s remote team. Research will be conducted in person as part of field work in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region in June 2024. Data analysis, write-up in the form of a user research report and supporting documents, and some subsequent support to the ideation stage of language technology prototype development will be delivered remotely.

Candidates must be located in Bangladesh and available to travel to the confirmed locations in the Hill Tracts for up to 10-15 days in mid June. Candidates must be fluent in Bangla and English, it is considered a plus if candidates speak Marma but this is not an essential requirement as Marma linguists will support the researcher in the field.

Supported by a Marma linguist, the researcher will conduct 10-15 key informant interviews (combined with usability testing) and 3-4 focus group discussions (or co-creation sessions) with teachers, education officers and other education workers within the Marma community, supported by CLEAR Global and its partners to identify participants. They will work with research tools (interview guide, UX testing activities and FGD or co-creation guidelines) and according to a research methodology developed by CLEAR Global.

They will:

• Review user engagement and data collection plan
• Support on research tool development (review, provide feedback, contribute to content, templates etc)
• Attend a training session with CLEAR Global on research tools, UX process and ethical considerations
• Coordinate with CLEAR Global’s Program Technology Lead and Project Manager around logistics of the testing such as scheduling sessions, sourcing participants  etc.
• Conduct 10-15 two-hour sessions (max) in person that include an interview and a series of UX testing activities
• Conduct 3-4 focus groups discussion (or co-creation sessions) with teachers, or other relevant groups within the Marma community
• Follow up with participants to share results, as requested
• Respond to questions from and be available for calls or to exchange emails with the CLEAR Global team throughout the process
• Attend regular debriefing session(s) during data collection
• Analyze the data collected and write a user research report, supported by the CLEAR Global team, including key findings and  recommendations
• Develop a number of relevant user personas and journeys based on the findings
• Facilitate and contribute to an ideation and design workshop post data collection.

Deliverables

• Reviewed user engagement plan
• Reviewed research tools and templates
• Recordings, screen shots (when applicable) and transcriptions, notes and data from each interview and focus group discussion and UX testing results (ensuring that transcriptions and notes are translated to English before submission)
• All other documents and data related to this research project, including consent forms and observational notes
• User research report
• User personas and journeys
• Draft framework for ideation workshop to be developed in collaboration with the CLEAR Global team

Deliverables will be considered finalized only after approval by CLEAR Global commissioning manager.

Requirements

The researcher must have a background in one or more of the following, preferably within Bangladesh:

• User research and Human-centered design process
• Usability testing and participatory co-creation
• Qualitative social science research

Researchers should have experience working with indigenous communities, speakers of marginalized languages, or with other vulnerable populations. Those who do not have a background in user research or usability testing should be able to demonstrate that they are familiar and comfortable with technology and can competently discuss digital  applications with users. Other relevant experience (documented): mobile app development, product management, UX design, user centered design or design thinking.

The researcher will be briefed on security management plans and must accept CLEAR Global’s rules and follow the agreed procedures. The researcher will be expected to provide documented evidence of their own health insurance. The researcher will be expected to provide their own equipment and supplies (laptop, mobile phone, any recording equipment, etc.).

Terms and conditions

Payments will be made as follows:

• a payment of 20% of the amount upon delivery of reviewed user engagement plan and research tools and templates
• a payment of 20% on delivery of recordings, screen shots, transcriptions, notes and other data/documentation from testing
• a payment of 60% of the amount upon delivery of all services detailed in these ToR

Payment within 30 days of the reception of the invoice.

In addition, CLEAR Global will cover the following costs from the project budget:

• Return travel to the Hill Tracts from the researcher’s home base in Bangladesh, and domestic travel and associated costs
• Per diems and accommodation costs for any overnight stays during the research

How to apply

CLEAR Global will accept offers from individual consultants and consulting firms.

To apply for this consultancy please send the following documents:

1- A technical and financial offer to include:

• a brief description (no more than two sides of A4) of how you would tackle this role
• a financial offer, specifying daily fees in US Dollars or Bangladeshi Taka (please specify currency clearly within your offer). Please also state your daily fee in the ‘Desired Salary’ field in the application. Please note that payments will be made via international bank transfer, regardless of quoted currency.

2- Curriculum vitae highlighting experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) and at least three professional references.

Please upload the technical and financial offer as one document under “cover letter” and present the CV(s) of the expert(s) proposed in one document under “CV”.

About CLEAR Global

CLEAR Global helps people get vital information, and be heard, whatever language they speak. We believe that everyone has the right to give and receive information in a language and format they understand. We work with nonprofit partners and a global community of language professionals to build local language translation capacity, and raise awareness of language barriers. Our network of over 100,000 community members translate millions of words of life-saving and life-changing information a year.

Core values

CLEAR Global employees and volunteers passionately believe in the value of this work and take personal responsibility for achieving the mission. CLEAR Global’s mission and organizational spirit embody the core values established in its strategic framework:

• Excellence: In communicating humanitarian information in the right language, CLEAR Global is a leader in the translation industry and in the non-profit sector.
• Integrity: In believing that every person, whether it’s the people who we serve, our volunteers or our staff, has value, deserves respect and has inherent dignity.
• Empowerment: In using language to empower people around the world to control their own development and destiny.
• Innovation: In recognizing and celebrating the power of innovation to address humanitarian and crisis issues around the world.
• Sustainability: In recognizing that meeting our mission requires the establishment and maintenance of a solid financial and organizational infrastructure.

Tolerance: In that our staff and volunteers value each other, our partners and our end users, create a supportive work environment, and conduct themselves professionally at all times.