Application Deadline: : 21 February 2020.
The HSRC conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social-scientific research for public sector users, non-governmental organisations and international development agencies. Research activities and structures are closely aligned with South Africa’s national development priorities.
The HSRC’s integrated research programmes provide single points of entry – complete with a critical mass of researchers – for interdisciplinary and problem-orientated research in the following areas:
• Africa Institute of South Africa
• Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators
• Democracy, Governance and Service Delivery
• Economic Performance and Development
• Education and Skills Development
• Human and Social Development
• Social Policy, Knowledge Mobilisation, and Impact Assessment
• Social Aspects of Public Health.
The HSRC therefore seeks to appoint 10 x Masters Research Interns who are able to assume duty before 31 March 2020. These positions can be based in any one of the HSRC’s offices, namely Cape Town, Durban, or Pretoria.
The Master’s Research Internships within the HSRC is meant to provide the successful candidates with an opportunity to further develop their research expertise by working with subject experts and project specialists. The research internship experience is intensive and seeks mature individuals who are able to work independently as well as in a team. While appointees will be exposed to a wide variety of project-related research, they will be expected to complete their thesis within a 2 year period. Time is set aside for this purpose.
Key responsibilities:
Among other duties, they will participate in the following activities under supervision:
•The conceptualisation and execution of research projects;
•The formulation of research questions and funding proposals;
•The submission of research proposals for ethical review;
•Collection and analysis of data;
•Write up of research including conference presentations, research reports and manuscripts for publication; and
•Assist with administrative matters in the research environment.
Applicants should:
•Have graduated with an Honours degree and be eligible to register or have recently registered for a Master’s degree in the Social Sciences/Humanities or a relevant field at an accredited tertiary institution in South Africa;
•Be prepared to travel to undertake fieldwork;
•Be curious and enthusiastic about a research career that includes qualitative and quantitative data analysis;
•Computer literacy including MS Office and appropriate software packages, including MS Excel, MS Access, SPSS or Stata or SAS;
•Sound communication skills (verbal as well as report writing);
•Good interpersonal skills and willingness to work in a structured environment;
•A sound grounding in research methods, qualitative or quantitative and growing conceptual ability;
•Be able to work independently as well as in a team;
•Be able to operate within very tight deadlines;
•Be prepared to work as part of multi-year, multi-institutional partnership projects between the HSRC, government departments, universities and other partners.
Key Requirements:
Applicants should:
•Have graduated with an Honours degree and be eligible to register or have recently registered for a Master’s degree in the Social Sciences/Humanities or a relevant field at an accredited tertiary institution in South Africa;
•Be prepared to travel to undertake fieldwork;
•Be curious and enthusiastic about a research career that includes qualitative and quantitative data analysis;
•Computer literacy including MS Office and appropriate software packages, including MS Excel, MS Access, SPSS or Stata or SAS;
•Sound communication skills (verbal as well as report writing);
•Good interpersonal skills and willingness to work in a structured environment;
•A sound grounding in research methods, qualitative or quantitative and growing conceptual ability;
•Be able to work independently as well as in a team;
•Be able to operate within very tight deadlines;
•Be prepared to work as part of multi-year, multi-institutional partnership projects between the HSRC, government departments, universities and other partners.
Application Procedure:
The HSRC offers attractive, market-related packages, depending on qualifications and experience
Applications: In your application, please include a letter of motivation, your CV, and the names of three contactable referees (with telephone, fax and e-mail contact details), an example of recent academic work (not exceeding 8000 words); and a one-page outline of your Master’s thesis topic (or the abstract of completed work) respectively. The HSRC will only consider applications that comply with the above requirements. Applicants may be required to undertake a written exercise covering competencies required for the position.
Please submit your application on-line at http://hsrc.jb.skillsmapafrica.com.
Please note the following:
•Ensure you use Google Chrome or Firefox from a computer or laptop, and not a cell phone
•Only your CV can be uploaded on the first page after you have registered/logged in.
•ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS can be uploaded on the “Document” tab on your profile
•Attachments must be less than 2 MB.
•Should you encounter challenges in applying for this post please contact Skillsmap directly – for Telephonic support: +27 12 420 7200; for Email support: skillsmapsupport@sage.com
For further information please consult the HSRC website. Details of the HSRC can be found on the website (www.hsrc.ac.za). For any enquiries regarding these positions, not applications, kindly contact either one of the HR Consultants, Ms Sandra Nduli snduli@hsrc.ac.za, Ms Tremel Pounasamy tpounasamy@hsrc.ac.za or Ms Aurelia-Lynn Smith asmith@hsrc.ac.za
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Human Sciences Research Council 2020 Masters Research Internship