Field-based Research Assistants (Baseline Study on CSEC)

Job Description

Title: Field-based Research Assistants (Baseline Study on CSEC)

Company Name: Population Services and Training Center (PSTC)

Vacancy: 44

Age: At least 22 years

Job Location: Barishal, Dhaka, Khulna, Mymensingh

Salary: Negotiable

Experience:

• At least 2 years
• The applicants should have experience in the following business area(s): NGO

• Bachelor/Honors

• At least 2 years
• The applicants should have experience in the following business area(s): NGO

• Age At least 22 years

Population Services and Training Center (PSTC) is a leading national non-governmental organization in Bangladesh working on public health, child protection, and social development. PSTC is implementing a national baseline study on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) across Dhaka, Barishal, Khulna, and Mymensingh Divisions in collaboration with Population Council Consulting Pvt. Ltd. and with support from Population Council Inc. The study employs a rigorous mixed-methods design to measure CSEC prevalence and explore community reliance on the criminal justice system in the selected districts of four divisions. Data collection includes multiple types of quantitative surveys and qualitative approaches with children at risk and survivors of CSEC, parents/caregivers, local and national-level government and non-government stakeholders of the criminal justice system. PSTC is now inviting applications to support in the field data collection process for both components.

Contract type: Temporary/Short-term

Duration: Approximately 30-45 working days in October 2026 – November 2026

Location: Four divisions in Bangladesh: Dhaka, Barishal, Khulna, Mymensingh

Requirements

Education:

• Minimum Bachelor's degree in Social Science, Public Health, Statistics, Population Science, Development Studies, or a closely related field. Master's degree in a relevant discipline will be an advantage.

Experience:

• ·         Minimum two (02) years of experience in conducting quantitative (survey) and qualitative interviews (KII, IDI, FGD, Observation).

• Prior experience working with sensitive or hard-to-reach populations such as street-connected children, people engaged with sex work, or trafficking survivors is strongly preferred.

• Prior experience working with high-end national level stakeholders, e.g., government officials, policymakers, criminal justice system actors is strongly preferred.

• Experience with Respondent Drive Sampling (RDS) and/or Network Scale-Up Method (NSUM) survey methods and observation approach is a significant advantage.

• Experience of using digital data collection platforms (MQUAD, KoBoToolbox, SurveyCTO) is preferred.

Data collection Instrument:

• Having have own Android device is preferred.

Training and Code of Conduct:

• All selected candidates must attend and complete the mandatory pre-deployment training programme covering: study overview and research protocol; instrument review and practice interviews; digital platform orientation; child safeguarding, and adverse event reporting; trauma-informed and child-friendly engagement; informed consent and assent procedures; and field safety protocols.

• All FRAs staff must sign and adhere to PSTC's field Code of Conduct, including zero-tolerance clauses on safeguarding violations, confidentiality breaches, and professional misconduct.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct structured interviews with adult gatekeepers and insiders in public (brothels), street, and in private (hotel, guesthouse, spa/massage parlour, etc.) venue settings.

• Administer structured interviews with street-connected children at NGO safe spaces or less-crowded street locations.

• Distribute referral coupons, track recruitment chains, and record peer network data accurately.

• Conduct low profile visit in public (brothels) and private (hotel, guesthouse, massage parlour, etc.) venues and record observational data on the structured checklist.

• Conduct semi-structured IDIs with child survivors of CSEC.

• Conduct FGDs with parents and caregivers of at-risk children and CSEC survivors.

• Conduct KIIs with criminal justice system stakeholders, including police, prosecutors, judges, DSS officials, legal aid providers, and NGO/CSO staff in four divisions.

• Audio-record all qualitative interviews with explicit participant consent; ensure prompt, accurate transcription and Bangla/English translation as required by the core research team.

• Facilitate written/verbal informed consent and assent procedures with adult and child respondents, adhering to all safeguarding and trauma-informed engagement protocols.

• Ensure timely, complete, and accurate submission of all survey data through the designated digital platform daily.

• Participate in daily debriefing sessions with the Field Supervisor and/or the core research team.

• Report any adverse incidents, child safeguarding concerns, or protocol deviations to the Field Supervisor immediately.

• Attend all pre-deployment training including instrument review, digital platform orientation, child safeguarding, age-estimation exercises, and pilot survey.

• Administer and manage informed consent and assent documents and return to the hiring administration.

• Any other relevant duties suggested by the administrative authority.

Compensation: Negotiable. A competitive, market standard daily honorarium will be provided, with a no-work, no-pay clause. Actual long travel costs and a fixed monthly telephone bill allowance will be provided. No local transport cost will be provided.

All the shortlisted applicants will require to attend an interview process. If selected, final confirmation and appointment will be provided after the mandatory training mentioned.