Job Description

In delivering social science that makes a difference the Research Divisions, Units, Institutes and Centres of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) undertake policy-oriented research from its offices in Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, and Pietermaritzburg. Our public purpose mandate is set out in the Human Sciences Research Council Act of 2008.The Equitable Education and Economies (EEE) division undertakes research to transform educational outcomes and increase economic participation. It recognises that education and the economy have long been linked and conducts research to understand educational performance and improve learning outcomes, and to interrogate social, spatial, and structural obstacles to economic participation.The project for which this appointment is to be made is called uGood!? which aims to test and further develop relational approaches to wellbeing; and generate empirical insights into key contemporary challenges to young peoples wellbeing, and how they are addressing these. Through the adoption of a relational wellbeing framework, it embraces people-centred, collaborative, and participatory approaches to conducting research to generate insights into how the relational aspect of multiple domains may make contributions to well-being. The programme is structured into four thematic areas that act as entry points for investigations on the wellbeing of young people. A key component of governance is an advisory group to provide strategic and scientific advice on the implementation of the programme.This advert is for the recruitment of a Mental Health Project Advisor on a 4 year freelance contract, based in any of the 12 focus countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Romania, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, or Vietnam).The ideal candidate should be an expert in Mental Health with significant experience in youth wellbeing as a broad area of study .Freelancer: Project Advisory Group Expert: Mental Health (1Position)(Ref. No: uGOODMH 09/2024)Minimum Requirements * Expertise in mental health and relational wellbeing, youth wellbeing, or youth studies

• Must have access to reliable, high-quality, and stable internet
• Must have access to remote conferencing facilities/software such as Zoom.
• Must be available to travel to attend a minimum of 3 research project conferences.
• A PhD in Social Sciences.
• At least 5 years research experience in a research environment.
• Exposure particularly to multi-stakeholder and/or multi-country research would be an advantage.
• Documented leadership experience.
• Availability to contribute to the programme over a 4-year period as a freelancer.
• A track-record of peer reviewed, accredited publications (at least 10 publications, with some first authored and some international).
• An understanding of research processes and activities.
• Fluency in English with excellent written and verbal communication
• Competency in computer programmes such as Word, OneDrive, Excel, PowerPoint, referencing software.
• Proactive with a problem-solving mindset, the ability to multi-task and with great attention to detail.
• Academic affiliation will be an advantage.

Duties & Responsibilities * Support the Principal Investigators (PIs) and the thematic leads by providing guidance relating to the substantive aspects of the programme from theoretical, research design, and methodological perspectives.

• Provide comment and expert input reflective of their respective knowledge areas.
• Support the decision-making process on the selection of funded projects.
• Form the nucleus of the Community of Practice (CoP) and steer its development and activities.
• Provide guidance on priority areas and topics, including the development of new priority areas, recommended actions, or interventions to address priorities that encourage ambitious and innovative research.
• Advise on key project outputs towards more accessible and useful evidence for decision-makers in policy and practice.
• Mentor research PIs, if and where this might be required.
• Contribute to improving the potential uptake of the research findings by, for example, policy- and decision-makers and funders of youth-related programmes.
• Address any knowledge gaps as they might emerge through the research implementation.
• Act as an ambassador for the programme internationally.
• Attend and contribute to CoP events (a minimum of 3 per annum).
• Attend and contribute to CoP meetings (1 per annum).
• Attend and contribute to project conferences (3 over the course of the programme).

Remuneration for this position will be based on inputs and attendance over the five-year period, as listed on the advert.APPLICATIONS: * A cover letter of motivation indicating your suitability for the position,

• A detailed CV with a full list of publications and an indication of your residency status and country of origin,
• Two examples of published academic work related to Mental Health,
• The details of three recent referees with telephone/cell number, e-mail, contact details and institutional affiliation.

Please register and submit your application on-line at https://hsrc.internal.erecruit.co/Application Instructions:

• Candidates can make use of their mobile devices or any browser to register on the Neptune recruitment site, as well as to make application for available vacancies;
• Candidates will be prompted to upload their documents;
• Attachments must be less than 1MB, there is an on-screen option to resize;
• The Neptune system will only allow you to upload 1 attachment. Please ensure that all documents are merged into 1 file before uploading.

Enquiries (NOT Applications or CVs) may be directed to Dr Candice Groenewald email .Closing date: 20 September 2024. We encourage applicants to submit prior to the closing date. If you do not receive any response from us within eight weeks, please accept that your application was unsuccessful. Only candidates who are interviewed will be advised of the outcome of their application.The HSRC reserves the right not to make an appointment.APPLICATIONS FROM RECRUITMENT AGENCIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

HSRC