INASP – the International Network for Advancing Science and Policy – is an international organisation, established in 1992, with a mission to support tertiary education and research systems in the Global South. For over 30 years INASP has worked with universities, research organizations, think tanks and governments across Africa, Asia and Latin America to strengthen research, teaching and learning, and to ensure that Global South researchers and educators can produce the knowledge that their countries and communities need.
We work to achieve impact in three areas:
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Enabling researchers to generate critical knowledge for policy, practice and their communities, by supporting early career researchers and their institutions to work with stakeholders to undertake research that addresses priority problems.
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Enabling youth to secure meaningful and dignified work, by working with tertiary institutions and their staff to ensure that degree programmes give graduates the skills, confidence and resilience to thrive.
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Enabling women educators and researchers to lead change, by working with research systems and institutions to ensure curricula and classrooms are inclusive and enable women to succeed in their studies and research.
With a base in Oxford, UK, we are a virtual team which spans 13 countries.
Digital Hub for Open Research in East Africa
The Digital Hub for Open Research in East Africa is a new INASP project funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation.
This project aims to harness the transformative potential of open science in East Africa by empowering talented young researchers who address critical questions facing their nations and communities. The project team plans to do this by establishing a digital East African open research learning hub, with a focus on Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
Alongside this, the project will leverage INASP's experience in digital learning and community-building to develop a five-module digital learning program on open research practices for the hub. This program will combine facilitated asynchronous learning with live masterclasses. The project will also award up to three small grants to local teams to build on the learning program.
The digital hub will be hosted on one of INASP's digital learning platforms, and will facilitate the sharing of ideas and the forging of peer relationships between East African researchers. Members will be able to join discussion groups focused on specific challenge areas, or on open science techniques across disciplines. The digital hub will be actively facilitated to stimulate knowledge sharing and encourage peer-to-peer connections. The Community Moderator will play a key role in moderating and facilitating the hub.
The Role
This is a part-time consultancy as Community Moderator for INASP AuthorAID up until December 31, 2025.
This role is suitable for individuals at any stage of their career.
As the Community Moderator, you will be responsible for:
Duties
- Work with INASP Team to finalise community guidelines
- Facilitate discussion and dialogue in initial launch stage of hub, by seeding discussion questions and encouraging participation and collaboration.
- Onboard new members, helping them with community norms and expectations, and signposting key resources
- Help address general and technical questions about the hub and digital learning programme
- Monitor and moderate discussions. Uphold community guidelines, addressing inappropriate behaviour or off-topic content.
- Communicate and keep members up to date with news and updates on the project, and related and relevant INASP work.
- Encouraging sharing of resources, curate relevant shared resources, and provide online spaces for resource sharing and collaboration
- Where required, help organise thematic subgroups for group members
- Where required, help members organise live sessions on Zoom for discussion, collaboration and knowledge sharing
Skills, Experience, and other Qualities
You will have:
Essential:
- Experience using online forums and digital communication platforms
- Experience of the research environment in East Africa (and specifically Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, or Uganda)
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Good organisational skills and attention to detail
- Ability to express yourself clearly in written English
- Background in academia or knowledge of academia and research and a passion for supporting researchers from the Global South
- Broad cultural awareness and interest in working with people across different cultures and nationalities
- Commitment to inclusion and diversity, as well as INASP’s values.
Desirable:
- Knowledge of Open Science practices
- Experience moderating discussion forums or groups on digital platforms such as Moodle or WhatsApp
- Knowledge of and experience with the different forms of learning AuthorAID offers, including online events, courses, and blog posts
Reporting and Contracting Arrangements
The consultant will be contracted by INASP and report to Andy Nobes, Programme Specialist at INASP.
The consultant will provide support to the Digital Hub for Open Research in East Africa project up until December 31, 2025. The role will require availability of an initial 12 days during the inception phase of the hub during November and December 2024, and then 2 days per month during 2025. The total number of days will be agreed on the contract based on the Community Moderator's starting date (latest starting date: 1 November 2024).
The fee rate is £200/per day (7 hours). The consultant will be responsible for providing their own equipment and software to perform the consultancy, and will be responsible for any taxes, social security and insurance costs. Any additional expenses required to deliver the work will only be reimbursed based on prior agreement with INASP, but it is not anticipated that additional expenses will be incurred.
INASP is based in the UK, however the consultant can work remotely from anywhere in the world, subject to availability during UK working hours to enable occasional meetings and correspondence with members of the INASP team (i.e. availability at some point during 09:00-17:00 GMT). The consultant will need to have access to a reliable internet connection and their own computer to work with.
To apply for this role, please submit your application online (click here).
Applicants should submit the following:
- A CV of maximum 2 pages (excluding publications which can be on additional pages)
- An expression of interest detailing why you are interested in this role and what qualifies you for it?"
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. This consultancy will be held open until it is filled.
Data Protection
We are committed to ensuring that your personal details are protected and that we are fully compliant with our legal obligations under the Data Protection Act and the UK General Data Protection Regulations.
As part of your application to work for INASP you will share some personal information with us, like your name, address, telephone number and email address. We will only use that information to process your application and to monitor recruitment statistics. We will not share it with any third parties without your permission.
Personal information about unsuccessful candidates will be held securely for 6 months after the recruitment exercise has been completed, it will then be destroyed or deleted. We retain de-personalized statistical information about applicants to help inform our recruitment activities, but no individuals are identifiable from that data.
Safeguarding
INASP is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and post holders to share this commitment.