Research Assistant - short-term post
School of Biological, Health, and Sports Sciences
The School of Biological, Health, and Sports Sciences, located in TU Dublin's City Campus, Grangegorman, has a long history of educating students to the highest level in both the fundamental and applied biosciences, and in allied health sciences. The School of Biological, Health, and Sports Sciences offers PhD and MSc research opportunities across a range of research areas including Biomedical Sciences, Therapeutics, Biotechnology, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health with funding from a number of grant agencies. The School's research is aligned to the new Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute, the Greenway Hub, located on the new and developing TU Dublin's Grangegorman campus.
WBTi Ireland Project
The World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi), which was launched in Bangladesh in 2004, involves completion of a standardised report tracking a country's progress on policies, programmes, and funding for breastfeeding support. This allows countries to assess their current status and benchmark their progress in implementation of the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. Completion of a WBTi report is one of the indicators included on the Global Breastfeeding Scorecard, developed by the Global Breastfeeding Collective to track progress on seven policy actions and on breastfeeding practices within countries.
A WBTi report has been completed by 98 countries worldwide and doing the same in Ireland would be drawing on an existing approved model that would enable us to conduct cross-country comparisons and evaluate Ireland's progress over time. It is recommended that a re-assessment is completed every 3-5 years; thus, having an initial report will provide us with baseline information so that we can formally document our successes.
WBTi reports are typically completed by a Core Group of individuals (free from conflicts of interest and association with the breast-milk substitute industry). Core Group members often include representatives from the government, UNICEF, WHO, NGOs and other professional organisations. Along with an academic from Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), the Core Group for WBTi Ireland consists of representatives from breastfeeding-support organisations, the HSE, the Association of Lactation Consultants of Ireland, and Baby Feeding Law Group Ireland, among others.
Job description
The post holder will be required to liaise with members of the Core Group to complete the WBTi report for Ireland. Work will be completed remotely, and it is anticipated that the role will commence by the end of June 2023.
Specific duties include:
- Completing sections of the WBTi report, with support from supervisor and Core Group members.
- Providing admin support to the WBTi Core Group.
- Arranging and moderating meetings between core members.
- Approaching relevant organisations/departments with requests for information.
- Following-up with contacts where necessary.
- Facilitating the sharing of the draft report with a wider audience for feedback.
- Incorporating feedback/suggestions as appropriate.
- Liaising with a graphic designer to design the format and layout of the report, including illustrations, to ensure the message is conveyed as clearly as possible in a readable and user-friendly way.
- Liaising with the WBTi Global Secretariat for review of the final report.
Essential
- A level-8 undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline.
- Excellent written communication skills.
- Ability to communicate effectively (online and in-person).
- Ability to work independently and in a team.
- Access to a computer and good internet connection.
Desirable
- Knowledge and understanding of breastfeeding-related policy in Ireland.
- Experience writing reports or academic journal articles.
Salary
- €29,275 p.a. and the contract duration is 6 weeks full time (or part time equivalent).
To apply, please e-mail your cover letter and CV in PDF format, quoting the job title, to liz.osullivan@tudublin.ie by 12 noon on 31st May 2023.