We currently have two exciting vacancies:

Assistant Research Officer – International Development Research

Android/ Java Developer.

Scroll down for details of both roles.

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Assistant Research Officer – International Development Research

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire (30 minute commute from London)

Economic Development Initiatives (EDI) Ltd designs, implements, manages and supports a wide range of socio-economic surveys and impact evaluations. With offices in the UK and East Africa, EDI works with high profile development clients such as the World Bank, DFID, National Governments, Universities, think tanks, and others in co-developing and implementing large-scale socio-economic surveys. We have also developed a leading data-collection software product, surveybe™, for conducting large-scale international development surveys, and we support clients all over the world with the preparation and implementation of surveys on CAPI technology using this software.

EDI now seeks an Assistant Research Officer to work with our Research Team in the running of high-value large-scale surveys.

As an Assistant Research Officer, you will:

• Work with our overseas teams to conceptualize and set-up surveys, including configuring questionnaires using the surveybe software, advising on sampling methodology, training of our field teams, piloting/testing the questionnaires, setting up data processing and quality control procedures, and writing manuals;
• Monitor the field progress and incoming data, and provide feedback to the team;
• Prepare final data sets for client delivery and assist in writing reports;
• Use your survey expertise to support our surveybe clients as they move from paper based questionnaires to electronic questionnaires (PAPI to CAPI);
• Guide clients through the design and configuration of their project specific questionnaires in surveybe, and advise on best data model/structure of their survey;
• Assist the Head of Research, Operations Director and other Research Team members on business generation, preparation of project proposals, company profiles, expressions of interest and tenders for EDI projects as required;
• Raise the profile and visibility of the work conducted by EDI through active use of different social media platforms and by contributing to the dissemination of EDI activities such as, writing of blog posts and methodological papers and through presentations at conferences.

This exciting role will provide the opportunity for significant international travel to East Africa and other developing countries, often in remote areas.

Applicants should be a recent Master’s graduate in Development Economics, International Development, Statistics, or similar, and have some experience in a developing country scenario.

In addition, the applicant must possess:

Essential:

• An excellent knowledge of and experience of using Stata and writing do-files for dealing with large datasets, and a good understanding of data structure;
• An enthusiasm for setting up electronic questionnaires that stretch the boundaries and possibilities of electronic questionnaire design;
• Interest in measurement issues in data collection;
• Experience in analysing large data-sets from surveys in developing countries;
• Demonstrated experience of an organised and flexible approach to managing and prioritising multiple concurrent projects and activities in a fast paced environment with tight deadlines;
• Excellent interpersonal and consultative skills, including the ability to communicate, present, negotiate and influence a variety of audiences;
• A strong attention to detail;
• Willingness to travel on short notice and on a flexible time basis;
• Willingness to work flexible hours to meet client deadlines;
• Ability to work independently;
• Travelling or working experience in a developing country;
• Excellent command of spoken and written English;
• Must have the right to work in the UK.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of SQL and other software related syntax/code, otherwise the ability and enthusiasm to learn and apply it;
• Experience in managing data collection in developing countries using electronic data collection systems (surveybe, ODK, SurveyCTO, etc.);
• Experience in socio-economic research design and impact evaluation methods;
• Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures and working with teams from a distance.

Working arrangements:

The position is full time and the candidate will be based at EDI’s offices in High Wycombe (town centre), an easy commute from Central London. International travel will be required. Start date:June/July 2018.

Please send your application to vacancies@surveybe.com no later than 13th May 2018 (23:00hrs UK Time).

To apply please send (i) an up-to-date curriculum vitae (one page max), (ii) a cover letter (one page max), and (iii) a detailed statement of your field, survey, and data management experiences (one page max). The three documents should be shared using one unique PDF document saved under “Lastname_firstname_ARO.pdf”. Please make sure you include the title of the post you are applying for in the email subject. Please indicate in your cover letter when you are available to start work, and where you heard about the vacancy.

For further information on Economic Development Initiatives (EDI) Ltd, see https://edi-global.com/

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 Android/Java Developer

Android | SDK | Android Studio | JSON/REST/API | SQL | Agile
Preferable – Java 8 | HTML 5 | Vertx | Junit | angularjs

Company Introduction:
Economic Development Initiatives (EDI) Ltd specialises in the development of data collection and survey management software for socio-economic research in International Development.

Our pioneering surveybe software is the leader in its field, providing survey managers with a Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) software suite that gives them direct control of survey design. Surveybe is used in over 56 countries around the world by reputable donor, governmental, development and academic organisations including the World Bank, DFID, BMGF, IFPRI, ILRI and IRRI as well as a number of central statistics agencies and private sector clients. To learn more about us and our work please visit www.surveybe.com and https://www.edi-global.com

To cater to market demands and facilitate sustained growth within the company, surveybe continues to develop. Our roadmap will transition our offering from an offline based software tool to an online, cloud-based product; delivering comprehensive services and modes of use to our wide range of clients that best matches their deployment mechanisms and project realities in the field.

Job Brief:

We are seeking an experienced and enthusiastic Android developer responsible for the design, development and maintenance of applications aimed at a number of diverse Android devices. You will be a natural self-starter and problem solver who relishes seeing projects through to completion by taking ownership of tasks within a multi-faceted environment. We anticipate that you will hold a minimum of a first degree in a computing/programming related subject and possibly a Masters degree but it is your track record of success that makes you stand out from the crowd.

Your primary focuses will be the further advancement of surveybe as an Android phone/tablet based app, including some greenfield features, and the development of new cloud-based features including their integration with back-end services.

This is therefore an ideal opportunity to expand your skills into latest event driven, reactive application framework based multi-tier back-end, whilst giving you a great chance to work on Android development consuming cloud based REST services.

You will be working alongside other team members who are engaged on equivalent evolutionary features for the desktop based application using Vertx (ideally you may also have had Java development exposure – but this not essential).

As one would expect within a commercially driven environment this is a fast-paced role that is integral to our continued success and therefore encompasses a secondary level of co-working with our own skilled research team and contact with external surveybe users, who are located across the globe to provide technical assistance on data-driven, research programmes across project phases. Continuous feedback from our user base is incorporated into our development roadmap to ensure surveybe remains at the forefront of CAPI software and this role is critical to our achievement of this.

Responsibilities:

● Develop new features to connect the app to AWS cloud services using REST and JSON
● Manage the app releases to Play store and recurring agile product releases
● Provide forecasts for the agile feature development
● Design, build and maintain high performance, reusable and reliable code
● Identify/correct bottlenecks and fix bugs in all the products
● Help maintain code quality, organise and automate
● Provide 2nd line technical support to the surveybe user community around the world and overseeing the surveybe support function
● Liaise with EDI Research Team and Development Support Team to ensure lessons learnt and feedback from the surveybe user community is incorporated in future product development
● Some potential development of new features for the equivalent Windows Java based legacy product using Java 8, Vertx, and REST.
● Create new app extensions for emerging trends for research-level surveys on phones/tablets to keep surveybe functionality at the forefront of the community

Essential Skills:

● Minimum 3 years of Android and commercial development experience
● Proven working experience in Android app development with a demonstrably strong knowledge of Android UI design principles, patterns, and best practices, preferably having published at least a couple of apps.
● Strong knowledge of Android SDK, different versions of Android, and how to deal with different screen sizes
● Experience working with RESTful APIs and JSON to connect Android applications to back-end services using Retrofit
● Passion for creating high quality work with a high attention to detail
● Self-motivated and efficient time management skills
● Ability to work independently and as well as in team environment
● We operate in an international context therefore clear verbal and written communication skills with excellent English language abilities plus the capacity to interact easily and professionally with clients and colleagues is vital.

Desirable Skills:

● Experience in Java 8, Vertx and H2 database
● Experience in automated testing
● Experience with offline storage, multi-threading, and performance tuning
● Working knowledge of the general mobile landscape, architectures, trends, and emerging technologies
● Ability to understand business requirements and translate them into technical requirements
● Proficient understanding of source control systems such as Git, Gradle
● Familiarity with continuous integration tools like Jenkins
● Experience working with Docker, AWS
● RxJava/RxAndroid/DaggerDI knowledge
● Familiarity with cloud message APIs and push notifications
● Experience of JIRA

The Benefits:

The position is based at EDI’s offices adjacent to the train station in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire (a 30 minute journey from London Marylebone). In addition to ‘playing’ with new android tablets from time to time, for the right Android Developer the role comes with the following benefits:

● Competitive salary (Up to £38K, Depending Upon Experience)
● 31 days holiday (including Bank Holidays and Christmas office closure period) per annum
● Workplace Pension Scheme
● Exciting work/life balance with flexible working hours by mutual agreement
● Work from home options subject to completion of probationary period and within reasonable parameters
● Potential travel to developing countries to observe and contribute to surveybe software deployment in the field by our colleagues within the EDI group of companies and clients.

EDI can only accept applications from those with the legal right to work in the UK. No Contractors or Recruitment Agents please.

Please visit:  https://www.edi-global.com/vacancies/ Apply by sending email containing current CV and cover letter expressing why you are best suited to this role to: vacancies@surveybe.com

CLOSING DATE: 08:00 hours on Monday 30th April 2018

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Work with us

EDI are always keen to hear from experienced, qualified (to minimum masters level in a relevant discipline) research professionals who can help us design and implement our high quality Household survey and research projects across a range of sectors.

Our head office is based in High Wycombe, approximately 35 minutes from Central London.  However members of our research team should be willing to undertake work-related travel to developing nations and to East Africa in particular.

If you are interested in applying to join our research team then we will be pleased to receive your CV (accompanied by a covering email) and a recent photograph.  Please email via: vacancies@surveybe.com

EDI Place the highest value on our staff, as outlined in one of our core values:

We have the strongest regard for our staff as individuals and as a team. We are honest, fair and show respect in all that we do and we care for our staff, their families and the wider community in which they live. We ensure a positive and professional work environment and expect the highest levels of integrity and loyalty whilst not losing the element of fun that we encourage throughout the group.