Volunteer Researchers required for Children Charity

What will you be doing?

We are a pioneering non-profit association founded in 2021 out of the desire to promote intentional kindness in children and to foster positive racial identity development in young people. Our charity's sole purpose is to advocate for kindness. We are focused on inspiring, educating, and empowering children and young adults to be kind to themselves (mental health), kind to others (empathy), kind to the environment, and extend our kindness framework to Africa.  Racial bullying, and the mental health of children, and racism in schools are hot topics that have been headlining media outlets, dominating conferences & events, and gaining increasing traction in research and pilot projects. Afrikindness is pioneering a children-led initiative and providing support to parents, schools, and children as well as to help governments, and inter-governmental and regional organizations to navigate the complexities of parenting children of color in the UK. We put a lot of work into research, providing research blogs to educate parents so that informed decisions can be made by the parents and schools in supporting and developing the social and emotional needs of children and young people. You will be joining our charity during an exciting point in our development and a period of real growth; your expert knowledge, skill, and experience will be critical to our success. You will have a key role in ensuring we can maintain the work that we do and make the needed impact on young people. We are looking for a passionate professional who takes a methodological approach to their work, conducts independent research and analysis, engages with key stakeholders, and establishes strategic partnerships to progress the core mission of Afrikindness. You will be working with a small team of researchers, driving the end-to-end research process, conducting both independent research and publishing research, producing briefing materials for speeches and presentations at high-level conferences; and turning actions into impacts to shape sustainable finance policy agenda on a global international platform. Our activities cover both the Uk and Africa. We’re urgently looking for volunteers who have proven ability in research/organization/business development and who will help steer our research agenda to support our work both in the UK and Africa. 

What are we looking for?

The main responsibilities will include:

To work with a team of researchers across the UK and Africa towards achieving research goals and objectives. To coordinate research support for fellows’ councils in areas such as children's mental health, race in education, etc To carry out primary and secondary research activities, including both quantitative and qualitative, analytical examination, and publishing high-quality research which spearheads the growing field of mental health of children from black and minority ethnic communities. To generate opportunities for strategic partnerships with the support of Strategy Officers. To attend conferences and events to promote Afrikindness, communicate research findings and insights engage with parents, schools, and key stakeholders. To simplify research journals into blogs on issues and challenges with children from black and minority ethnic communities, and working with our Graphic designers to present it in visual content, videos, and graphics that can be easily understood by our parent community.

  Skills & Abilities

Excellent oral communication skills, including the ability to develop effective working relationships, work flexibly across professional and operational boundaries, and communicate professionally with internal and external stakeholders at all levels. Detail-orientated; great organizational skills and ability to balance competing demands under pressure. Strong presentation skills and ability to present ideas appropriately and persuasively. A relevant degree or training in the relevant discipline, Psychology, Psychiatrist, CAMH professional etc. Experience in producing research outputs and structured reports for different audiences. Experience in working independently and with teams to drive forward projects using own initiative. Experience in designing, planning, and facilitating independent research and the ability to meet tight deadlines.

General 

A commitment to the organization. A willingness to devote the necessary time & effort. An ability to think creatively. An ability to work effectively as a member of a team  Enthusiasm for our vision and mission. Willingness to lead according to our values.

What difference will you make?

As a Researcher with Afrikindness, you will help to create the image of Afrikindness seen and understood by the community we serve. Through your work, you will be contributing to the work we do, bringing awareness to the mental health issues children face, the lack of empathy, issues with bullying, hatred, racism, and the effect on children, especially children of color, and to promote what Afrikindness is doing to tackle those issues. Your support will make a difference in the lives of children & young adults across the UK & Africa who need early support the most to improve their mental, social, and emotional needs and to foster positive racial development and intentional kindness in children and young people. Your research agenda and work will help drive policy changes, impact the communities we serve, provide educational resources to parents, look into existing research on racial identity challenges in children and young people of colour in the UK, and conduct in-depth data analysis on the issues with a research output that could lead to policy change. Afrikindness is looking to increase its global reach by having a clear research pathway that will support the work we do.  We are looking for a passionate leader and researcher with a passion for children/ young adults and a proactive approach to work.  You will be working with researchers across the UK and Africa, the CEO, psychologists, CAMH professionals, educators, the Board of Trustees, and other professionals. Research areas include social, and emotional issues children face relating to race, understanding the intersection of race and children in the UK, understanding parenting in black communities, focus on implicit racial biases in schools, Children’s mental health in Africa, neurodiversity in black families etc