Cambodia Girl’s Puberty Book Project
Terms of Reference (TOR) for Research Assistant

The Cambodia Girl’s Puberty Book Project is aimed at developing an educational book for girls aged 10-14 years old about menstruation and the other changes of puberty. The book project is based on a successful girl’s puberty book that was developed in Tanzania. The aim of the Tanzania book was to enable girls aged 10-14 years old to feel more comfortable with the changes of puberty, and in particular, to assist them in managing their monthly menstruation in school. After conducting participatory research with girls, the girl’s book was developed in Tanzania, where 140,000 copies have been published through support from UNFPA and UNICEF. The Ministry of Education in Tanzania has now approved the girl’s book for the primary school curriculum. The Tanzania book is currently being adapted to Ghana, with a plan to now adapt the book to Cambodia. Cambodian gender, health and sanitation experts suggest that Cambodian adolescent girls face similar challenges regarding managing menstruation in school. We aim to address these challenges through first conducting participatory activities with adolescent girls and adults who are involved in their daily lives and learning about their experiences in order to develop the Cambodia girl’s book.

We are seeking a research assistant who is available for a minimum of three months to assist in the conduct of the qualitative research activities related to the Cambodia girl’s book project. The research assistant will also be involved in assisting with the book’s development and publication as well as its initial distribution to 10-14 year old girls in Cambodia. The proposed timeline for the project is mid-September through mid-December 2011, and the research will be conducted in Phnom Penh and in a rural area outside of the city. The research assistant must be able to work full time and live in the research field site for the rural portion of the research activities. The specific duties of the research assistant will include:

- Assist overall during the project with translation and interpretation of the appropriate cultural/social approaches to conducting research in Cambodia
- Assist with the stakeholder mapping in Phnom Penh of gender, health and education experts and organizations (approximately one month)
- Assist with the selection of sites for the qualitative research (one urban, one rural site); in each site, identifying a secondary school for in-school participants and a vocational center or similar gathering center for out-of-school participants
- Assist with the conduct of the qualitative and participatory research in peri-urban (near Phnom Penh) and rural (tentatively Battambang Province) Cambodia
- Assist with the conduct of key informant interviews with adults who interact in girls’ daily lives; and with participatory research with 16-19 year old girls

Preferred qualifications include:

- Cambodian national, fluent in Khmer and English
- Due to the sensitive nature of the research topic (girls’ pubertal body changes), a young woman ideally aged in her mid 20s to early 30s
- University graduate
- Some training/experience in adolescent health
- Available to work full time from mid-September through mid-December
- Able to travel to and live in Battambang Province (or other selected rural site) for 4-6 weeks
- Some training and experience in the use of qualitative methods preferable

Please contact susieconnolly [at] gmail [dot] com if you are interested or know of qualified candidates. Thank you.