[VACATURE] Student/junior researcher voor Superlijst

Rikolto zoekt een junior researchers om te helpen bij de datacollectie en –analyse van het Superlijst-onderzoek. Hieronder vind je meer informatie.  Ben of ken jij de juiste persoon? Stel je kandidaat via jobs@rikolto.be  

Student - Junior researcher

This position is part of a partnership with Rikolto (formerly Vredeseilanden) and Thinktank Questionmark.

About Rikolto

Healthy and sustainable food for everyone, today and in the future: that is what Rikolto stands for. From a fair income for the farmer to affordable, high-quality food for everyone. We connect citizens, farmers, companies, (knowledge) institutions and governments and we work together on innovative, inspiring projects. In Belgium, Rikolto works on two levers: schools and retailers.  

About Questionmark

Questionmark is a think tank committed to creating a healthier, more sustainable and equitable food system. Our strategy focuses on leveraging the influence of the consumer facing end of value chains: food retailers and brands, and governments - to drive meaningful change on all three domains. We achieve this by stimulating both competition and collaboration among companies while inspiring governments to regulate where the market needs a level playing field.  

For this we developed the program Superlist, which is a research and campaign project. Superlist supports supermarkets in stepping up and shifting their strategies by providing a benchmark of supermarket performances in the domains of policy, assortment, promotions and store design. Moreover it provides practical recommendations for improvement for individual supermarkets.

Questionmark and Rikolto, will launch the second Superlist Environment Belgium in 2025, where we will find out if supermarkets have taken steps towards more sustainable food, compared to 2022. Based on extensive data research we will also create a ranking showing which supermarket is the frontrunner and who is lagging behind. Questionmark publishes the research results in the form of reports on their website. They are well covered in the media and have an impact on government policies, food producers and of course supermarkets.  

We are currently looking for students for the research in Belgium.  

 
The function 

The core tasks of the position are data collection, quality control and data analysis. Together with your colleagues, you will ensure that the described data is collected and that this, together with the information we receive from various sources, is entered correctly into our database. You will also contribute to the analysis of supermarket policies.  

Thanks to your work, we have a database that is as complete and correct as possible and therefore we can examine the supermarket range and policy as quickly and accurately as possible with regard to the aspects of health and sustainability. You will also help identify data risks and opportunities for improvement.  

Core tasks

• Scanning and photographing products in supermarkets  

• Copy of product information from various sources: photos, web pages, etc. into Questionmark’s database

• Systematically checking product information (ingredients, nutritional values, labels, etc.)

• Assessing and questioning literal and interpreted information  

• Carrying out policy analyses based on publicly available online information, according to a fixed protocol

• Analyzing promotional leaflets from supermarkets

• Pro-actively making proposals for improving quality and completeness of data

Your profile

• You are an independent, accurate worker with a lot of perseverance  

• You like to contribute actively and think along with the work of a research team  

• You enjoy delving into datasets, but also know how to keep an overview

• You have a great sense of responsibility

• You dare to present your own ideas to a manager

• You can easily deal with changing circumstances

• You have an interest in the sustainability and health of food  

Competences 

• You are at least in the first year of a bachelor or master program

• You already have some experience working with data sets

• You are creative and have excellent working skills in Excel

• You work in a structured way, have an eye for detail and are very accurate

• You have a strong sense of responsibility

• You can work well with others

• You are critical and results-oriented

• You dare to ask questions  

• You can type fluently  

• You are a go-getter and are not easily deterred  

• Your affinity with sustainable food products is an asset

• You are preferably in possession of a driving licence

• You speak, write and understand English and Dutch  

Location 

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As a regular workplace you can work at the office of Rikolto Belgium (Blijde Inkomststraat 50, 3000 Leuven). However, much of the work will have to be done in supermarkets, and can be done from home

What we offer

• We are looking for reinforcement starting February 23^rd until the end of June. You will receive training at the start of employment.  

• Flexible working hours. We are looking for someone who does this as a regular side job. You work full time or part time, depending on your availability.  

• Reimbursement of transport costs: bicycle, car and public transport.  

• Payment per hour: €15,24

Do you feel like the right person for this vacancy? Recruitment is done on a continuous basis via jobs@rikolto.be.  

Good to know

We will follow up questions and reactions after 8th of January

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