Contract position: Full Time, for 3-6 months

Location: Remote, with priority given to candidates based in Francophone Africa

Fee stipend: $1,500 monthly. This is a contractor role, which means you will be responsible for payment of all income taxes, health insurance and any other remittances that may arise, including other obligations required in your place of residence. The fee range may be extended for candidates with significant additional experience/networks.

Start date: June/July 2026

Closing date for applications: Rolling basis

Is this you?

Keep reading if you’re someone who wants to build a career finding solutions to the world’s toughest health problems. We are looking for a Fellow with a passion for innovative research design and implementation to join our dynamic, globally remote team for 3-6 months.

You love connecting the dots, and you can simplify complex data into compelling insights. You are an organised self-starter who is happy to roll up sleeves and dig into administrative tasks for project management as well as conduct desk reviews and data analysis. Your approach to work is rigorous, positive, adaptable, and sparks joy for the team and our clients! If this sounds like you, there may be an opening with your name on it at Common Thread.

The Role

This Fellowship offers a mix of research, behaviour change thinking, and project coordination, supporting the delivery of Common Thread’s work.

You’ll work closely with project managers and technical leads, contributing to real projects while building your skills along the way. We don’t expect you to know everything from the start – you’ll be supported, and encouraged to take on more ownership over time as you learn.

Here’s some of the exciting things you can expect to do in this position:

Supporting Common Thread projects (approx. 60%)

You’ll be involved in different stages of our projects, helping us understand complex challenges and turn insights into action.

This might include:

• Contributing to research and project delivery from start to finish, with support from the team
• Reviewing and synthesising documents (in French), identifying key insights and patterns, and sharing your analysis in English
• Exploring topics through desk research—such as mapping existing initiatives, programmes, policies, and stakeholders
• Helping us make sense of what’s happening on the ground, and turning this into clear, useful insights
• Bringing a behaviour change and systems thinking lens to your work (we’ll support you in developing this)
• Creating or improving simple tools and processes to make research and collaboration more effective
• Preparing materials and content for workshops and cocreation sessions
  • Supporting facilitation where helpful
  • Helping to capture and summarise key takeaways afterwards

You’ll also contribute to ongoing project tasks as needed, and support the team in reflecting on what’s working and how we can improve.

Project coordination and team support (approx. 40%)

Alongside research, you’ll help keep projects running smoothly:

• Supporting project managers and technical leads with coordination (e.g. organising trips, workshops, calendars, and taking notes)
• Helping with the day-to-day running of projects to ensure high-quality delivery
• Building and using templates and tools (e.g. Miro, ClickUp, Google Workspace) to support collaboration
• Contributing to knowledge sharing across projects, such as writing case studies or adding to our internal toolkit

What we’re looking for

Here are some of the more essential things we’re looking for:

• A degree in Public Health, Psychology, Behavioural Science, Anthropology, Project Management or an equivalent mix of education, experience and training in the behavioural change/research field.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Fluent in both French and English
• Ability to effectively manage tasks across multiple workstreams
• In-depth understanding of or demonstrated interest in behavioural science and/or behaviour design principles and their application to public health or development
• A high degree of digital literacy—you’re able to use and learn online collaboration and project management tools to effectively work with a remote team
• Based in the Global Majority – strong preference for candidates from or based in Francophone Africa, specifically Chad.

We expect every member of our team to:

• Work as a “Manager of One”; you are highly independent and can build goals and execute on them independently
• Be driven by our mission and passionate about applying your skills and time towards improving the lives of others, particularly those who are most vulnerable
• Have a growth mindset—be curious, passionate about learning, and see feedback as an opportunity to learn and grow

Champion our team values in your work at CT

Not-so-fun fact: Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalised folks tend to only apply when they check every box. Think you have what it takes, but don’t meet all the criteria? Please apply anyway. We’d love to talk and determine together whether you could be a great fit!

Common Thread is an equal opportunity company, and we value diverse voices, backgrounds, and perspectives on our team. We don’t discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or status as an individual with a disability.

What we offer

• Flexible working hours and location. You may design your hours, and work from a location of your choice, provided you are available during the company’s “golden hours” (12-4pm GMT)
• The chance to work on meaningful, real-world projects
• Exposure to behaviour change, research, and systems thinking
• Opportunities to build practical skills in project management and collaboration
• A supportive team environment where you can learn, contribute, and grow

Who we are

We are a curious and creative bunch of experts and innovators who share in the belief that a change in behaviour can change the world. We believe that human behaviour—however illogical—is never a fault or a flaw. It’s a feature. We seek to understand it. We see people as a critical, yet too often ignored part of successful health initiatives. Our clients include the world’s leading organisations in public health, international development, and philanthropy. By connecting behavioural insights with community insights, we design public health solutions rooted in the social and cultural minutiae of communities across the globe.

How we work

We’re a virtual company, based across multiple time zones and countries. All our team members are contractors who have the flexibility to choose where they live, though we try to ensure a core block of hours when everyone can be collaborating. Strong communication and collaboration skills are essential to success in this role! We search hard for creative team players who can work independently, but also collaborate with a talented team, learn together, and design powerful behavioural solutions that blend the best of HCD, behavioural science, anthropology, marketing and other disciplines.

Apply here!