Researcher, Peace Operations and Conflict Management Programme

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is hiring a talented and motivated Researcher to support the work of its Peace Operations and Conflict Management Programme on the Multilateral Peace Operations Database and other project-specific research tasks.

Context
SIPRI is an independent international institute whose core mission is to undertake research and activities on security, conflict and peace. Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public. SIPRI provides excellent opportunities for scientific and personal development. SIPRI is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages women and non-European candidates to apply.

The Researcher position
The Programme undertakes analysis of key trends and developments in peace operations and conflict management at the international level and in key regions. In support of its research, the Programme maintains a database on multilateral peace operations and organizes dialogue meetings.

The Programme is specifically interested in recruiting an enthusiastic Researcher with experience in quantitative research and knowledge of peace operations. The position is based in Stockholm but might involve occasional travel.

Tasks and responsibilities

The Researcher will:

• Contribute to the implementation of the Programme strategy;
• Participate in the continued development and implementation of innovative and policy-relevant research and outreach for SIPRI’s activities on Peace Operations and Conflict Management;
• Collect, maintain and update multilateral peace operations data, expand, improve and innovate the SIPRI Multilateral Peace Operations Database, and analyze findings;
• Conduct high-quality quantitative and qualitative research;
• Communicate team research findings by producing shorter written outputs, presenting in meetings, through social media and giving interviews;
• Contribute to the Programme’s fundraising by preparing, coordinating, writing up and contributing, as appropriate, to properly budgeted research project proposals;
• Network with donors, policymakers and the media, among others, to disseminate relevant research and policy findings;
• Manage and mentor junior staff and interns including by encouraging them to communicate their research findings widely and effectively;
• Take part in the collective life of the Institute by attending and participating in seminars and other collective activities.

Requirements
The Researcher should be a top-class researcher with the ability to collect and organize data and maintain a database. They should possess a talent for conducting innovative quantitative and qualitative research on trends and data in peace operations and conflict management and ensure the resources necessary to support such activities.

When starting in the post, the Researcher should have the following experience and skills:

• More than three years experience as a researcher with proven experience to independently initiate and carry out quantitative and qualitative research projects;
• A record of publications that is commensurate with the length of time worked in research;
• Proven experience in planning and organizing (high-level) events;
• Demonstrable and good knowledge of peace, conflict, stability and fragility issues in peace operations;
• A solid academic or professional background in conflict analysis and conflict resolution;
• An ability to mentor junior staff;
• A high level of proficiency in both written and spoken English and preferably French;
• A university degree or degrees, in disciplines and topics relevant to this post, preferably to a Master’s degree or Doctoral degree standard.

While not essential, desirable experience and skills include:

• Knowledge of peace operations and the main international and regional organizations that conduct peace operations (e.g. the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union).

Contract period
Starting 1 August 2021, or as soon as possible, the contract period will initially last for two years with the possibility of extension. The post is full-time. Contract preferences will be discussed at the interview. The salary package will be negotiated individually.

How to apply

Interested candidates should submit:

• A one-page cover letter in English detailing your qualifications and specifying why you are applying for this position;
• A CV in English including your degrees, work experience, publications, language skills and contact details for two referees;
• One single-authored writing sample in English (articles, book chapters or substantial pieces of writing up to 10 000 words).

In order to be considered in the recruitment process, the application must be made via the form in the vacancies section of SIPRI’s website and not through any other external job sites.

Please observe that you must apply via SIPRI’s electronic application system.

Please access the form via the ‘apply’ button at the end of this page.

The closing date for applications is 2 May 2021 (CET).

Interviews are expected to be held virtually in May/June.

For enquiries regarding the position, please contact: Dr Jaïr van der Lijn, Senior Researcher and Director of the SIPRI Peace Operations and Conflict Management Programme (vanderlijn@sipri.org).

SIPRI is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.

The trade union contacts at SIPRI are Pieter Wezeman for ST (pw@sipri.org) and Jiayi Zhou for SACO (zhou@sipri.org).