Senior Researcher and Programme Director, Sahel & West Africa Programme

SIPRI’s Sahel-West Africa Programme is hiring a Programme Director and Senior Researcher to lead the programme.

Context

SIPRI is an independent international institute whose core mission is to undertake research and activities on security, conflict and peace. SIPRI is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages women and non-European candidates to apply.

 

Senior Researcher and Programme Director position

The purpose of the post of Senior Researcher and Programme Director is to lead and conduct research in the Sahel-West Africa Programme, to continue developing the Programme and its work and ensure the existing projects are delivered upon. They should have a strong knowledge of in-depth local research and a profound interest in providing policy relevant analysis. They should be a team player with an interest in the more practical issues related to project and people management. All SIPRI staff are expected to have a commitment to SIPRI’s values and mission, and to contribute to the life of the institute. The position is based in Stockholm but involves occasional travel.

 

Tasks and responsibilities

To implement the programme strategy, the post holder’s main responsibilities are to:


• Design and lead: Design the programme and strategy, which includes the research direction, budget, fundraising strategy, staffing targets and an outreach plan;
• Research: Both lead and conduct research in the programme by coordinating and participating in collecting, processing and disseminating data and analysis;
• Fundraising: Initiate, facilitate and lead for fundraising for the SIPRI Sahel-West Africa programme and advise others in the programme on fundraising;
• Staff supervision: Manage and mentor staff in line with the programme’s strategy and Institute policy;
• Project management: Deliver on projects to a high standard and manage, supervise or collaborate on the budgeting and reporting on projects;
• Dissemination and Outreach: Disseminate research results through the maintenance of a good pace of publications and other forms of outreach of high quality (e.g., presentations at events, media interviews), in accordance with SIPRI productivity requirements;
• Institutional development: Contribute to a pleasant and stimulating intellectual and work environment in the Institute.

 

Requirements and experience

When starting in post, the Senior Researcher and Programme Direcor should have as a minimum the following experience and skills:


• A strong broad knowledge of the Sahel-West Africa together with detailed knowledge of key security, conflict and peace issues, as well as stakeholders, in the region;
• Eight years’ experience as a researcher after completion of a PhD as a researcher and ten years’experience without completion of a PhD, as a researcher initiating, fundraising, and carrying out research projectson issues related to topics relevant for the post;
• A record of publications that is commensurate with the length of time worked in research;
• Experience of managing and leading a team;
• The ability, and a solid track record, of fundraising and managing budgets;
• Proven familiarity with and respect for a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods;
• Experience and interest in providing policy relevant analysis;
• Fluency in oral and written English and French;
• A talent for communication.



Contract period

The contract period will initially last for two years with the possibility of extension. The post is full-time. Subject to any restrictions on travel related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the post requires that the candidate becomes a resident in Stockholm, Sweden, when employment starts. 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 20 February 2022 CET.

For enquiries regarding the position, please contact: Luc van de Goor, Director of Studies, Peace, Conflict and Security (luc.vandegoor@sipri.org) or Virginie Baudais, Deputy Director Sahel-West Africa Programme.

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 Shannen Young for ST (shannen.young@sipri.org) and Frederic Daudon for SACO (frederic.daudon@sipri.org).