Research assistant, Department of Peace and Conflict Research - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Peace and Conflict Research was established in 1971 to conduct peace research and offer courses in peace and conflict studies. Currently approx. 85 persons are employed at the Department and at present some 300-400 students are enrolled every academic year. Courses offered include undergraduate and post-graduate courses, as well as a Ph. D. programme. For more information, visit www.pcr.uu.se.

The department and the two below projects are now looking for a research assistant for a 10 months employment, starting mid-August 2021.

The projects in which the assistant will work, are the following two:

1) “Vulnerable Cities: Conflict Prevention in Urban Planning, Urban Regeneration and Urban Governance” (Kristine Höglund, project leader for the Uppsala University node).

2) The Urban Dilemma: Urbanisation and Ethnocommunal Conflict (Emma Elfversson, project leader).

The projects are related since they address urban dimensions of peace and conflict, and include themes such as the causes of different forms of violence manifesting in cities, the factors that mitigate and prevent urban violence, and conflict management in urban contexts. The Urban Dilemma project, as well as the Uppsala node of the Vulnerable Cities project have a particular focus on Africa, including specifically Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda.

Expected tasks: The research assistant will primarily be involved in the collection of data on demolitions of informal settlements, forced evictions and associated violence, and on subcity-level electoral outcomes, in African cities. The research assistant may also to a limited extent be involved in qualitative data collection. The data collected will form the basis for analyzing patterns of different forms of urban violence, factors driving the violence and strategies applied to manage and prevent urban conflict. 

The tasks primarily include collection and coding of data, but may also entail routine administrative/project management tasks, workshop assistance and miscellaneous writing tasks. The research assistant will report to the project leaders, and work with other researchers within the projects.

Qualifications and required skills:

• Bachelor degree within peace and conflict studies or a related field
• Good knowledge within the field of peace & conflict research
• Basic software skills, including familiarity with Excel
• Excellent proficiency in English (reading and writing)
• Ability to work independently and in teams
• Attention to detail and exactness, analytical and problem-solving skills, and good interpersonal abilities.

Desirable/merit: Studies in peace and conflict at the Master level is highly meritorious, as is previous experience with data collection (coding), particularly conflict-related data. Proficiency in GIS analysis, and/or knowledge of software for statistical analysis such as R, is also a merited skill. Previous experience of working on issues related to urban violence and conflict management in Africa and in particular Kenya, Ethiopia or Uganda, is meritorious.

Application: Please include 1-3 relevant samples of research writings in your application (for instance academic papers).

Salary: Individual salary.

Starting date: 16 August 2021, or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position ending 30 June 2022 (10 months). 

Scope of employment: 100 %.

For further information about the position please contact: Kristine Höglund (kristine hoglund@pcr.uu.se) and Emma Elfversson (emma.elfversson@pcr.uu.se).

Please submit your application by 2 June 2021, UFV-PA 2021/1981.

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