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

The Department is one of the world’s leading research environments in peace and conflict research with nearly forty faculty and researchers working at the forefront on topics related to political violence and peace. It is a dynamic and international academic environment with around 90 employees and 300–400 students from all over the world. More information about the Department can be found here: www.pcr.uu.se 

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The project
The project Alliances of Anarchy: Actor Constellations and Patters of Election Violence (project leader Kristine Höglund), aims to understand patterns of electoral violence by analyzing how violence is co-produced by different armed actors, both national and local. Focusing on electoral violence in Africa, primarily Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire, the project develops novel conceptualizations of actor constellations involved in election violence and uses quantitative and qualitative approaches to advance knowledge about patterns of election violence.

The department and the project are now recruiting two full-time research assistants (100% each), for 6 months employment, starting 14 August 2023.

Duties
The main duty of the research assistants will be to collect and code data to be used in quantitative analysis. The research assistants will report to the project leader Kristine Höglund and project member Sebastian van Baalen and work closely with other research assistants within the project. Tasks include:

• Collecting and coding information about the actors involved in election violence in Africa, primarily Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire.
• Data management.
• Assisting in developing theoretical definitions and coding routines.
• Write reports that analyze the collected data.

Other tasks may be added based on the needs of the project, such as qualitative data collection, routine administrative/project management tasks, workshop assistance and miscellaneous writing tasks.

Requirements
The applicant must have:

• Bachelor degree in peace and conflict studies, international relations, political science or a related field.
• Good knowledge within the field of peace and conflict research.
• Basic software skills, including familiarity with Excel.
• Excellent English language skills (reading and writing).
• Ability to work independently and in teams.
• Attention to detail and exactness, analytical and problem-solving skills, and good interpersonal abilities.
• One of the research assistants will work with Côte d’Ivoire, and proficiency in French language (both written and spoken) is therefore an additional requirement, for one of the research assistants. 

Additional qualifications

• Previous experience with data collection and coding, particularly conflict-related data.
• Proficiency in using software for statistical analysis, including R.
• Proficiency in Swahili language (written and spoken).
• Peace and conflict studies at the MSc-level.
• Knowledge of politics in Kenya and/or Côte d’Ivoire.

Individual suitability will be considered.

Application
The application should contain a CV and a short personal letter (max 1 A4 page), CV, and copies of degree certificate, including grades. Also include 1-2 relevant samples demonstrating writing and research skills in your application, such as an academic paper or a thesis.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position, 6 months. Scope of employment 100%. Starting date 14 August 2023, or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Kristine Höglund; kristine.hoglund@pcr.uu.se

Please submit your application 8 May 2023, UFV-PA 2023/924.

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