Director of Research at FHI 360

FHI 360 is currently recruiting for the position of Director of Research for an anticipated project, East Africa Building Resilience in Civil Society (BRICS) Phase II. BRICS II will implement a holistic approach to preventing Violent Extremism (VE) including working with national and subnational authorities to improve their ability to prevent VE, working with and in at-risk communities, conducting research to inform VE interventions and facilitate dialogues among stakeholders. It is anticipated that this program will focus primarily on Kenya, with a secondary focus on Tanzania and Mozambique and a third line of effort in Uganda and Ethiopia.

The Director of Research will serve as the primary investigator and manager of all research undertaken as part of the BRICS II activity, and will be the primary project expert on CVE. S/he will report to the Nairobi-based Chief of Party, supervise a research team, and will be based in Nairobi with project-funded travel throughout the region.

Essential Job Functions: Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the development of research themes and activities in collaboration with local research partners, and serve as primary point of contact for research teams;
• Oversee the solicitation, design and dissemination of research to project stakeholders;
• Provide technical direction and capacity building to stakeholders to conduct research into countering violent extremism, mitigating conflict, and/or peacebuilding;
• Provide briefings as requested to donors, government stakeholders and other relevant parties, including policy briefings targeted to policy-makers;
• Design and oversee research activities in the project’s target communities to contribute to the design of interventions, and to measure their impact;
• Assist the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team in the development of M&E tools and approaches as needed.

MINUMUM REQUIREMENT STANDARDS:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher).
• Presentation or publication of research to peer-reviewed events or journals.
• At least seven (7) years of experience in research related to conflict, peacebuilding, stabilization, civil society strengthening and/or preventing violent extremism.
• Experience assembling and managing research teams and ensuring the high quality of research deliverables.
• Deep understanding of best practices, approaches, and methodology in programming to address the drivers of violent extremism and prevent radicalization.
• Excellent analytical and writing skills.
• Fluent in English, including ability to conduct research and analysis in English.

Availability of position is contingent upon award to FHI 360. Selection of final applicant is subject to donor approval.

We offer competitive compensation and an outstanding benefit package.