Job Opportunity: Research Officer with the Irish RAXEN National Focal Point

The Irish RAXEN National Focal Point (NFP) for RAXEN Europe has sent us a notice that it is currently seeking a Research Officer for a position of up to one-year to join the NFP team of academics and researchers involved in conducting research on the following three discrete and short projects:

1. The Situation of Asylum Seekers: Asylum Procedures and the Right to Work
2. Racist and Related Hate Crimes in the EU
3. A complimentary data collection report on issues relating to racism, xenophobia and related intolerances

The research officer position provides a great opportunity to expand qualitative research and statistical skills, and work with a team of academics, researchers and activists in the area of equality, human rights and social justice.

Since 2000, the European Union (EU) Fundamental Rights Agency (formerly the EU Monitoring Centre on Racism, Xenophobia and related Intolerances) has been collecting data on racism, xenophobia and related intolerances through its RAXEN National Focal Points (NFPs) based in each EU Member State. Information provided by the NFPs covers the areas of legislation, racist violence/crime, employment, education, housing, as well as health and is primarily used to develop in-house European-wide comparative analyses. More information is available here.

The Irish RAXEN NFP is a consortium project led by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) in partnership with the School for Social Justice, University College Dublin. Communications for the project are managed by the Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI).  Previously, the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) performed the functions of the Irish NFP until its closure in 2008.

More information on the job spec, conditions and how to make an application are available after the jump.

Essential Qualifications and Knowledge/Skills Requirements:

• A keen interest in, and knowledge of, human rights and equality issues, particularly in the area of racism (essential)
• Strong theoretical, critical thinking and analytical research skills (essential)
• In-depth knowledge of qualitative research methods and experience of working with marginalised and vulnerable groups, in particular, refugee and migrant groups (essential)
• Understanding of official statistics and other statistical material and an ability to interpret and write-up quantitative data (essential)
• A proven track record in conducting multiple research projects,  in reporting research findings to management committees, in managing multiple priorities and meeting contractual deadlines (essential)
• A proven ability to analyse a range of secondary sources and to distil/summarise research findings from these sources (essential)
• Excellent writing and editing skills and a proven ability to clearly communicate research findings (essential)
• Knowledge and capacity of at least two of the following areas:
  • Fluent written and spoken English (essential)
  • An ability to speak and write fluently in another language, in particular, French (desirable)
  • Proficiency in using both web/internet and academic database search engines (essential)
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, SPSS and Computer-Assisted-Qualitative-Data-Analysis Software (such as MAXqda or NVivo) (desirable)
  • Experience of conducting equality-related research for international bodies (desirable)

Candidates should have a qualification in law, politics, social science, geography or related disciplines, a keen interest in and knowledge of asylum procedures/rights, hate crime and hate crime legislation, equality law and a proven capacity to analyse legislation and jurisprudence from a range of enforcement bodies.

Contractual Details

The RAXEN Research Officer will be contracted by the ICCL to perform the required duties under a contract for services and shall be wholly responsible for all income tax liabilities, including VAT, PRSI and similar contributions in respect of his/her fees. Fees payable will be in the region of €48,370 – €52,357 (pro rata).

Making an Application

If you are interested in this position, please send an academic cv, two unedited writing samples and a letter by email explaining why you have the relevant skills for this position to Joanne Garvey, Administrator, ICCL, by email joanne.garvey@iccl.ie by Weds, 10 February 2010. Interviews may be organised in February 2010 and the RAXEN Research Officer will be required to start working on the project as soon as possible.

If you have any queries about this position, please forward them to Joanne Garvey, Tel: (01) 799 4504.