The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is one of the world’s leading research think-tanks in the fields of defence and security. This role offers an exciting opportunity for a well-established researcher, policymaker or practitioner to contribute to and expand RUSI’s portfolio of work on terrorism as Senior Research Fellow in RUSI’s Terrorism and Conflict Research Group (T&C).

We are seeking to appoint a Senior Research Fellow with excellent track record of working on Counter Terrorism policy, strategy or practice. The successful candidate for this role will likely have a master’s degree or PhD in a relevant topic and/or have made a contribution to the terrorism field as a policy maker or practitioner.

About the Role

RUSI already has an expansive portfolio of work on CT and CVE, which includes research, policy advice, training and project implementation. The Terrorism and Conflict team’s work includes primary research on the factors driving violent extremism, the structures, ideologies and operations of terrorist groups, and effective mechanisms of CT and P/CVE in a number of global ‘hotspots,’ from Kenya to Afghanistan. We are also leading efforts to strengthen the evidence base for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism through our innovative STRIVE programmes implementing P/CVE activities in Kenya and Afghanistan, a ground-breaking meta-analysis of P/CVE interventions and strategies worldwide and evaluations of existing projects and programmes in the UK and overseas. We also run an active training programme on CT and CVE for diplomatic, developmental and civil society representatives.

Our team is able to draw on an extensive range of contacts from the academic, diplomatic, development and practitioner worlds in the UK and internationally. We work closely with our offices in Nairobi and Brussels and across the various research groups at RUSI in London.

As Senior Research Fellow you will play a key role in developing our existing portfolio of work in addition to contributing to RUSI’s organisational growth. The role offers an exceptional opportunity for a researcher with a record of achievement of working on terrorism related issues. We are particularly interested in candidates that have a demonstrated track record of research, practice or policy in relation to Far Right extremism and terrorism and/or on counter-terrorism issues (such as protective security and pursuit/intelligence methods), and/or dealing with convicted terrorists (including disengagement, deradicalisation) and foreign terrorist fighters.

The successful candidate will be a self-starter who can generate and lead their own portfolio of work, while reporting directly to the Director of RUSI’s Terrorism and Conflict Group. The position will also involve management responsibilities in support of the Research Director.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Senior Research Fellow will be responsible for the following whilst reporting to the Director of the Terrorism and Conflict Research Group.

Developing new research projects: identifying gaps in existing research and research questions that need to be answered; independently developing concepts for new research projects; identifying potential customers, stakeholders and sources of funding for new research; writing applications/proposals for research funding/tender responses; developing a network of potential funders and beneficiaries;
Conducting research on terrorism and counter-terrorism: conducting primary and secondary research on terrorism for a range of customers/clients in the UK and overseas; writing and communicating research outputs (published papers, analytical reports, commentaries, conference papers, presentations etc.); editing or supervising the outputs of other researchers (within RUSI and/or partner organisations); projecting RUSI’s research in academia, government, industry, and in the media (print, broadcast and social media);
Project management: ensuring that research projects are run effectively and efficiently, and achieve their desired outcomes; liaising with beneficiaries, partners and funders; supervising the organisation of events (such as research conferences) and publications;
Developing skills; expertise and profile: maintaining and developing knowledge in particular in relation to the evolving field of terrorism and CT; and developing a network of CT experts;
Management responsibilities: including working with the Director of the T&C team to assist with financial and operational management of the team’s portfolio of work and other management related responsibilities where relevant.

The closing date for applications is, 27 March 2020, 23:59pm.

Salary: £45,000-£70,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience.

For full job specification see: https://rusi.org/careers/senior-research-fellow-focused-terrorism.