Jr. Research Scientist / Program Assistant, Global Coalitions

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Scholars at Risk (SAR) is an international network of over 650 higher education institutions in more than 40 countries. SAR’s mission is to promote academic freedom and defend the human rights of scholars and their communities worldwide. SAR meets this mission through three primary activity areas: (1) protection services for threatened scholars and other at-risk individuals; (2) advocacy and related research, reporting and campaigning for scholars or other victims of attacks on higher education; and (3) research and training on academic freedom and its constituent elements. In furtherance of all of these activities, SAR organizes multiple events, trainings, courses and publications, including a biennial SAR Global Congress—an international gathering for SAR’s global movement and prospective new partners to share experience, discuss critical issues, and shape SAR’s research and advocacy strategies for the coming years. SAR’s staff is organized into teams for each of these programming areas, along with a membership team to research and develop services and activities for network member institutions, faculty and students, and related development and administration roles. Information at www.scholarsatrisk.org

Position summary: Scholars at Risk (SAR) is seeking a highly-organized, self-motivated, and team-oriented individual to join the SAR team as Global Coalitions Program Assistant. The position will conduct research, coordinate across regional researchers, and provide administrative, communications, and logistical support to SAR’s ongoing programming and partnerships with regional coalitions for academic freedom. The position requires excellent research, time-management, organizational, and interpersonal skills in addition to good judgment and attention to detail. It is ideal for a proactive individual who takes initiative, enjoys the research process, and likes to work on a small team. The position requires timely and professional communication, including with SAR and NYU staff, regional coalition and other SAR partners, media, and the public.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES

30% – Research opportunities for SAR regional coalitions: SAR is a founding partner to multiple regional coalitions for academic freedom around the world.

• Research new engagement opportunities for SAR staff and for regional coalition partners to advance academic freedom, including by researching key trends in attacks on higher education in relevant regions, identifying opportunities to submit findings and memos to government partners, and researching key meetings, conferences, and convenings.
• Research new potential partners to both support existing coalitions as well as help foster the development of new regional coalitions where they do not yet exist, including in Africa, the Americas, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
• Where needed and relevant to coalition growth, support donor prospect research, in coordination with SAR’s development team.

30% - Develop data on SAR regional coalition programming:

• Manage systems for tracking progress and relevant metrics for SAR’s advocacy and global coalitions work.
• Maintain and monitor a calendar of engagement opportunities for global coalitions’ work.
• Contribute to the tracking of different metrics for measuring the impact of SAR’s advocacy.

20% – Distribute research and manage communications both internally and externally on SAR’s global coalitions work:

• In coordination with communications colleagues at SAR, co-design and implement a communications strategy to help bring greater visibility and awareness to SAR’s work with regional coalitions and their research outputs, including from the media.
• Strengthen social media presence of news relating to regional coalitions, including research outputs.
• Maintain up to date information on regional coalitions on SAR’s website.
• Manage internal procedures to ensure all of SAR’s staff are updated on regional coalitions.
• Respond to external email, phone, and meeting inquiries.

20% – Support logistics for the SAR’s regional coalition programming:

• Assist in the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of all programming.
• Collect and maintain appropriate documentation for financial and grant reporting.
• Support on-site logistics for events including but not limited to managing registrations, note-taking, and audio-visual documentation.
• Support activity and meeting scheduling both internally with SAR staff and externally with partners.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

This is a one-year position, through December 31, 2025, with possibility for extension based on program priorities, exemplary performance, and availability of funds. The position offers a salary range of $52,000 - 57,000, comparable to similar positions at peer organizations in the human rights/NGO field. Scholars at Risk in an independent not-for-profit corporation hosted at New York University (NYU). SAR staff are NYU employees seconded to SAR and are eligible for NYU employee benefits, including generous vacation leave and holidays; medical, dental, vision and life insurance options; and retirement benefits (all subject to terms established by NYU as described at https://www.nyu.edu/employees/benefit/full-time/professional-research-staff.html).

Qualifications

Required

• Undergraduate degree, or similar, relevant experience, required.
• Excellent research and oral and written communication skills in English.
• Exceptional attention to detail, initiative, time-management, and problem-solving abilities.
• Experience in digital communications.
• Experience with project and process management.
• Experience working with diverse groups of stakeholders located across multiple different time zones.
• Commitment to human rights, academic freedom, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Ability to manage complex political and cultural factors, difficult information, including human rights abuses, and tensions between long- and short-term goals.

Preferable

• Fluency in Spanish and/or French.
• Experience working in human rights.
• Social media, WordPress (or another comparable website design tool), and/or HTML code experience.

Application Instructions

HOW TO APPLY: Apply online at https://www.nyu.edu/about/careers-at-nyu/faculty-and-researchers.html by uploading the requested materials in one combined PDF: (1) a letter of interest, (2) resume, (3) list of references or letters of reference, and (4) a brief, unedited writing sample.

DEADLINE FOR INITIAL APPLICATION REVIEW IS November 1, 2024. Applications received after the deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis, until the position is filled. No phone calls or email inquiries, please.

SAR/NYU is an equal opportunity employer. SAR/NYU does not discriminate due to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital or parental status, national origin, ethnicity, citizenship status, veteran or military status, age, disability, unemployment status, or any other legally protected basis, and to the extent permitted by law. Qualified candidates of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds are encouraged to apply. (Regrettably, SAR is not able to sponsor work-eligible visas.)