Researcher; Conventional Weapons Programme

Within the Conventional Weapons Programme and under the supervision of the Head of Programme, the Researcher will be responsible for the following duties:

Lead support to national partners in operationalizing integrated approaches to armed violence prevention and WAM in West Africa:

Substantively prepare and facilitate kick-off, concluding and substantive workshops in up to four partner countries in West Africa on strategic entry points for implementing integrated approaches, including by providing request-based technical advice in close cooperation with partner countries.

Establish and maintain a network of local, national and regional WAM and prevention stakeholders in partner countries.

Substantively prepare and facilitate one roundtable to disseminate relevant research products on WAM and armed violence prevention in up to three additional countries in West Africa.

Draw up concise and analytical summaries of facilitated workshops and review input papers.

Support the work of an expert group on integrated approaches to armed violence prevention and WAM:

Support the substantive preparations of an expert group, composed of West and Central African stakeholders and tasked with developing a training curriculum on integrated approaches.

Provide technical inputs to the expert group and attend virtual and in-person workshops.

Review the developed training curriculum.

Draft a concise internal lessons-learned report on the training curriculum development process.

Support regional dialogue in West Africa on integrated approaches to armed violence prevention and WAM:

Contribute substantively to the preparation and facilitation of a regional dialogue in West Africa and deliver expert presentations.

Support effective communication with participants, as necessary.

Coordinate research and dialogue in Central Africa on integrated approaches to armed violence prevention and WAM:

Coordinate and provide technical advice on integrated approaches to national data collectors in Central African countries, and supervise the data collection process.

Support the substantive preparation and lead the conduct of research missions to up to four Central African countries, including by conducting semi-structured interviews with a range of stakeholders and supporting communication with relevant stakeholders.

Review internal background notes prepared by national data collectors and ensure quality assurance, together with other UNIDIR experts.

Review and provide technical inputs to input papers.

Support the substantive preparation and facilitation of a regional dialogue in Central Africa and deliver expert presentations, as necessary.

Support engagement outreach with key regional and national stakeholders in Central Africa, as necessary, to inform about the research activities and seek political support.

Engage in policy outreach and dissemination of research findings on integrated approaches to armed violence prevention and WAM:

Participate in and deliver expert presentations in policy engagement events at regional, continental and international levels, as requested.

Education Advanced university degree in international affairs, political science, disarmament and arms control, peace studies, international security or a related field is required for this post.

Experience At least five years of progressively responsible experience in the prevention of violent extremism, armed violence prevention, conventional arms control and/or peace and security in West Africa and/or Central Africa is required;

Demonstrable experience of conducting and analysing semi-structured interviews on sensitive security issues in West Africa and/or Central Africa is required;

A proven track record of drafting written outputs and producing…