Research Assistant

Overview

Start date:

1 March 2026 (sooner if possible)

Duration: 6-month contract with option to extend

Type of work:
Part time (estimated 4 days per month)

Consultancy fee: TBC - Depending on Experience

Location:

Indonesia

This is an entry-level position aimed at recent graduates and undergraduates, or those embarking on the early stages of their research careers.

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) is an independent civil society organization, headquartered in Geneva Switzerland, with offices in Austria, South Africa, Colombia and Malta, and a globally dispersed Secretariat working in around 40 countries. GI-TOC comprises a network of more than 750 independent global and regional experts working on human rights, democracy, governance and development issues where organized crime has become increasingly pertinent.

GI-TOC provides a platform to promote greater debate and innovative approaches as the building blocks to an inclusive global strategy against organized crime. GI-TOC commissions and shares research globally, curates a robust resource library of 2 000 reports and tools specific to organized crime and uses its convening power to unite both the private and public sectors against organized crime.

As part of its ongoing work in South East Asia, the GI-TOC’s Observatory for Illicit Economies in Asia-Pacific is looking to engage a Research Assistant to lead with the collection of Open-Source Intelligence material pertaining to illicit economies and organized crime in Indonesia.

• Systematically gather open-source information from predefined websites and other relevant sources.
• Follow organizational guidelines and protocols for OSINT research and collection.
• Archive collected data in the designated repository, ensuring proper organization and classification.
• Maintain a tracker in an Excel sheet, categorizing and summarizing all uploaded documents by key word.
• Update and expand the list of OSINT sources as needed.
• Every fortnight, compile all collected documents and data.
• Use AI tools to generate structured monthly summary (by uploading the documents and inputting a prompt).
• Perform light editing on the AI-generated summary to correct errors, estimate hallucinations and ensure coherence and accuracy.
• Submit the finalized summary report to the OSING supervisor on a monthly basis.
• Ensure proper documentation of findings and compliance with organizational standards.

• Proficient in English and Indonesian language skills.
• Analytical skills, experience in desk research and writing summary reports in English.
• Interest in organized crime within South East Asia.
• Highly organized and self-motivated, with the ability to work independently under limited guidance.
• University graduate or current undergraduate in relevant field, e.g. criminality, sociology, journalism, security, history, international relations etc.
• Recent work experience in related role, e.g. working for a civil society organization. (Not required but desirable)

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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