Senior Research Specialist​/Michigan State Lead

Senior Research Specialist/State Lead in Michigan

The Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) is a non-partisan research initiative that tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States. BDI supports efforts to grow and build local community resilience through elections and other periods of heightened risk, laying the groundwork for longer-term to bridge the divides we face as a nation.

BDI's strategy consists of three core objectives, one of which is:
Creating Space for Cross-Sector Collaboration. This portfolio includes projects that focus on Convening Within and Between Sectors, Facilitating Early Action and Response, and Concierge Support to State-Level Violence Mitigation. BDI seeks a Senior Research Specialist/State Lead in Michigan to work in and across all of these projects.

This role focuses on the monitoring of political violence, the development of local/state-based partnerships and networks, and the support of state-based coalitions and coordination tables. This person will help to build out and further develop BDI's state-based research and monitoring efforts. Key activities include: producing regular state-based Situation Reports (Sit Reps), issue briefs, and conducting ongoing conflict analysis. Research and monitoring efforts will support BDI's state-based partners who might encounter instances of political violence in their work.

Collaboration with these partners ensures that BDI's efforts are successfully integrated into the broader mitigation and resilience environment in the state. The SRS/State Lead will be a member of the BDI Collaborations Team – currently a six-person team of other state leads who work in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona, Wisconsin – and will report to the Collaboration Director.

This is a full-time position based in Michigan. BDI is an entirely remote team, with staff in almost a dozen states. The role is envisioned as a one-year minimum engagement, with opportunities for renewal.

• Develop state-based research, monitoring, and analysis around incidents of political violence, actors involved, and its connection to broader trends in the state. Understand and communicate the social, political, economic, and other impacts of a given conflict. As appropriate, contextualize trends over time by including quantitative analysis of longitudinal data.
• Build BDI's state-based partnerships and relationships with key stakeholders representing varying sectors including election protection, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, faith-based, government, and others in order to provide monitoring and analysis support across the board and to better inform our research.
• Actively engage in state-based coordination tables and coalitions by actively providing monitoring support and analysis.
• Provide customized public and private briefings on state-level risks and trends upon request to key audiences and partners.
• Proactively work to build connections with organizations and groups with a focus on supporting and resourcing communities that are particularly vulnerable to incidents of political violence and harm.
• Work closely with the broader BDI team and connect state-level work with national efforts to mitigate risk of political violence.
• Key deliverables for this position will include regular Sit Rep production for your state, number of meaningful relationships built, building out the state-based Sit Rep distribution list, briefings with state-based partners, and other research and monitoring products as assigned.

• Must live in the state of Michigan, or in a state adjacent to Michigan, and have significant state-specific knowledge, networks, and experience in Michigan.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in a related field.
• 5-7+ years of experience in research, policy, community engagement, or related role.
• Research experience focused on the U.S. political violence landscape, especially in identifying relevant early warning indicators.
• Interest in and commitment to supporting civil society efforts to address political violence in the U.S., including work with partner organizations across diverse political affiliations, geographies, and…