Асистент/ка з досліджень в Гаазькому центрі стратегічних досліджень / Research assistant in The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies

The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies is hiring a Ukraine-based research assistant

Are you interested in becoming familiar with various cutting-edge tools of collaborative, evidence-based policy analysis and research? Do you want to work with international experts on real-life projects, provide policy advice to various public and private customers, and add your name to international reports/publications? 

The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies is looking for a new Ukrainian research assistant to work on data-driven projects on (primarily but not exclusively Russia-related) defense and security policy. These positions are remunerated and are based on remote (internet-based) employment. Successful candidates will receive valuable hands-on experience in cutting-edge research techniques on various topics of relevance to international relations and security. 

Our over a decade-long experience with Ukrainian research assistants has shown that this is a perfect opportunity for people who are planning to apply to international graduate schools – the acquired tools and skills, as well as research experience and international publications, will significantly increase your chances of acceptance (and funding). The HCSS team is also willing to help its Ukrainian colleagues with the application process. 

About The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies

We are a highly respected independent think tank in the Netherlands that was spun off from TNO (the large (about 4000 scientists) Dutch Research and Technology Organization) in 2007. We work on strategic issues related primarily to international security for the benefit of Dutch and other European public (and – to a smaller extent – private) customers.

Our ideal candidate:

• is a last-year bachelor’s/master’s/PhD student/mid-level analyst with an above-average academic record
  • in Political Science (especially International Relations), Economics or any other social science; or
  • in data science (especially in Natural Language Processing and machine learning more general); and especially
  • candidates who have a combination of these different skill sets.
• is genuinely interested in international relations and evidence-based applied policy research;
• REALLY likes working with computers and software, is open to both qualitative and quantitative research, and is comfortable about learning various software tools; 
• preferably has experience in working with text and data mining, machine learning, business intelligence tools (Tableau, Metabase, etc.), data visualization tools (mainly in Python and R), corpus annotation tools (Atlas.TI, prodigy, QuickCode, BRAT, etc.), event databases, Adobe Creative Suite, LibreOffice, Zotero, various bibliometric tools (VosViewer, CiteSpace) OR is able to pick up new things quickly;
• is at ease working online in an international team under (sometimes) stressful conditions;
• is fluent in English and Russian (applicants with additional Chinese proficiency  are also strongly encouraged to apply);
• is a Ukrainian citizen (preferably) currently living in Ukraine (and we strongly encourage people living in regions of Ukraine other than Kyiv to apply!);
• is able to work entirely online and deliver results.

This job is ideally suited for people who:

• seek a paid internet-based/part-time job to complement their studies/internships/research activities;
• want to deepen their knowledge on how to conduct top-notch research and be part of a team developing evidence-based research projects for governments and international organizations;
• want to develop technical skills by learning such tools as (but not limited to): Google docs, search engines, text and data mining, machine learning, business intelligence tools (Tableau, Metabase, etc.), data visualization tools (mainly in Python and R), corpus annotation tools (Atlas.TI, Prodigy, LightTag, BRAT, etc.),automated event databases, Adobe Creative Suite, LibreOffice, Zotero, various bibliometric tools (VosViewer, CiteSpace), Rizzoma, etc.;
• embrace the ‘life-long learning’ concept and are willing to learn something new with each new research task

Requirements:

• successfully completed Bachelor’s/Master’s degree (4th year Bachelor’s students can also apply);
• keen analytical skills;
• advanced English (candidates should at least be able to communicate with HCSS people and other people involved in HCSS projects) and (close-to-)native Russian;
• access to a decent computer AND reliable Internet;
• good communication and time management skills;
• considerable stress resistance. 
• Please, do NOT attach a picture to your CV. 

Conditions:

• a 1-month trial period at €200 euro;
• upon successful completion of the trial period: €400 euro/month in return for a commitment of at least 20 hrs/week for 1 year  (with the possibility of extension).

Additional benefits:

• assistance with letters of recommendation, and the general application process to Western graduate (Master’s/Ph.D.) schools, especially in policy analysis, but also in Political Science and other social sciences.
• work experience in one of the world’s recognized independent think tanks looks good on a resume;
• opportunity to receive authorship credit – if merited! – of HCSS publications, if deserved (again: looks great on CVs).

If you are interested in applying, please send us an email to [email protected] with the subject ‘*your name*/RA application’ and include

• your CV (in English);
• an expression of purpose in English (why are you interested in these positions?) that could be:
  • a one-page (maximum) letter; or
  • a 5’ (maximum) video; or
  • a (single) visual of why you are interested in this. 

Selected candidates will be invited to a test on Rizzoma. We intend to fill these positions as soon as possible, so if you’re interested, please get back to us at your earliest convenience. The deadline for application is February 5, 23:00 Kyiv time.