Senior Researcher – Peace and Conflict

Location Any Mercy Corps office location or US Remote

Position Status Full-time, Exempt, Regular

Salary: US: $76k-$82k commensurate with experience, based on local benchmark for candidates outside of the United States

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Program / Department / Team

Mercy Corps works to influence the policy, priorities, practices, and debates that affect the people we serve in fragile contexts and complex humanitarian crises. Our most compelling influence is underpinned by substantive research on issues where we have expertise and a credible voice, combined with targeted and sustained engagement of policymakers, donors, peer organizations, and other leaders. Mercy Corps recently developed a new 10-year strategy to guide its path towards maximizing impact. This new 2030 strategy focuses its efforts on addressing conflict as a key driver of fragility, and partnering with communities, local non-governmental organizations, governments, and the private sector to create peaceful, cohesive communities and responsive governance systems.

General Position Summary

Mercy Corps is seeking a Senior Researcher with a proven record of designing and executing independent research on issues related to peace and conflict in fragile contexts. The Senior Researcher must have strong analytical and writing skills, an ability to use both quantitative and qualitative research methods, and a deep understanding of the links between research findings, policy debates, and programming decisions. The Senior Researcher will serve as a public thought leader, advancing Mercy Corps’ evidence, analysis and points of view on foreign assistance policy and practice related to peace and conflict.

The role will involve developing and managing original research products, in consultation with the Director of Research for Governance and Conflict and members of other teams. The research will involve frequent trips to work with Mercy Corps country and regional program leads, as Mercy Corps’ research begins with questions facing our teams implementing programs and aims to advance programmatic learning. In addition, the Senior Researcher will write timely analysis, thought pieces, and other products, and contribute to the development of policy documents, all of which maximize the impact of, and learnings from, Mercy Corps work. Along with producing research and analysis, the position will play a key role in communicating and leveraging the products through presentations and other forums to influence internal and external audiences. Finally, the Senior Researcher will contribute to new research grant opportunities and partnerships, to help expand the scope and impact of our research and influence related to peace and conflict.

Essential Job Responsibilities

RESEARCH STRATEGY AND PRIORITY SETTING

• Collaboratively update Mercy Corps’ global research agenda on peace and conflict to reflect existing evidence gaps, opportunities, emerging issues, and new priorities.
• Collaborate with key actors across the agency to identify and prioritize research opportunities that align with the peace and conflict research agenda and connect to Mercy Corps’ programming and/or advocacy priorities.
• Work with the Director of Research for Governance and Conflict to coordinate and harmonize research across the research agendas on peace, conflict, and governance, in service of promoting organizational learning and external influence related to the priority outcome on Peace and Good Governance in Mercy Corps’ 2030 strategy.
• Track global developments related to peace and conflict programming and policies to stay informed of noteworthy emerging trends, and to identify influence opportunities for research and analysis.
• Participate in regular coordination meetings and fora – both internal and external – to ensure other teams and organizations are aware of ongoing research projects and identify opportunities for collaboration, dissemination, and influence.

EVIDENCE GENERATION

• Produce 2-3 major independent research papers per year on peace, conflict, and related priority issues, based on significant field research and quantitative and qualitative approaches.
• Produce accessible white papers, policy briefs, commentary pieces, op-eds, and other shorter products tailored to key audiences.
• Collaborate with Mercy Corps technical, research, policy, and field teams, as well as external research partners, to design and implement research projects, including integrating evaluative research into Mercy Corps programs that provide unique opportunities for learning.
• Manage and coordinate the work of external researchers, co-authors, data analysts, research assistants, and consultants to execute studies.

COMMUNICATION AND DISSEMINATION

• Act as leading external voice in contributing to, and influencing, policy and practice on peace and conflict issues based on Mercy Corps’ research and learning, including through representing and presenting at conferences, briefings, advocacy meetings, and in other fora.
• Promote awareness and uptake of research through publishing in widely-read outlets, participating and presenting in high-profile forums, and leveraging connections with technical experts, policymakers, academics, and other thought leaders.
• Actively promote use of research and evidence to inform agency strategies and priorities (HQ, Regional, and Country), including through internal communications and forums.
• Support Research and Learning, Policy and Advocacy, and Technical Support Unit leadership in developing policy documents and communications as needed, including assisting with the drafting of relevant talking points and key messages.
• Document research utilization goals, dissemination efforts, and research impact.

PARTNERSHIP AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

• Establish and maintain strategic relationships with key external actors including donors, peer NGOs, think tanks, academic institutions, and government officials, and with the aim of collaborating on research and influence with them.
• Develop strong relationships with Mercy Corps internal stakeholders, particularly field teams, technical support teams, media and communications, and crisis analysis teams.
• Identify and lead the development of grant proposals for research funding to further priority topics and questions.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Director of Research for Governance and Conflict

Works Directly With: Policy and Advocacy team, Regional and Country Teams, Technical Support Unit, Media and Communications Team, Crisis Analytics team, other Research and Learning Team members

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualifications and Transferable Skills

The ideal candidate will possess many, though perhaps not all, of the following qualifications and characteristics:

• Advanced degree in a relevant field (international development, political science, public policy, other social sciences). PhD preferred.
• 5 to 7 years relevant experience conducting independent research, analysis and publishing independently on peace and conflict in fragile contexts and related topics.
• Regional expertise on Africa or the Middle East.
• French language skills preferred.
• Exposure to humanitarian and development fieldwork, the international humanitarian system, and/or relevant policy bodies and processes.
• Experience with quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and experience applying them to questions relevant for development or humanitarian audiences.
• Knowledge of STATA and/or R and qualitative analysis software (NVivo or Dedoose) preferred.
• Extremely strong writing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate to multiple audiences, including policymakers, practitioners, and academics.
• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to juggle multiple projects and tasks with a diverse set of stakeholders.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to effectively gather and summarize large amounts of information from various sources.
• Demonstrated sensitivity, skill, and experience in working diplomatically and effectively within diverse cultural settings and with diverse teams.
• Strong networks, relationships, and profile with major external actors, including policy and academic audiences.

Success Factors

• Ability to design and implement original mixed-methods research that answers questions of relevance to development and humanitarian practitioners and policymakers.
• Ability to effectively link evidence to policy and programming outcomes by understanding internal and external research needs and ways to respond to them.
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with colleagues, peer groups, and officials; and motivation to seek out and establish new relationships.
• Ability to quickly and effectively summarize complex information into clear, concise writing.
• A clear understanding of Mercy Corps’ mission and collaborative style of operation.
• Ability to work simultaneously on multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines under those conditions, while remaining flexible to changing conditions and requirements.
• Ability to work as part of a team and coordinate with both HQ and country team personnel.
• Computer literate with strong organizational skills.
• Ability to operate with a significant degree of autonomy within agreed upon parameters.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position can be based in any Mercy Corps HQ or regional office and it requires up to 30% travel to support research. Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

​​Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As a safeguarding measure, Mercy Corps screens all potential US-Based employees. This is done following the conclusion of recruitment and prior to assuming full employment.

Our screening process is designed to be transparent and completed in partnership with new Team Members. You will have the opportunity to disclose any prior convictions at the conclusion of the recruitment process before the check is initiated. We ask that you do not disclose any prior convictions in your application materials or during the recruitment process.

Covid-19 Vaccine Policy for US-Based Employees

Mercy Corps has determined that, in an effort to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all Mercy Corps employees working in the United States, all U.S.-based employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection status. This policy is necessary to ensure not only the safety of our workforce, but the ongoing functionality of the organization.

This policy will be revised as needed to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, and to respond to changing guidance from public health authorities.

For new employees this requirement goes into effect within 10 business days of employment. Team members that travel are expected to comply with host-country requirements, including vaccinations. Failure to comply may impact your employment. Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.