OverviewPosition OverviewBDI'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 Ohio 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 (SitReps), 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 Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania- and will report to the State Lead Manager.
The outcome of this work is reliable and timely monitoring and early warning analysis products, which has proven an essential part of the U.S. early warning infrastructure. Regular reporting, timely issue briefs, and custom memos - drawing on data and collaboration with over a dozen monitoring partners - will provide reliable, trusted, and actionable information to help the entire early warning ecosystem get ahead of and respond to risk.
Work must be performed within the United States and is fully remote. This position must be based in Ohio. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible, 1-year term position with a possibility of extension.
Responsibilities- 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 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 SitRep production for your state, number of meaningful relationships built, building out the state-based SitRep distribution list, briefings with state-based partners, and other research and monitoring products as assigned.
QualificationsRequired- Must live in Ohio or in an adjacent state.
- Must have significant state-specific knowledge, networks, and experience in Ohio.
- 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 sectors.
- Ability to think strategically and creatively around quantitative and qualitative data, including identifying new/emerging trends, gaps, and alternative analysis methods.
- Excellent writing abilities, especially past experience writing policy-focused memos, recommendations, or reports.
- Outstanding interpersonal skills, and the ability to engage with a multidisciplinary team and collaborators, including a wide array of partners from diverse backgrounds and in a remote work setting.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, including proactivity and agility in response to potential early warning indicators.
- Familiarity with a variety of social media platforms while being able to evaluate source credibility.
Preferred- Master's degree in a relevant field.
- Expertise in conducting OSINT monitoring to track activities of conflict actors, especially via social media and alt platforms.
- Familiarity with ACLED data and/or other relevant quantitative data sources tracking political violence in the U.S. context.
- Interest and ability to translate research findings to policy and practitioner audiences.
- Experience working on a remote team, including familiarity with relevant work tools (e.g. Slack, Zoom, Asana, etc.).
- Familiarity with common research tools (NexusUni, ProQuest, Google News Alerts).
- Experience with spatial analysis, including aggregation of demographic and point data to spatial units alongside data visualization/cartography.
- Experience developing datasets and subsets from various sources, including creating and maintaining documentation for all data and tools and ensuring data integrity.
- Experience with HTML/CSS, Python, or other programming languages or interest in developing greater fluency.
- Experience with time series and event data, building analytical outputs for description and predictions, such as forecasting models, indices, and multiple linear regressions.
BDI/Princeton offers a comprehensive benefits package. We invite you to review our benefits here.
Application Instructions Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter outlining their qualifications and experience as they relate to the role and BDI's mission, including details on their direct ties to, and experience within, the state of Ohio. Applications without a cover letter that meets this criteria will not be considered.
Work authorization/visa eligibility: Work must be performed within the United States and is fully remote. This job requires sustained U.S. work authorization and is not eligible for U.S. visa sponsorship.
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Salary Range$80,000 to $90,000
