Research Manager

Location: To be determined: CIHRS has functional offices in Tunis, Brussels, Geneva, and Marseille.

Position: Senior Position

Organizational Unit: Research Unit

Starting Date: As soon as possible

Contract Duration: One year with possibility of extension

Salary: The remuneration will be commensurate with the experience of the applicant and competitive rates in other NGOs

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) is seeking well-qualified applicants for the position of Research Manager. The Research Manager will be a senior staff member of CIHRS and the head of a newly formed Research Unit to ensure timely issuance of nonacademic research outputs on human rights situations in the Arab region. The Research Manager will work in close coordination with the Arab Regional Advocacy Program and the Dissemination Program to provide strong intellectual leadership to CIHRS public output in all areas of the organization’s work. The Research Manager will report to the Deputy Director of the organization.

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies:

CIHRS is a unique organization that has demonstrated its credibility in the field of human rights and democracy since its inception in 1993. During the many political storms that have come, passed, and remain ongoing throughout the Arab region, CIHRS has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to stand above the politics of national interest groups. As a growing and increasingly influential organization, CIHRS remains resolutely committed to its core principles of respect for human rights and justice.

CIHRS and its partners from across the Arab region have contributed to numerous successful international advocacy initiatives. Among many achievements, these advocacy efforts have succeeded in pressuring national governments to modify or halt legislation that threatens freedom of assembly and association, and in mobilizing powerful international organizations such as the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to take strong stances on repressive governments violating the basic rights of their citizens.

As a regional organization deeply embedded within the human rights movement in the Arab region, CIHRS fosters strong connections through effective engagement both with civil society organizations and major players in the international community. Through decades of activism, engagement, and monitoring of regional and global politics, CIHRS has gradually increased its institutional capacity and international reach, largely through the establishment of CIHRS offices in Europe and North Africa. Given its strategic operational setup and broad range of partnerships across the world, CIHRS has a distinctive ability to connect human rights violations being perpetrated in Arab states to global security and stability concerns.

Mission Statement

CIHRS advocates for human rights and democracy across the Arab region. Through the elevation of local voices, CIHRS contributes to the building of sustainable, prosperous, and peaceful societies.

Objectives

To protect public space and advocate for democratic practices across the Arab region, CIHRS aims to engage and encourage interest-driven actors to respect human rights, justice, and accountability.

Strategic goals:

• Increase the visibility and capacity of local human rights and democracy activists to engage and advocate on rights issues on national, regional and international levels.
• Foster solidarity, enhance coordination, and build networks between human rights and democracy defenders across the Arab region.
• Support effective national, regional, and international advocacy campaigns on rights issues.
• Nurture and spread a culture of respect for human rights principles among the people of the Arab region, with emphasis on potential future leaders of the human rights movement.

Job Description

The Research Manager will undertake a leading role in setting the intellectual direction of CIHRS’ nonacademic research activities to align them with the CIHRS mission of strengthening the human rights movement in the Arab region, in tandem with developing and spreading a culture of pluralism and human rights values in the region.

Principal Duties:

Modeling Effective Team Leadership

1. Supervise the work of a growing team of researchers and campaigners. Researchers are currently based in the Tunis office and in Europe. Identify areas for improvement among country researchers and work with them both individually and as a group to build their capacities.
2. Oversee and ensure the consistent application of policies and standards centered on performance, management, and conduct.
3. Recruit and cultivate diverse talents and manage their performance in a fair, consistent, transparent, and empathetic manner.
4. Participate in CIHRS’ high level-fundraising and donor cultivation activities, and other program development activities.
5. Oversee and monitor the research unit budget and ensure strategic allocation of funds within the unit’s various activities.
6. Oversee recruitment of non-resident research fellows and supervise their work as short-term fellows for periods of up to 12 months.

Strategy and Innovation

1. Responsible for mainstreaming gender equality throughout the programmatic output of the organization.
2. Leading the team by providing new creative ideas, critical thinking and strategic input when required.
3. The Research Manager will contribute to overall organizational leadership and strategy by using political judgment and expertise to advise and support the broader management on CIHRS’ substantive human rights work in the region, including emerging issues, trends, and crises.
4. Remain consistently updated on major developments in the region and their implications for the work of the organization, to provide a knowledgeable frame of reference for researchers and the rest of the organization. Serve as a resource for researchers and research fellows.

Partnership

1. The Research Manager will be responsible for reviving, expanding, and running the Regional Platform of Independent Human Rights Organizations. The Platform includes representatives of leading, independent HROs from across the Arab region. Through periodic statements, the Platform should speak out on developments that impact human rights conditions in the region, and should become a strong voice for human rights and universal values on a regional level.
2. Developing relations and cooperation with other researchers/think-tankers/analysts in other research organizations and NGOs, with a view towards widening CIHRS’ outreach and building complementarities.

Systems of effective, impactful work

1. Develop systems for coordination and collaboration between team members across different countries/time zones to manage the unit’s workflow effectively.
2. Ensure the organization’s research endeavors respond adequately, consistently, and effectively to key human rights developments in the Arab region.
3. Coordinate with the Advocacy Unit to ensure clear communication and smooth cooperation between the research and advocacy work of the organization, including the work of advocacy offices in Brussels and Geneva, and work carried out in national capitals in Europe, North America, and elsewhere.
4. Coordinate with the Dissemination Program to ensure that the content of the research journal, Rowaq Arabi, and the substance of periodic regional forums align with the mission of CIHRS.
5. Coordinate, as necessary, with all other units and programs of the organization to ensure full integration of the research component of CIHRS’ work in the organization’s activities.
6. Ensure that the team report with sufficient clarity and detail on the impact of their work, including to donors.

Leading the research team’s strategy and activities

1. Establish research priorities with each country researcher and continue to discuss and revise these priorities as needed, taking into consideration the needs and priorities of other programs.
2. Work closely with country researchers to establish short- and long-term plans of work to meet identified goals.
3. Review all work produced by researchers and research fellows and provide timely feedback. Ensure a consistent, high level of quality in all research output.
4. Work with researchers and research fellows to produce analysis of human rights developments in their respective countries based on the political context and broader environment in the region.

Skills and Experience

1. A minimum of 7 years of experience working in the field of human rights or civil society organizations, focused on the Arab region.
2. Strong relevant research experience, including a university degree, preferably a master’s degree, in relevant subjects (e.g., Law, Human Rights, Political Science, International Relations, etc.)
3. A record of publications on subjects related to human rights in the region.
4. Fluency in both written and spoken Arabic and English, working knowledge of French would be an asset.
5. Outstanding leadership skills.
6. Excellent writing and verbal communication skills, with public speaking experience in academic and professional settings.
7. Excellent analytical skills and a thorough understanding of the sociopolitical context in the Arab region.
8. Demonstrated commitment to universal human rights.
9. Willingness and ability to travel, work extra hours (sometimes during weekends), work well under pressure, and adapt to emerging issues and changing priorities.
10. Ability to work as part of a team.
11. Ability to work respectfully in a multicultural environment.

Conditions

• 1-year contract subject to a 3-month probation period. Renewal subject to funding
• Commencement: Immediate
• Working hours: Full time
• Location: To be determined.

Commitment to Equality

CIHRS is committed to ensuring equality and non-discrimination on grounds of gender, race, religion, or belief in its hiring process. CIHRS is a multicultural environment that celebrates diversity. All employees are expected to promote and act in a manner that ensures a non-discriminatory, open, and sensitive approach to others from different backgrounds and cultures.