Senior Researcher, Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS)
The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) is now hiring a Senior Researcher to work on the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) project at START’s headquarters at the University of Maryland, College Park. This is a full-time position, with an initial term of 12 months (starting in December 2019).
Responsibilities:
PIRUS is an unclassified, open source database that includes detailed information on more than 2,000 individuals who conspired to or committed violent and non-violent acts of extremist crime in the United States. The database supports a wide range of users, including government, academia, media, and the general public. The person hired for this position will support four initiatives related to PIRUS: (1) a database to include information on the social network ties of US extremists, (2) a relational database to add event-level information to PIRUS (3) a database on US bias crime offenders, and (4) a research and training project based on PIRUS that seeks to assist US probation officers in managing the community reentry of extremist offenders. The PIRUS Senior Researcher will be responsible for performing a variety of daily tasks, including:
- Establishing expertise on data collection and coding practices for all domains of the PIRUS database, including individual radicalization, US foreign fighter activity, disengagement and de-radicalization, extremist crimes and bias crimes
- Recruiting, managing, and mentoring interns tasked with data collection and coding for PIRUS
- Training new team members and interns on coding practices for PIRUS as needed
- Performing routine quality control assessments of coded data
- Identifying individuals for inclusion in the PIRUS datasets and source collection
- Supporting analysis tasks, including advanced statistical analysis, case study research/writing, report development, and manuscript writing
- Conducting surveys and interviews of former extremists and law enforcement officials
- Transitioning research findings to diverse audiences, including academics, counterterrorism professionals, law enforcement, community organizations, and the news media
Required Qualifications
- ABD in discipline related to terrorism and political violence
- 2+ years systematic data collection and/or coding experience
- Knowledge of PIRUS and related datasets (e.g., the Global Terrorism Database)
- Proficiency in statistical, qualitative, or ethnographic research methods
- Experience conducting interviews and field work
- Proficiency with MS Excel, including the use of pivot tables, formulas, and data sorting/filtering, statistical packages, such as SPSS or STATA, and/or qualitative research tools, such as the various QCA packages available in R
- Demonstrated ability to manage tasks and meet strict deadlines
- Demonstrated ability to analyze a large number of source documents in a fast-paced environment
- Excellent writing skills and demonstrated ability to publish in academic outlets
Preferred Qualifications
- PhD in discipline related to terrorism and political violence
- 2+ years project/team management experience
- Experience as a Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator for a funded research project
- Demonstrated expertise in a domain related to extremism in the United States, especially the history and current status of U.S. far-right extremist organizations
- Experience teaching college-level courses on a topic related to terrorism/extremism
- Experience interacting with the news media, including providing expert commentary on current national security issues
The annual salary for this position will be in the range of $80,000-$85,000 (depending on education and experience), plus full University of Maryland benefits (as explained at http://ter.ps/2by). The person selected for this position will work on site at START’s headquarters in College Park, Maryland and will report to the PIRUS Lead Investigator.
Qualified applicants should submit a cover letter, resumé, and 3-5 page writing sample via email (with subject line “PIRUS Senior Researcher”) to pirus@start.umd.edu. Applicants should also provide contact information for three professional references. Any applications submitted through Handshake will automatically be denied.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Candidates are encouraged to apply by November 17, 2019 for best consideration.
Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. The University of Maryland is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.