RUSI EUROPE, PROJECT CRAAFT, RESEARCH FELLOW, COUNTER-TERROR FINANCE

DÉTAILS DE L’ANNONCE

PROFIL

Person Specification

The applicant should be able to demonstrate the following essential knowledge, skills and experience:

• Excellent qualitative or quantitative research skills, developed in post-graduate university research (to master’s or PhD level) and/or in a research institute (such as a think-tank) and/or a government, charitable or private sector organisation
• A reputation in the field of financial crime and CTF research, developed either in government, academia, non-governmental organisations or the private sector
• Expert knowledge of the CTF field including the FATF, UNSCRs and other critical elements of the global CTF landscape
• Expert knowledge and/or experience working with organised crime and the crime-terror nexus as it manifests in Europe and its neighbourhood.
• Evidence of relevant publications in this field
• Excellent interpersonal and team-working skills, and the confidence to develop new relationships and maintain existing relationships
• Excellent communication skills, orally and in writing (candidates must have fluent and idiomatic English, equivalent to C2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages); and confidence to present research to audiences, including broadcast media
• A strong track record of delivering research projects
• Strong administrative and organisational skills, including experience of or qualification in managing projects both in terms of outputs and finances (of whatever size)
• Confidence in using Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and other IT software for research purposes.

Terms and Conditions

The Research Fellow will be employed for 1-year duration of Project CRAAFT and will be based at the RUSI Europe office in Brussels.

The Research Fellow will report to the RUSI Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies Director and, for RUSI Europe matters, to the Director of RUSI Europe. Regular travel within Europe, with some l trips outside Europe will be necessary. All travel for work purposes will be at RUSI Europe’s expense.

Equal Opportunities and Values

At RUSI Europe you will be appreciated and valued. Our stakeholders, transactions, and projects are international and diverse, so we work hard to create inclusive teams that support our efforts and each other. We are committed in promoting equality and diversity in our workforce and employment practices and take reasonable steps not to unfairly discriminate in any way in our recruitment practices. We therefore encourage you to apply regardless of your socio-economic background, ethnicity, sexual preference, gender or physical disability.

To ensure equality of opportunity in our employment policies and monitoring of our recruitment practices, we ask candidates to complete our equal opportunity monitoring form which can be found here –Equal Opportunity Monitoring Form

Please note this will open in a separate browser, you will need to return to the vacancy page to complete your application.

We must stress that any information you provide will be strictly confidential and will not form part of the selection process.

Application Process

To apply, please submit yourCV, a covering letterstating why you consider that you are suitable for the roleand a 500 words task (details below)here.

As you will only be able to submit two attachments, please combine and upload your CV and covering letter in one attachment, and the written task separately, as a second attachment.

The closing date for applications isTuesday 30th of November 5pm CET.Early submissions will be viewed favourably. Shortlisted applicants will be invited for interviews in person or via video call and will be given a written test (no preparation required).

Only shortlisted applicants will be informed they have been selected for interview.

Task:

The crime-terror nexus has been conceived as a continuum along which actors display criminal and terrorist traits (Makarenko, 2004) and as a function of social networks between petty crime and terrorism (Basra and Neumann, 2016). These differing conception of the nexus have been evidenced in CRAAFT work, including Matthew Levitt’s research briefing on Hezbollah financing and in Reimer and Redhead’s “A New Normal” in the context of funding sources for self-activating terrorists operating in Europe. With this in mind, prepare a 500-word essay on which conception of the crime-terror nexus poses the greatest terrorism financing risk to Europe, and why.

• Reference: RUSIEUROPE-10112021

• Location: RUSI Europe, 46 Avenue des Arts, 1000 Brussels

• Apply By: Tuesday 30th of November 5pm CET

DESCRIPTION

About RUSI

RUSI Europe studies, promotes, debates and reports on all issues relating to international defence and security in Europe and beyond. RUSI Europe is a not-for-profit international organisation, is independent of government and is committed to objectivity, integrity and impartiality in all of its work. RUSI Europe collaborates closely with its international parent organisation, RUSI, by exchanging expertise and by developing relationships with international stakeholders. Our fields of expertise include the critical issue of Counter Terrorist Financing (CTF).

In the context of its 3-year European Commission grant (Project ‘CRAAFT’), RUSI Europe wishes to appoint a Research Fellow with a focus on and track-record in research related to terrorist financing to lead the research and analysis element of Project CRAAFT in its final year as it considers the crime-terror nexus as it manifests in Europe, and what impact this has on terrorism financing risks.

This role offers an exceptional opportunity for a financial crime researcher with a reputation and a record of achievement to lead a new and exciting research project and develop their profile in the CTF field in Brussels and across Europe.

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of and previous engagement with European and global CTF policies and objectives. They will have at least 5 years of relevant experience including a relevant master’s degree or PhD or have made a contribution to the CTF arena as a policy maker or practitioner and have recently turned to research.

About the Role

Since 9/11, and in Europe, particularly since the wave of terrorist attacks in 2015, the international community has focused closely on efforts to identify and disrupt terrorist financing.

This 3-year project will promote collaboration among members of the European CTF community and undertake a series of supporting research projects.

The advertised position will be the lead, Brussels-based researcher for the project, supported by a project manager and other research resources.

Together with our partners, this programme combines developing and promoting collaborative working to combat terrorist financing with a series of research packages.

The core research package led by RUSI Europe in this final year will cover the crime-terror nexus.

Please note that an essential criterion for this role is that the successful candidate will possess outstanding writing and presentational skills.

Main Duties

TheResearch Fellow will be responsible for delivering the research and analysis component of Project CRAAFT, both as relates to the dedicated research package mentioned above and the subject matter expertise that will be delivered via a regular series of RUSI Europe-convened workshops across Europe supplemented by web-based briefings and conference calls.

Thus, the Research Fellow will:

• Conduct primary and secondary research on CTF across Europe, writing and presenting research outputs (published papers, analytical reports, commentaries, conference papers, presentations, policy briefings, journal articles etc.);
• Project and communicate RUSI’s CTF research with European national and regional law enforcement bodies, policymakers in European capitals and at the European Commission and other Brussels-based bodies, with the private sector, and with the media (as required); and,

• Manage the research and engagement elements of Project CRAAFT, ensuring that it runs effectively, efficiently and in a timely manner, achieving its desired outcomes and deliverables; liaising with beneficiaries, partners and funders. The Research Fellow will work in partnership with a dedicated, Brussels-based project manager.