Description
Research Assistant, Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) Team
The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) is now hiring a research assistant for the Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) team at START’s headquarters at the University of Maryland, College Park. This is an hourly position up to 40 hours/week through December 31, 2024, with the possibility of renewal. This position will support START research focused on sentencing in U.S. terrorism cases, as well as helping to create an open-source database of targeted violence in the United States (T2V).
The research assistant will assist RaD researchers collecting data on sentencing outcomes in U.S. terrorism prosecutions from 1990-2024. This will include reviewing court records and recording information in the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) dataset about incarceration length, guilty pleas, terms of supervision, and recidivism. The research assistant will also support the RaD team by helping to build and improve the quality of the T2V dataset by conducting in-depth research on targeted violence events using publicly available sources and then synthesizing and recording the information in the dataset. Specifically, the research assistant will use news reports and court records to collect information on the preparatory actions, outcomes, and criminal proceedings of targeted violence events.
Required/minimum qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree or seeking a bachelor’s degree in discipline related to terrorism and political violence
- Experience with open-source research and social science methods
- Proficiency with Microsoft Excel
- Excellent attention to detail
- Strong interest in research
- Ability to work independently and in small groups
- Individuals with knowledge of domestic extremist groups, hate crimes, forensic psychology, and grievance-based violence are strongly encouraged to apply
Salary: $18 to $20 depending on experience
Offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check. A prior criminal conviction or convictions will not automatically disqualify a finalist from employment in the position.
Applicant Documents
Qualified applicants should submit a cover letter and CV/resumé via email (with subject line “T2V Research Assistant”) to pirus@start.umd.edu.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Candidates are encouraged to apply by July 7, 2024, for best consideration.
Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. The University of Maryland is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.