CB Adversaries Project Manager/ Researcher (University Rank: Faculty Research Assistant) The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) is now hiring a researcher to work at START's headquarters at the University of Maryland, College Park. This is a full-time position, with an initial term of 6 months (starting no later than late July 2013). After the initial term, there is no guarantee of continued employment, but a follow-on position could be possible dependent on hire performance and new project funding. Responsibilities: Special Projects consists of a number of relatively short-term and intensive research projects on various aspects of terrorism and counter-terrorism. The Project Manager/ Researcher will run a project examining non-state adversaries' pursuit of chemical and biological weapons and technologies and will be responsible for performing a variety of basic research tasks, including identifying and summarizing sources, coding data and implementing data quality control processes, analysis, producing in-depth case studies, preparing reports (performing qualitative and/or quantitative analysis, writing, proof-reading, formatting), and preparing and delivering presentations. The Project Manager/ Researcher will be responsible for supervising small teams of project staff (2-6), off-site consultants and team members (7-12) and interns (5-15) for some of these tasks. The position will be approximately 25% management and 75% research. The project focuses on:
- Anatomizing the chemical and biological non-state adversary threat through a multi-method approach
- Producing a dataset related to chemical and biological non-state adversaries
- Producing in-depth case studies relevant to chemical and biological adversaries
Special Projects uses a multi-method analytical approach, including:
- Qualitative case study methods, especially process tracing
- Quantitative data collection and analysis, including both basic and advanced statistics
- Geospatial analysis
- Elicitations and surveys
- Red teaming
- Formal modeling
- Agent-based modeling
Required Qualifications:
- Graduate degree in relevant discipline or 2+ years of relevant research experience
- At least one year of prior research focused on non-state adversaries
- Research experience related to chemical and biological weapons and technologies, especially those relevant to non-state adversaries
- Experience with data quality control procedures OR producing qualitative case studies
- Ability to effectively supervise project staff, including full-time researchers, research assistants and interns
- Ability to handle pressure and meet deliverable deadlines
- Flexibility to switch topic areas and tasking as projects require
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with data quality control procedures AND producing qualitative case studies
- Significant substantive and/or technical knowledge or expertise within chemical and biological threat-relevant research areas
- Superior writing and presentation abilities
- Sufficient familiarity with statistical methods to understand and discuss others' work
- Sufficient familiarity with modeling and human behavior simulations to understand and discuss others' work
- PhD (or advanced ABD) in relevant field
Additional Considerations
- Scholarly work (articles, books, etc.) and presentations on project-relevant topics
- Research experience in a professional environment
- Previous budgeting or contracting experience
The annual salary for this position will be in the range of $40,000 to $60,000 (depending on education and experience), plus full University of Maryland benefits (as explained at http://uhr.umd.edu/benefits/benefits-at-a-glance/). The person selected for this position will work on site at START's headquarters immediately adjacent to campus at the University of Maryland, College Park, and will report directly to START's Special Projects Program Manager. Applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Candidates are encouraged to apply by June 23, 2013 for best consideration. Please submit a cover letter, resume/CV, 2 page writing sample and three references to lpinson.start+pmr@gmail.com with "CB Adversaries Project Manager/Senior Researcher Application" as the subject line. The University of Maryland, College Park, actively subscribes to a policy of equal employment opportunity, and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, age, gender, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, national origin, or political affiliation. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.