RESEARCH ASSISTANT – RISK REPORT
The Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control is seeking two Research Assistants to support research and outreach for the Project’s Risk Report database. The position offers an excellent opportunity to gain experience mining open sources for information about arms proliferators and proliferation and sanctions evasion networks, as well as supporting international capacity-building. You will be joining a team that values excellence, flexibility, diligence, and a commitment to the organization’s mission.
What you’ll do: Contribute to Risk Report content, outreach, and training, and provide operational support. Specific duties and estimated time allocation:
- Conduct open-source investigations to identify and profile entities linked to proliferation and sanctions evasion and support the integration of these profiles in network visualizations. Specific countries of focus include: China, North Korea, and Russia. (40%)
- Track global proliferation-related sanctions developments and reflect these developments in the Risk Report, including by updating official restricted party lists, export control regulations, and multilateral strategic trade control regimes, as well as internal tracking documents. (30%)
- Support the organization’s international training initiative in partnership with the U.S. Department of State. Responsibilities include participating in outreach with stakeholders in the public and private sectors (online and in-person); developing training curriculum; preparing materials and arranging training logistics; drafting progress reports for funders. (15%)
- Provide support as needed for anything and everything that can come up at a small nonprofit, from preparing promotional material, to contributing to the organization’s social media, to learning a new software, to filing, scanning… Be a team player and be ready to pitch in. (15%)
You could be great for this job if you have:
- A strong academic background, including at least a BA or BS degree.
- Curiosity combined with a rigorous approach to open-source research.
- Good writing skills; able to write clearly and concisely.
- 1-2 years of work experience that demonstrates an interest in nonproliferation, export controls, and/or sanctions.
- A strong work ethic and the ability to work without ego getting in the way; an openness to receiving and giving feedback.
- A demonstrated ability to prioritize and effectively triage tasks to align with organizational capacity.
- A willingness to be nimble and find creative ways to further the organization’s success, including by learning new things and proactively proposing solutions.
- An affinity for small office environments that require accomplishing all levels of task, sometimes with little oversight and no road map.
- Knowledge of and openness to using technology to support our mission, including Customer Relationship Management, Content Management Systems, and email marketing tools.
Location: The organization is based in Washington D.C. and candidates from outside the D.C. metro area must be willing to relocate and work from the office at least twice per week. The Wisconsin Project has a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for all staff, unless a reasonable accommodation for medical reasons is requested and approved.
Compensation: This is a full-time staff position with generous benefits. Salary is based on experience and salary ranges for potential candidates will be shared after the first interview.
To apply: Candidates should send a resume and cover letter by email to [email protected] with “Research Assistant – Risk Report” in the subject field. Application deadline: April 17, 2023.
THE HERBERT SCOVILLE JR. PEACE FELLOWSHIP
The Wisconsin Project is a host organization for the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship. This Fellowship pays a salary for recent college and graduate school alumni to work for six to nine months with NGOs in Washington D.C. on international peace and security issues. For further information, please visit www.scoville.org.
WHO WE ARE
- A 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington D.C. that conducts research and public education aimed at inhibiting strategic trade from contributing to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
- Publisher of the Risk Report, a strategic trade control and sanctions database with open-source information on entities around the world linked to the development of weapons of mass destruction, missiles, and the evasion of related sanctions.
- An organization that does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, political affiliations or belief, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by law. Women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and members of other historically underrepresented populations are strongly encouraged to apply.