Post Title: Researcher /Investigator
Remuneration: £36,000 – £40,0000 and a generous package of benefits including pension, yearly increase in leave entitlement, comprehensive health insurance
Duration of contract: Full time & Permanent
Location: London or Bath, United kingdom
Key responsibilities
The Researcher and Investigator will provide high calibre research and analytical support to EJF’s global campaigns, with a particular focus on generating robust and actionable intelligence to inform EJF’s field investigations across a range of key geographies, including Africa, Latin America, Southeast and East Asia.
Reporting to the CEO and working closely with EJF’s Research and Investigation Units, and using open source and other web-based tools and databases, the role will contribute critical desk-based investigative research across EJF’s campaigns on oceans, climate, biodiversity, forests and cotton.
In particular, the position will play a key role in EJF’s work to identify the actors involved in environmental and associated human rights abuses and to drive the adoption of corporate due diligence obligations and mandatory transparency requirements across supply chains.
Key responsibilities of the position will include:
- Conducting high-calibre research and gathering information on the modalities of engagement of distant water fishing companies in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Using social media, OSINT resources and associated analytical tools to identify illegal activities and associated abuses on board fishing vessels, working with the EJF team in East and Southeast Asia to identify crewmembers for interview.
- Using web-based searches to uncover information on contracts between fishing investors and coastal state governments where agreements are opaque/information is lacking, and to investigate the role of brokers/staffing agencies in trafficking and forced/bonded labour.
- Researching foreign investments (e.g. in the form of development aid, infrastructure investment), how they are tied to fisheries and how they may influence fishing access.
- Uncovering information on illegal activities in geographies where field research is difficult or where EJF does not currently have a presence and identifying potential partners, contacts and informants on the ground.
- Using satellite imagery, geolocation/tracking data, trade data/shipping records, company websites and social media to track forest and seafood consignments linked to environmental and/or human rights abuses through supply chains.
- Identifying emerging human rights/environmental issues based on open source data, keeping the Research and Investigation Units abreast of developments, and identifying opportunities to link research findings to EJF’s advocacy and communications.
- Drafting high quality briefings and reports setting out research findings for internal and external audiences.
- Providing regular detailed written updates (monthly) on work and progress, obstacles and opportunities. Providing a video conference or, when possible, in person briefing on these to the Chief Executive Officer, Head of Research, Investigations Coordinator and other invited members of the wider team.
- Assist with other areas of EJF’s work as requested by the Chief Executive Officer.
Requirements:
- Fluency in English.
- Academic or professional experience conducting high-calibre research and analysis
- Background in issues related to fisheries, environmental issues or human rights, or in a relevant field, e.g. law, investigative journalism, OSINT investigation.
- Superb attention to detail and ability to work to deadlines.
- Strong communication and writing skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of an international, interdisciplinary team.
- Advanced OSINT research skills, including:
- Ability to perform deep-dive searches with complex search functions
- Familiarity with foreign language search engines and data gathering resources
- Proficiency with data management including experience in proprietary databases
Desirable:
- Proficiency in additional languages relevant to EJF’s mission, including but not limited to Bahasa, French, German, Spanish or Mandarin.
- Training in open source/investigative research methods.
- Comprehensive understanding of complex company ownership structures and financial and legal transactions in the maritime industry or other sectors, including experience mapping legal corporate structures and using corporate registries.
- Experience in analysing trade datasets, e.g., UN Comtrade, Eurostat.
- Knowledge of programming languages such as SQL, R or Python
Please send your CV and cover letter explaining why you are the right person for the job to: recruitment@ejfoundation.org.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. The deadline for applications will be 11pm on the 3rd July 2023.
Please include the subject line “Application_Researcher/Investigator_(YOUR FULL NAME)” in your email.
EJF is an equal opportunities employer, committed to diversity within the workplace.
