Job Title: Research Programme Officer
Cluster: Research
Salary: USD 36,692.07 per annum (excluding benefits)
Location: Remote
Reports to: Senior Research Specialist
Direct Reports: None
Contract Type: Permanent (subject to satisfactory performance and funding availability)
Role Overview
The Research Programme Officer will support the CIVICUS Lens initiative, the State of Civil Society Report and other research activities by combining research with administrative coordination and team supervision responsibilities. The role involves research tasks such as conducting interviews and literature reviews, collecting secondary data and producing content to support ongoing projects, as well as coordination, supervision and administrative tasks to support the Research team. These include coordinating interns, organising workflow, providing coordination between Research and other CIVICUS teams, maintaining communication with external stakeholders and providing administrative support to Research leads as needed.
Areas of Responsibilities & Key Activities
Research production and dissemination
- Conduct interviews, transcribe and edit recordings, and organise consultation processes.
- Carry out literature reviews.
- Collect and verify secondary data through online searches and other research methods.
- Produce analysis and written content.
- Maintain research notes and documentation.
- Support the development of research methodologies.
- Upload content and update CIVICUS Lens platform, as needed.
- Prepare social media kits for publications, as needed.
Workflow and intern coordination
- Organise research workflows and track deliverables.
- Provide administrative support to comply with internal procedures.
- Maintain research databases.
- Support recruitment and onboarding processes for new interns.
- Coordinate interns’ schedules, assign them research assignments and monitor progress.
- Conduct regular check-ins with interns, provide feedback on work quality and provide mentoring and professional development support.
Inter-team coordination
- Serve as liaison between Research team and other CIVICUS teams.
- Coordinate with Communications team on matters related to research dissemination and social media content.
- Liaise with designers on layout, visual materials, and publication formatting for research outputs.
- Liaise with translators and editors for multilingual content production.
- Work with Diversity & Inclusion staff to ensure research publications meet organisational standards for inclusive language.
- Support coordination with external consultants or contractors working on research-related projects.
External stakeholder communication
- Maintain regular communication with civil society stakeholders and research partners.
- Coordinate with external researchers, academics and civil society experts for ongoing projects.
- Maintain databases and contact information for research stakeholders and collaborators.
- Assist in organising consultation processes, webinars or conference sessions.
Monitoring, evaluation and learning
- Support in the development of financial and narrative reports for internal use and in line with donor requirements.
- Support in organising learning sessions and alliance-building opportunities.
Other
- Demonstrate CIVICUS values and principles in all professional relationships and interactions.
- Represent CIVICUS at external events, as needed.
- Contribute to organisational strategic planning processes and participate in internal working groups as assigned.
- May be required to carry out other duties within the scope of programme management and research coordination.
Person Specification
Education, Language & Qualifications
- Master’s degree in social sciences, international relations, political science, or other relevant field.
- Advanced proficiency in English.
- Fluency in Spanish, native speaker preferred.
Essential Knowledge, skills and Experience
- Minimum 5-year research experience with at least 2 years in a coordination or supervisory capacity.
- Solid understanding of international civil society networks and inter-governmental institutions.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Experience collecting primary data, particularly through interviews.
- Experience working with diverse stakeholders.
- Experience managing small teams in research or academic environments; ability to mentor and guide junior staff.
- Proficiency in project management tools and database management systems; experience in administrative. coordination and workflow management.
- Ability to work independently while supporting senior research staff.
- High attention to detail.
Desirable Knowledge, skills and Experience
- Advanced degree or equivalent experience in relevant field with specialised knowledge in civil society issues.
- Additional language competencies beyond Spanish and English.
- Background in translation, editing, publishing or content management systems.
- Experience with digital research tools, data management and online platform administration.
- Experience working with international institutions or civil society organisation in research or programme support capacities.
The closing deadline for applications is on the 16th July 2025 at 11:59pm SAST. Short listed candidates will be contacted 2 weeks after the closing date to schedule interviews.
We appreciate and consider each application submitted. However, given the large volume of applications received, we find it impossible to respond to each applicant immediately. You will hear from us within three weeks only if you’re shortlisted for the next steps. We will update all applicants once the position has been filled.
CIVICUS reserves the right to withdraw any of our vacancies at any time.
