The Diaspora Humanitarian project’s team is seeking 8 Community Researchers to provide input into the design of the project, facilitate connections with diaspora communities in Australia who are involved in humanitarian responses, and help to gather and interpret insights from community members.

Download the full Position Description here.

Application Deadline: 31^st January 2022 

 

Work type: 8 Community Researcher – (University of Melbourne Casual RA1) 

Location: Online and remotely – must be based in Australia

Division/Faculty: School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne 

Salary: $44.67/hour

Duration: 90 hours over 18 months from Apr 2022 to Oct. 2023. 

 

About the role 

We are committed to a collaborative process to design this project to ensure that the outcomes are useful and relevant to migrant communities in Australia. We are therefore recruiting eight (8) Community Researchers.

As a Community Researcher you will join us to provide input into the design of the project, facilitate connections with diaspora communities in Australia who are involved in humanitarian responses, and help to gather and interpret insights from community members.

The main duties of Community Researchers will be to:

• Participate in 1-2 project co-design workshops.
• Recruit, engage and support community members to participate in a small number of workshops and focus group discussions.
• Recruit participants and administer a survey to gather insights into how diaspora community members in Australia respond to crises overseas.

Community Researchers are expected to work 90 hours spread over an 18-month period. This includes being paid to participate in training. This work will be paid at a Casual Research Assistant rate by the University of Melbourne.

Ongoing supervision and support will be provided by project staff: A/Professor Bina Fernandez (Chief Investigator), Dr Louise Olliff (Post-Doctoral Research Fellow) and Lorenza Lazzati (Project Officer).

 

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for Community Researchers who have strong connections with diaspora communities from one of the following countries or regions:

• Afghanistan
• Syria
• South Sudan
• Myanmar
• Indonesia
• Nepal
• Lebanon
• Pacific Islands

Ideally, you will have been involved in or have a good understanding of how diaspora communities in Australia respond to humanitarian crises overseas.

You will have strong community networks and know how to reach out to and engage diaspora members from one of the focus countries or regions. Ideally, you will be able to connect with people from diverse ethnic, religious, language, gender, age and other backgrounds from this country or region.

You will have strong communication skills and be able to effectively engage community members with different language, literacy, and accessibility requirements.

You will be interested and excited about improving humanitarian response systems and ensuring diaspora communities in Australia are able to contribute to more effective international responses to conflict, disasters and displacement.

Key responsibilities

• Participate in Community Researcher training.
• Participate in co-design of research process.
• Assist project team with the recruitment of community members and facilitate their participation in workshops, group discussions and interviews as required.
• Recruit participants from diaspora communities and administer survey to collect insights on community responses to crises overseas.

 

Key Selection Criteria

Essential Criteria

• Established connections with communities from one of the case study countries.
• Strong communication skills in English and one or more of the languages from a case study country/region.
• Knowledge of how diaspora communities in Australia respond in times of conflict, disaster or displacement.
• Ability to communicate effectively with people from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to complete tasks to a deadline.

Download the full Position Description here.

For more information contact Lorenza Lazzati at dln@diasporaaction.org.au

 

How to Apply

To Apply please send your Curriculum Vitae and a letter answering the following questions to Lorenza Lazzati (dln@diasporaaction.org.au) by 31^st January 2022.

Subject line: Community Researcher position SP1 – [country of reference, e.g., Afghanistan] 

1. Which focus country or region are you strongly connected with: Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal, Lebanon, Pacific Islands (specify)?
2. Describe your community networks and any roles you have with your community.
3. How would you let members of diaspora communities know about this project and how they can get involved?
4. What steps need to be taken to make sure different members of diaspora communities are able to share their views and experiences (e.g., can participate in workshops or are able to respond to surveys)?
5. What skills, experience and knowledge do you hope to contribute to the project?
6. What, if any, involvement have you had in transnational diaspora humanitarian work?
7. What, if in any, involvement have you had in research work?
8. Please provide names and contact details for two (2) independent referees who can comment on your community work, skills, experience, and approach to community engagement.

 

Application Deadline: 31^st January 2022.

 

Download the full Position Description here.