Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS)
The American University in Cairo
Terms of Reference (TOR)
Research Officer
Project Title: Refugee Entitlements in Egypt
Donor: European Commission
Position Title: Research Officer
Position Type: Full time-grant based
Position Duration: 36 months
Report to: Principal Investigator andLead Researcher
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Probation Period: 3 months
Background
Ascertaining the entitlements of asylum-seekers, recognized refugees, and unsuccessful asylum applicants in Egypt is not a straightforward task. The interplay between international, regional, and domestic laws and policies creates different bundles of rights and entitlements on the basis of legal status and nationality. Stakeholders working in the field – whether the Government of Egypt, international organizations, non-governmental and civil society organizations, or most importantly asylum-seekers and refugees themselves – would benefit from greater clarity on rights and entitlements. In response to this need, the Refugee Entitlements in Egypt Project undertakes an in-depth mapping of the rights and entitlements of asylum seekers, recognized refugees, and rejected asylum applicants in Egypt under international, regional, and national laws. The project maps formal rights and entitlements and ascertains how accessible they are in practice; uses this information to raise stakeholder awareness on rights, entitlements, and accessibility; and builds the capacity of stakeholders to improve the access to and quality of rights and entitlements.
Description of the Position
The Research Officer will be responsible for assisting the Lead Researcher, including for data collection, desk research and analysis, and providing assistance in implementing awareness-raising and capacity-building campaigns.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Provide assistance to the Lead Researcher for mapping and analysis of the relevant international and regional conventions, bilateral agreements, and domestic laws.
- Provide assistance to the Lead Researcher in ascertaining the difficulties in implementation of the aforementioned laws.
- Conduct interviews with various stakeholders: policy-makers and governments officials as well as staff of international and local civil society organizations.
- Conduct focus group discussions with refugees, asylum-seekers, and unsuccessful asylum applicants.
- Transcribe interviews and focus group discussions and provide the Lead Researcher with the write-ups regularly after each interview and focus group discussion.
- Assist the Lead Researcher in writing the final report of findings.
- Assist the Lead Researcher in designing standard operating procedures for international and local organizations.
- Assist the Lead Researcher in developing training materials for service providers.
- Assist in organizing the public conference, workshops, and local community events.
Required Skills and Expertise
- Master’s Degree in a relevant field of the humanities and social sciences
- Minimum 4 years of experience in research, in particular with qualitative research methods
- Excellent interpersonal skills for conducting interviews with different stakeholders and focus group discussions with the refugee communities
- Excellent drafting and editing skills
- Knowledge of migration-related issues particularly with regard to the Middle East and North Africa region; and
- Fluency in speaking and writing in English
- Working knowledge of the Arabic language
Application Guidelines
All interested applicants should submit before 15 April a resume, cover letter, and writing sample via e-mail to cmrs@aucegypt.edu with the subject title: Refugee Entitlements in Egypt: Research Officer Vacancy. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.
For more information, click here.