Community Researcher

The Centre for Lebanese Studies at the Lebanese American University, in partnership with the Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts and the Blue Mission Organization, is looking to recruit three Community Researchers to work on a recently awarded project by the Economic and Social Research Council with the Global Challenges Fund (GCRF) entitled “From Education to Employment? Trajectories in the Context of Protracted Displacement for Young People in Lebanon”. The Community Researchers will be employed for a period of 21 months starting 1st of March 2019.

The project is in collaboration between the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP) at Oxford Brookes University and the following parties (Centre for Lebanese Studies at the Lebanese American University, Blue Mission Organisation in Saida and Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts/ AL-JANA Center in Beirut) and seeks to analyse the trajectories from education to employment of young Palestinian refugees, young Syrian refugees and young Lebanese nationals in two regions of Lebanon: Beirut and Saida. From this material the aim is to respond to the question: In displacement settings, what shapes the trajectories of young people from education into employment?

The project will gather a large qualitative dataset and work with participatory methods to analyse data and artistic means of disseminating findings among young people themselves.

The Community Researchers will work closely with the project team at CLS at LAU as well as the local NGOs AL-JANA Center in Beirut and Blue Mission in Saida.  The researchers will work closely with the Post-doctoral researcher and will assist in data collection, planning, transcribing and analyzing data. More specifically the Community Researchers is expected to:

-Plan and coordinate the project in close collaboration with the senior research staff

-Conduct research interviews

-Support fieldwork and data collection

-Support in transcription and data analysis

-Support in organizing meetings and/or conferences

-Work with a strict framework of research ethics and confidentiality

The Community Researchers should have:

-Masters in any field of social sciences or cognate disciplines

-Minimum of 2 years of research experience in qualitative methodology and data management

-Experience in conducting focus groups and individual interviews

-Preferred experience in using NVIVO software

-Experience in organising events, workshops and conferences

-Creativity and ability to contribute ideas to the project

-Proven ability to work as part of a team

-Strong written and oral communication skills in English and Arabic.

The Community Researchers will communicate their activities to the post-doctoral researcher at the Centre for Lebanese Studies and the NGO they are placed in. The Community Researchers are expected to travel inside Lebanon from Saida to Beirut based on the job requirements. All transportation expenses will be covered by the project.

The Centre for Lebanese Studies was founded in 1984 by a group of Lebanese in London, who had been meeting regularly for a year concerned with the state of affairs in their country. Their objective was to set up an independent academic institution that would undertake impartial and balanced research and contribute towards Lebanon's recovery and long-term stability. In 2012, the Centre for Lebanese Studies opened their offices in Lebanon and signed in 2017 an agreement with the Lebanese American University (LAU) where CLS became operating at LAU. The research fellows at the Centre appointed through the research fellowship programme, are influential in defining the research and activities.

Founded in 1985, the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice (CENDEP) based in the School of Architecture is a multidisciplinary centre that brings together academics, development practitioners and policy makers. Our staff represents long-term experience as academics, practitioners, activists and policy-makers and the research and teaching are closely interlinked and focus on four themes: Disasters, Risks and Development; Conflict and Humanitarian action; Human rights and forced migration; Shelter after disaster. Within these four themes, our interdisciplinary approach to development and emergency practice addresses a wide range of conflict, disaster, crisis- and development-settings in the Global South and North. Research takes place at all scales from the local to the global and contributes to knowledge for the development of global policy-making, development of national laws and strategies, and mobilisation and engagements with local communities.

Blue Mission is a non-political/non-sectarian NGO based in Saida, Lebanon that protects the rights of vulnerable populations and empowers individuals, families, and communities to work together towards a vibrant future.  Blue Mission’s programs focus on mental health services, medical aid, education, and community development and aim to foster a culture of peace. Blue Mission emerged in 2002 with the psychosocial initiative Ambassadors of Peace. The project is multi-faceted, targeting children, families, and schools in the Greater Saida area with programs that include instruction and services that focus on civic responsibilities, conflict resolution, and youth-led development projects. BMO has created multi-sectorial programs in education, youth development, Health, and Mental Health that deal with the psychological trauma and distress of Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians in South Lebanon.

The Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts (ARCPA), commonly known as AL-JANA, was established in 1990 as a local NGO registered in Lebanon. ARCPA works with marginalized communities through documenting their enriching experiences and creative contributions and building on them, while at the same time enhancing the capacity of youth towards conflict transformation, active learning, and creative expression. Furthermore, the organization specializes in producing educational and cultural resources based on community experiences and creative contributions. Its programs vary to include interventions focusing on community development and social inclusion, resource mobilization, and active memory.  ARCPA envisions marginalized communities empowered by their ability to overcome adversity and cultivate richer societies. In all of its interventions, ARCPA uses non-traditional techniques that provide the youth with capturing and appealing self-expression opportunities while building their capacities. It also focuses on building the capacity of NGOs, CSOs, and other activists working with children and youth to ensure that interventions are sustainable.