Founded more than 25 years ago, BICC (Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies) is a non-university research institute with international staff. The Institute deals with a variety of global topics in peace and conflict research in international projects and, on this basis, provides policy advice and contributes to public debates.

For our Data Team, we are looking for a

(Junior) Data Scientist / Computational Social Scientist (m/f/d)

up to pay scale 13 TV-L / for initially two years / as early as possible

BICC actively and innovatively shapes the interfaces between science, politics and practice. We combine our scientific research with various transfer formats and advisory services. In this way, we identify policy transfer and advisory requirements from our research and channel our practical experiences into new research proposals and their insights into academic and public debates.

You will play a key role in shaping the innovative orientation of the institute. Both qualitative and, increasingly, the analysis of large-scale quantitative data, including data from social media, are gaining more and more importance in our work. As part of our Data Team, you will work closely with the Head of Research Infrastructure and Data and the Head of Research as well as with the project leaders to develop and execute data science research projects.

Your tasks:

• Use and test state-of-the-art methodologies for collecting, processing and analysing data on topics relevant to the development and humanitarian sectors, including violent conflicts, inequalities, socio-economic data, migration data, geodata, etc.
• Propose and/or develop innovative methods that use non-traditional data sources to better understand peace and violence processes.
• Develop interactive applications for the collection, monitoring and visualisation of project-related (conflict) data.
• Develop machine learning models, including natural language processing algorithms.
• Perform data analytics tasks including descriptive and predictive analytics.
• Contribute to and develop own data-driven research projects within BICC’s topical fields.

Your profile:

• MSc/MA in (Social) Data Science, Computational Social Science, Geoinformatics, Computer Science or any other related field (e.g., MA in Social/Political Sciences or Peace and Conflict Studies with proven data science skills).
• Work experience applying data science to social science research and/or the development field is highly desirable.
• Highly proficient and experienced in programming languages and statistical computing skills, that is, fluency in Python or R, amongst others.
• Proven experience in machine learning models, including natural language processing algorithms and others.
• Successful experience working in a multicultural environment with partners and people of different backgrounds and levels of seniority.
• A self-starter, disciplined, driven, eager to learn, grow and make an impact.
• A strong passion for empirical research and answering hard questions with data.
• A flexible, analytical approach that allows for results at various levels of precision.

We offer:

We offer you a varied data science position in our interdisciplinary research and advisory institute that works across academic disciplines. The position is a mix of hands-on application development within different research and advisory projects and the development and implementation of data-driven research projects. You will collaborate with several project teams and work on different thematic areas of the Institute. Your scope of activity is professionally demanding, multi-faceted and offers a great deal of creative freedom and self-responsibility. We attach great importance to the further qualification of our staff. Therefore, various paths of further education are offered at our institute.

The position is remunerated in accordance with the collective agreement for the public service of the federal states (TV-L) up to pay scale 13 and includes the option of a company pension scheme (VBLU).

The position is initially to be filled for a limited period of 24 months with the possibility of a longer-term perspective. The position is a full-time or, optionally, a 75 per cent part-time position, which would correspond to 30 hours/week. The place of employment is Bonn.

We support the compatibility of family and career through very flexible working hours.

Applications from women are expressly encouraged. In those areas where women are still underrepresented, they will be given preferential consideration in accordance with legal requirements if they have the same qualification, skills and professional performance as their male competitors unless reasons relating to the person of a competitor outweigh this. We welcome applications from severely disabled persons.

Please send your application with a complete set of documents (motivation letter, CV, proof of qualifications and further training, etc.) solely by email to Susanna Balkenhol (application@bicc.de) by 31 October 2022. She will also be your contact person for the application process.

Please combine your documents into one pdf document and state 15_22 as the reference. Application files in any other formats or applications received after the deadline cannot be taken into consideration.

By sending in your application, you agree that the required data will be stored as part of the application process.

Publication: 11. October 2022

bicc \ Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies gGmbH

Pfarrer-Byns-Straße 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany, +49 (0)228 911 96-0, bicc@bicc.de, www.bicc.de