The Economic and Social Research Institute is seeking a Policy Officer - deadline Friday 15 September @5pm

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) is seeking to recruit a Policy Officer for a vacancy in the Irish National Contact Point (NCP) of the European Migration Network (EMN), located within the ESRI. The position will be filled on a specified purpose contract basis. The expected duration is 24 months.

The Institute

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), founded in 1960, is located in Dublin’s South Docklands area. Our mission is to produce high quality research, relevant to Ireland’s economic and social development, with the aim of contributing to knowledge and informing policymaking and public debate. We have over 110 staff including economists, sociologists, and other social scientists, in addition to professional support and technical staff.

The European Migration Network

The aim of the European Migration Network is to provide up-to-date, objective, reliable and comparable information on migration and asylum at Member State and EU-levels, with a view to supporting policymaking and informing the general public. The EMN is funded in Ireland by the European Commission and the Department of Justice and Equality. More information can be found at www.emn.ie.

Role Description – EMN Policy Officer

The role involves leading and collaborating on a range of research and policy outputs on topics within the EMN Work Programme. Previous topics have included family reunification policies, rights of the child in asylum procedures, human trafficking, and informal employment of non-EU nationals. The Policy Officer will monitor national and EU legal and policy developments. The role provides an opportunity to support and inform policymaking on migration and asylum in Ireland. It also provides an opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from across the EU and EMN observer countries.

The role may involve travel within the EU.

Skills, Qualifications and Experience

As well as having excellent research and writing skills, the successful candidate will be experienced at presenting research findings and will disseminate EMN studies at conferences and to the media. The Policy Officer will also have skills in building and maintaining stakeholder relationships and will represent EMN Ireland and the ESRI at national and EU levels.

The successful candidate will work flexibly, collaborating with other team members/ESRI researchers on various activities as appropriate.

Candidates should have a strong background in migration and asylum-related research, with expertise in relevant national and EU-level policy and law.

The successful candidate will have:

• Master’s qualification in a relevant discipline, ideally in law, but qualifications in, e.g., sociology; international relations; politics; or geography will also be considered;
• Experience of producing policy-relevant research;
• Experience of legal research;
• Excellent presentation skills and experience of presenting at conferences and events;
• In-depth knowledge of the subject area, including familiarity with the main stakeholders;
• Proven strong networking skills;
• Relevant work experience;
• Experience of writing for publication;
• Strong attention to detail;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• Excellent interpersonal and team working skills;
• Strong organisational skills, good time management with an energetic approach to tasks;
• Proven ability to work on own initiative;
• Flexibility and capacity to contribute to other areas of ESRI research.

Location

Applicants should note that staff have the option of working remotely from their home in the Republic of Ireland on a ‘blended’ basis with a minimum requirement of one day per week (or as business requires) based in the ESRI office at Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2. Full details will be provided at interview.

Terms and Application Procedure

The role is full-time (35 hours per week, standard working hours are 0930-1730, Monday – Friday). Appointments will be made on a specified purpose contract and starting salary will be EUR 45,476, linked to the first point of the ESRI Administrative Officer (Higher) pay scale. The position is pensionable.

To apply for this position please follow the link below. The closing date for applications is 5pm on 15th September 2023. The selection process may consist of a preliminary interview and, for candidates successful at that stage, a written exercise and final interview. The ESRI is currently conducting preliminary interviews via videoconference (MS Teams or Zoom). Final interviews may be in person or online, to be confirmed.

All applications will be acknowledged. Late or incomplete applications will not be processed.

The ESRI is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to accommodating the needs of people with disabilities to enable them to participate in the selection process. Please let us know if you have any particular requirements should you be invited for assessment/interview or that you wish us to take into account when considering your application.