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CANDIDATE PROFILE – IS THIS JOB FOR YOU?

Are you preparing for a career in qualitative or quantitative social research and is comparative research your passion? Are you interested in expanding your experience in managing research projects? Then this could be the ideal job for you. Check the questions below and if you answer ‘yes’ to some or all of them, you should definitely apply.

Do you enjoy collecting and analysing data and extracting findings that can support policy decisions?

Are you keen to contribute to produce evidence and helping find policy solutions to the challenges posed by the triple transition (of climate, digital and demographic change) to living and working conditions?

Are you captivated by the interplay between the increasing cost of living, the evolving geopolitical landscape and their profound impact on living conditions across Europe? Have you worked with data and information related to the world of work?

Do you have a good understanding of the role of social partners in shaping policies and how their organisations function? Are you an organized professional capable of tracking project milestones, managing external deliverables, and meeting the requirements of externally funded projects?

Do you enjoy tackling complex issues and breaking them down into manageable research steps as part of a multidisciplinary team?

Are you proficient in working with large sets of data or qualitative information and do you enjoy experimenting with new research tools and software?

JOB CONTEXT & DUTIES

Eurofound seeks to establish a reserve list of Contract Agents(2) to support one or more of its Research Units or specific projects by working on a range of the relevant duties listed below. The duties that apply for each post can vary according to the relevant projects and databases.

Research staff at Eurofound can be nominated to one of 3 research units: Employment; Working Life; and Social Policies. The Research Support Officer will contribute to the formulation, coordination and management of European-wide studies and surveys, with a particular focus on the ongoing development and maintenance of Eurofound’s online quantitative and qualitative databases and the preparation of datasets and their secondary analyses.

Based in one of the research units and reporting to a line manager, the duties of the role can include:

to assist in the design phase of research projects, in the drafting of tender specifications, and to participate in tender evaluations; to support the operational management, monitoring of progress, and reporting for specific research projects, including those under Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Contribution Agreements, or other ad-hoc cooperation frameworks with EU institutions;

to support the ongoing collection, quality control and integration of quantitative or qualitative data and information stemming from statistical or other sources across the European Union and the Western Balkans;

to support maintenance and development of Eurofound’s online resources (such as the EU Policy Watch, the European Restructuring Monitor databases, or the Working life country profiles, Converge EU Hub), including contribution to the further development of their content quality, workflows, and user-friendliness;

to support the review and assessment of deliverables of contractors or other contributors to research outputs, including for Eurofound’s studies on the representativeness of EU level social partners;

To gather and analyse data and information from various sources to support Eurofound's research on industrial relations, working conditions, employment, and living conditions;

to contribute to drafting research outputs, and supporting the dissemination of research findings both in person and online, in line with the corporate communication strategy;

to liaise with external actors, such as statistical service providers or contractors and in particular with the network of Eurofound’s correspondents;

to liaise and cooperate closely with colleagues in research and in other Units;

For candidates with a more quantitative profile, to prepare survey data for analysis and apply statistical techniques to investigate relationships between variables and draw meaningful interpretation feeding into a variety of projects part of Eurofound work programme;

other duties as required by the Head of Unit/line manager.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

The selection procedure is open to candidates who, by the closing date for applications, fulfil the following conditions:

Eligibility criteria

Citizenship of one of the Member States of the European Union, entitled to full rights as a citizen;

Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws concerning military service;

Have a thorough knowledge of one official language of the European Union and a satisfactory knowledge (level B2) of another language of the Union. As English is the daily working language of Eurofound, proficiency in English is required to a level necessary for the performance of the duties (level C1);

a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma, in statistics and data analysis, sociology, economics, political science, business studies, psychology, labour law, industrial relations or related areas.

Candidates must be able to prove that they meet the conditions for admission by means of appropriate documents (copies of diplomas, education and work certificates, etc.).

Selection criteria

In order to be shortlisted and invited to the interview, the candidates will need to demonstrate experience on the following criteria:

Proven experience in similar tasks as required by the role, namely with applied research and/or policy experience in comparative analyses at the EU and/or Western Balkans level and related to one or more of the following areas: labour market, working conditions, industrial relations and social dialogue, living conditions and quality of life, legal issues related to employment relations and social policy;

Experience or demonstrated aptitude in project administration, such as monitoring project plans, managing workflows, monitoring budget, tracking milestones, or assisting in the technical reporting of projects;

Proven expertise in: quantitative or qualitative research methods; management of quantitative or qualitative data and information, e.g. organising and analysing databases, and familiarity with one or more of the commonly used software packages such as NVivo, ATLAS.ti, PowerBI, R, STATA, SPSS, Python, etc.;

Evidence of good writing skills and good oral communication skills in English, applying different formats and targeting different audiences.

In addition to the above, candidates who are invited for testing and interview will be also assessed based on the following criteria:

Knowledge of EU policy and policy actors in relation to Eurofound’s work;

Knowledge and understanding of national and international statistical sources relevant to the work of Eurofound;

Experience in updating/maintaining databases and web content;

Ability to manage own workload and adapt as necessary to the demands of multiple projects with excellent time management and organisational skills;

Attention to detail and diligence in working with data and information;

Active interest in learning and developing own skills;

Enthusiasm for development of existing tools, methods and topics and curiosity for exploration;

Good communication, cooperation and team working skills;

Ability to work and deliver to tight deadlines;

Ability to adapt and cope with working in different teams;

Experience of working in an international or multicultural environment and with multidisciplinary teams.

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