Under the project “Understanding the Present, Preparing New Beginnings: Co-producing Knowledge on Inclusivity in Burma”, the Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD), Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University is announcing the position of Research Coordinator, with the key objective of advancing the co-production of knowledge on ethnic inclusivity, i.e. inclusive forms of governance which ensure social equity, access to resources, rights and opportunities, through research, exchange, interaction, and dialogue.
The Research Coordinator will help setting up a research center, the “Center for an Inclusive Burma (CIB)” at RCSD, Chiang Mai University, to provide a space for interaction, dialogue and knowledge exchange for generating new ideas and perspectives on federalism, democracy and inclusive resource governance among various key actors, including academics, representatives of CSO, NGOs, and ethnic groups; and to help raising the understanding the roots causes, major drivers and intersectional nature of ethnic conflicts, including the complex dynamics of ethnic relations in Burma, in order to expand grounded knowledge on the social and political enablers and obstacles to ethnic inclusivity. This includes taking localized approaches to federalism and as well as expanding grounded knowledge on natural resource governance and education.
Major Responsibilities:
- Working alongside the Principal Investigator, Project Administration, Research Assistant and other relevant staff to establish and develop the CIB at RCSD in a way that ensures its integration within existing structures and the overall strategic plan at RCSD and the Faculty of Social Sciences, CMU;
- Advancing knowledge in the field of ethnic inclusivity in Burma, with a focus on federalism, resource management, as well as on some common ground between diverse ethnic groups, such as shared heritage, culture, and aspirations for the future, through coordinating, monitoring and mentoring research activities and small research projects of different researchers, including grant receivers from ethnic researchers,
- Supporting and coordinating the development of trainings and workshops for teachers and ethnic researchers (research methodology/teacher & curriculum development/historical dynamic of ethnic relation and inclusivity), including identifying resource persons, ensuring the coherence and integration of the training content, and managing the development and delivery of trainings/workshops and related teaching materials;
- Mentoring and advising grant receivers, supporting their professional development and strengthening their research capacity, e.g., through supporting all phases of their research endeavors, including data analysis, writing, and presenting of research results;
- Facilitating interaction and dialogue among researchers from different ethnic groups and ethnic education organizations, and forging networks of diverse ethnic researchers in Myanmar, Thailand and the borderland, seeking exchanges with partners in Myanmar regarding identifying educational interests among ethnic education organizations from inside Myanmar,
- Facilitating and coordinating the publication of different kinds of research outputs by grant receivers.
Required Qualifications:
- We encourage applications from candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds;
- Holding a PhD in Southeast Asian studies; with a focus on anthropology, political science, and other relevant fields and strong knowledge of current trends of ethnic politics, debates on federalism and resource governance in Myanmar;
- Experiences in coordinating research in the area of ethnic relations, ethnic conflict, resource governance or education in Myanmar;
- A demonstrated commitment to support, supervise and mentor students and young researchers, and to strengthen their social science capacity and to support their professional development, managing research teams and students in an international work setting;
- Record of publications in academic journals or the production of other recognized research outputs on issues of ethnic relations, ethnic conflict, federalism and democracy, or resource governance in Myanmar.
- Burmese language skills are an asset
Salary/benefits: 45,000 – 48,000 baht per month inclusive of Thai government social security.
Start date: Ideally by September 2023
Those interested in the position, please submit
– A Full CV
– Certified copies of all academic transcripts
– A copy of an ID card or a passport
– A personal statement which includes a vision for the research coordinator
and how you would fill the major requirements of the role, experience working or
researching on the issues addressed in the project.
All the document including a cover letter should be submitted to RCSD Director at rcsd@cmu.ac.th
Closing date: 10 August 2023