Field Researcher

Al-Quds Human Rights Clinic

Faculty of Law – Al-Quds University

VACANCY

Job title: Field Researcher

Project title:  DARB- Supporting the Palestinian Justice Sector with Highly Skilled Graduates and Professionals.

Location: Al Quds Human Rights Clinic, Al Quds University-main campus

Duration: 22 months (full time)

Job purpose

Al-Quds University Human Rights Clinic is seeking to appoint a full time Field Researcher in the clinic monitoring and documentation unit. The researcher will support the Clinic in its work.  

About Al-Quds Human Rights Clinic

Al-Quds Human Rights Clinic was established in 2006 (the Clinic) is a unit based in the faculty of law at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem and has worked on several programs and has built a strong capacity in providing quality clinical legal education and quality legal services.

Now after accumulating this experience, the Clinic is divided into two units: one that focuses on giving direct services to the public in East Jerusalem; and the other documenting human rights violations in Abu Dis, Bethany, Sawahreh and the surrounding Bedouin communities. The Clinic is also involved in research and publication on issues related to its documentation activities.

Project overview

Since the establishment of the clinic, more than 300 students have enrolled in the legal clinic course as an average of 10-15 students per year.  The legal clinic course is considered as the first and one of the rare practical courses in the law faculty curriculum. The clinic's course works to build the human rights knowledge and skills for the law students through a series of focused lectures and trainings provided by well reputed human rights experts and partner organizations. The students are required during the course to attend 1 lecture per week for, two semesters, as to accomplish 40 hours of trainings. In addition to the educational program, the students are required to provide 4 hours of field work (legal services or human rights advocacy and documentation).

The Clinic course is part of the law school curriculum. Each student who enrolls in this course receives over two semesters 6 credit hours of their elective courses and are evaluated by the Clinic’s staff based on her/ his performance in the program. Students are evaluated through asking them to write papers, reports and by observing their performance in the practical services they give.

The services that the Clinic provides focus on responding to the demand on free legal services that are related to forced displacement in East Jerusalem especially through home demolitions, residency revocations and family unification restrictions. The Palestinian population in East Jerusalem is in great need of legal services to be able to maintain their status that allows them to continue to reside in their own homes in Jerusalem.

At the same time, the three villages of Abu Dis, Sawahreh and Bethany as well as the Bedouin communities that surround them are disadvantaged areas that are still under Israeli security administration. They do not get enough attention from human rights organizations despite the fact that human rights abuses happen on a daily basis. Moreover, Israel's policy to expand the settlements in the E1 area is the cause of forced displacement of the Bedouin communities in the region.

Through the legal clinic course, the law students will be provided with the opportunity to learn through dealing with the realities of the Palestinians who are at risk of forced displacement or are imprisoned in Israeli jails. The course would enrich the legal knowledge of the law students and reinforce their practical skills. In the meanwhile, the Clinic would invest the capacities of its students to provide free legal services to the public as well as to document and advocate the human rights situation in the south east of Jerusalem.

Major Duties

Under the day-to-day supervision of the Clinic Director and in close collaboration with other team members, the successful candidate will focus on the following tasks, including (but not limited to):

The Clinic will recruit a full time field researcher in the clinic monitoring and documentation unit. The researcher will support the Clinic in its work, namely:

1. Assist in investigating and documenting cases of human rights violations,particularly, home demolition in bedouin communities and detentin against university students and academics.
2. Conducting interviews with victims and witnesses of human rights abuses to collect first-hand testimonies, gather evidence, and understand the impact of human rights violations on individuals and communities.
3. Compiling detailed reports and documentation on human rights violations, which can be used for advocacy, litigation, and raising awareness at the local, national, and international levels.

Assist in providing training sessions and workshops to students, community members, and other stakeholders on human rights laws, mechanisms, and advocacy strategies to build their capacity to protect and promote human rights.  

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Essential Criteria (Personal requirements)

• Good Undergraduate degree in Law or related field covering Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law and/or International Criminal Law.
• At least 1 year of relevant research experience, including monitoring and documentation, in academia and/or civil society.
• Demonstrable knowledge of key issues in Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law and/or International Criminal Law in Palestine.
• Demonstrable knowledge of Bedouin communities at risk of forced displacement in the West Bank, and the relevant aspects of Israeli law and policy in Palestine.
• Ability to work individually and as part of a team juggling competing demands and deadlines.
• Ability to build and develop professional relationships and participate in internal and external networks.
• Ability to contribute to broader management and administrative processes as part of the team.
• Demonstrable commitment to human rights standards, equality and diversity, and ability to embed those standards throughout all aspects of their work.
• Demonstrable high level of intercultural sensitivity.
• Full professional proficiency in English and Arabic (written and spoken).
• Good Hebrew language skills (desirable).
• Experience of conducting fieldwork and / or interviews and related research ethics (desirable).
• Ability to write high quality academic and / or policy outputs for international audiences. (desirable)

How to apply?

Candidates are requested to apply via e-mail to [email protected] and [email protected]  by September 4th , 2024 ; the subject line of the email should include the job title.;

The application must include the following documents (in English):

• A resume/ CV (max 4 pages)
• A covering letter (max 2 pages) illustrating how you meet the essential criteria and what you would bring to the team.

Please note that AQHRC reserves the right to contact only shortlisted candidates for an interview.