Investigator, Arms And Armed Conflict At Amnesty International

JOB PURPOSE

• Sitting within the Evidence Lab, the Investigator, Arms and Armed Conflict will work with research teams across Amnesty International, including regional and thematic specialists, to proactively lead and support investigations into lethal and less-lethal weapons, operations by militaries, police, and other security-forces, arms transfers and the changing nature of armed conflict, with a focus on their human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) implications.
• Combining advanced expertise in weapons and armed conflict with strong investigative, open-source research and writing skills, the postholder will design and conduct multidisciplinary investigations, and produce rigorous, accessible and visually compelling research outputs.
• A central part of the role will be to help develop Amnesty International's work on new warfare, investigating the human rights impacts of evolving technologies and systems in armed conflict and other crises, including hybrid warfare, remote and autonomous weapons, targeting and other AI enabled military technologies.
• The role will contribute to Amnesty International's efforts to produce specific findings about responsibility for grave violations, including identifying relevant individuals, military and security-force and law enforcement units, corporate actors, suppliers and other entities based on rigorous research and strong evidence.
• The role will also provide specialist analysis and advice to Amnesty International research teams responding to conflicts, protests and other crises, including on weapons identification, remote battle damage assessments and post-blast analysis, attribution and responsibility, the conduct of hostilities and use of force, weapons transfers and supply chains and other relevant topics.

LOCATION

The preferred location location for this role is London, however we will also consider Mexico City, Dakar, Nairobi and Johannesburg.

The salary on offer will be dependent on the location.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work with regional offices, thematic programmes and researchers to proactively identify research opportunities and lead or support multidisciplinary investigations relating to weapons, military, security-force and law enforcement operations, arms transfers and changing forms of warfare, drawing on monitoring of conflicts, technological developments, digital evidence and emerging human rights concerns.
• Lead or substantially contribute to reports, briefings, press releases and multimedia outputs, translating complex findings into clear and accessible language for non-technical audiences.
• Work with researchers, legal and policy advisers to ensure findings are well supported and grounded in relevant international human rights and humanitarian law standards.
• Bring a strong editorial and communications vision to investigations, combining rigorous research, compelling writing and powerful visual evidence
• Work with communications, campaigns and design colleagues to translate findings into media, multimedia, and social media content that reaches and resonates with diverse audiences.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Substantial professional experience conducting complex investigations relating to weapons, armed conflict, military,security-force or law enforcement operations, arms transfers, ideally in the context of human rights documentation, investigative journalism or another closely related public-interest field.
• Strong portfolio of advanced digital investigations/ research projects that demonstrate the ability to carry out complex research and produce high-quality outputs, showcasing advanced expertise in a digital investigations field.
• Demonstrable advanced expertise in firearms, explosive ordnance, and less-lethal weapons, including practical experience identifying weapons and ordnance from visual and documentary evidence and a strong understanding of weapons employment, explosive effects and relevant military and law-enforcement doctrine.
• Experience investigating weapons use and attack reconstruction, attribution and responsibility, military operations, arms transfers and supply chains, or emerging military technologies.
• Experience investigating the trade in and misuse of law enforcement equipment, including identifying common types of lethal and less lethal weapons and their use in human rights violations.