The University of Turin is hiring for 2 Research Assistants to work for the FIREPOL Politics of Wildfire in the Global South: Apply Now
Application Deadline: 7 September 2025
The University of Turin is hiring for 2 Research Assistants to work for the FIREPOL Politics of Wildfire in the Global South: Apply Now
Overview
University of Turin is hiring! Two research assistants to work for the FIREPOL Politics of Wildfire in the Global South (Firepol_ERC)! The project will be based at African Climate & Development Initiative the University of Cape Town at the People in Nature Climate Lab.
Project title: The Politics of Wildfires: A Comparative Study of Norms, Power and
Conflict in the Global South” (FIREPOL)
The University of Turin (Italy) is seeking to appoint two Research Assistants to work for the FIREPOL Politics of Wildfire project to assist with data gathering on policies and laws relevant to fire in 46 countries in Africa over a 6-month period. Prospective candidates must be available for this work from October
2025 to March 2026. The candidates will be based at the University of Cape Town at the African
Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) in the People in Nature Climate Lab, as the regional lead for
the project in collaboration with the University of Turin.
FIREPOL is a five-year, €1.5 million project funded by a European Research Council Starting Grant,
based within the Inter-university Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST) at the
University and Polytechnic of Turin. The FIREPOL project with a multidisciplinary team composed of researchers with different expertise will deliver a cross-continental study of the political drivers of wildfires in the Global South. The aim of this project is to understand and explain how a range of political factors (policies, power dynamics, social contention etc.) shape the geographical distribution and impact of wildfires, and public narratives about them.
This role requires meticulous data collection from various sources, such as open-source databases, government publications, legal documents, academic studies, and historical records. A dedicated
workshop will be organized by the ACDI and attended by the FIREPOL research team, to offer training
on the data collection codebook, followed by a pilot study review in three countries to validate the
methodology. Subsequently, the data collection phase is expected to unfold over 6 months, during
which continuous support from the FIREPOL team will be expected to ensure accuracy and consistency
across the regional partners involved in this process.
Qualifications, experience and skill criteria:
Required:
- Master’s awarded in the previous 2 years, with the field of Social Science, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Law or Environmental Management or Geographical Sciences
- Experience in qualitative data processing and handling of secondary data sources
- Excellent organizational capability and ability to meet- Ability to apply yourself to studying the codebook and extracting information from lengthy documents
- Desire and ability to work in an interdisciplinary research team setting
- English fluency
The following will be advantageous:
- Previous experience with policy coding and analysis
- An interest in African fire policies and management
- Fluency in French and/or Portuguese
- Fluency in other African languages
Application requirements:
Applicants should submit, (i) an application letter that includes a short description of their expertise and
research interests, and how these relate to the proposed work, (ii) a CV, including any publications, (iii)
copies of academic transcripts and/or certificates, (iv) language certifications if available, and (v) email
addresses of at least two references who have been directly involved in their MSc and/or previous
research.
Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting and interviews, please contact: Glynis Humphrey glynis.humphrey@uct.ac.za
VISIT THE PAGE HERE AND APPLY
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