Senior Research Specialist / Georgia State Lead (Independent Contractor)

Overview

About BDI

The Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) is a non-partisan research project at Princeton University that tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States. BDI is working for a future where thriving communities are prepared to respond in periods of risk, empowered to address long-term divides, and supported to build a pluralistic, multi-racial democracy.

We believe that BDI can help make this future a reality by achieving three strategic objectives: 1) producing action-oriented research to enable trend monitoring and early warning; 2) creating space for cross-sector collaboration to foster connections among pro-democracy stakeholders; and 3) building policy frameworks that equip community leaders and decision-makers with the tools they need to advance positive change. Since the project was first established in 2019, BDI has increased awareness and understanding of political violence risk in America, while driving effective interventions to reduce harm. BDI’s research, resources, and policy tools are essential components of the wider risk mitigation ecosystem working to protect our democracy and keep our communities safe.

BDI is based at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA). For more information, please visit our website: bridgingdivides.princeton.edu.

Position Overview

BDI’s strategy consists of three core objectives, one of which is: Creating Space for Cross-Sector Collaboration. This portfolio includes projects that focus on Convening Within and Between Sectors, Facilitating Early Action and Response, and Concierge Support to State-Level Violence Mitigation. BDI seeks a Senior Research Specialist/State Lead in Georgia to work in and across all of these projects.

This role focuses on the monitoring of political violence, the maintenance and expansion of local/state-based partnerships and networks, and the support of state-based coalitions and coordination tables with a particular focus on election protection work. This person will help to build out and further develop BDI’s state-based research and monitoring efforts.

Research and monitoring efforts will support BDI’s state-based partners who might encounter instances of political violence in their work. Collaboration with these partners ensures that BDI’s efforts are successfully integrated into the broader mitigation and response environment in the state. The SRS/State Lead will be a member of the BDI Collaborations Team – a six-person team of state leads who work in Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin – and will report to the State Lead Manager.

The outcome of this work is reliable and timely monitoring and analysis products, which has proven an essential part of the U.S. early warning infrastructure. Regular reporting, timely issue briefs, and custom memos – drawing on data and collaboration with over a dozen monitoring partners – will provide reliable, trusted, and actionable information to help the entire early warning ecosystem get ahead of and respond to risk.

Work must be performed within the United States and is fully remote with a requirement to be based in Georgia or a neighboring state.

Contract Overview

This is a full-time Independent Contractor position with a 7-month fixed term. An extension of this contract is dependent upon future funding.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop state-based research, monitoring, and analysis around incidents of political violence, actors involved, and its connection to broader trends in the state. Understand and communicate the social, political, economic, and other impacts of different manifestations of political violence. As appropriate, contextualize trends over time by including quantitative analysis of longitudinal data.
• Lead BDI’s election protection work in Georgia ahead of and following the November 2026 midterm elections by working closely with GA election protection partners and national election protection coalitions.
• Maintain and expand BDI’s state-based partnerships and relationships with key stakeholders representing varying sectors including election protection, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, faith-based, government, and others in order to provide monitoring and analysis support across the board and to better inform our research.
• Engage in state-based coordination tables and coalitions by actively providing monitoring support and analysis.
• Provide customized public and private briefings on state-level risks and trends upon request to key audiences and partners.
• Proactively work to build connections with organizations and groups with a focus on supporting and resourcing communities that are particularly vulnerable to incidents of political violence and harm.
• Work closely with the broader BDI team and connect state-level work with national efforts to mitigate risk of political violence.
• Key deliverables for this position will include regular SitRep production for the state of Georgia, managing a state based table focused on political violence, working directly with key election protection partners in-state, providing briefings with state-based partners, and other research and monitoring products as assigned.

Qualifications

Required

• Must live in Georgia or in an adjacent state.
• Must have significant state-specific knowledge, networks, and experience in Georgia.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a related field such as political science, sociology, geography, anthropology, communication studies, security studies, religious studies.
• 5-7+ years of experience in research, policy, community engagement, or related role.
• Research experience focused on the U.S. political violence landscape, especially in identifying relevant early warning indicators.
• Interest in and commitment to supporting civil society efforts to address political violence in the U.S., including work with partner organizations across diverse political affiliations, geographies, and sectors.
• Ability to think strategically and creatively around quantitative and qualitative data, including identifying new/emerging trends, gaps, and alternative analysis methods.
• Excellent writing abilities, especially past experience writing policy-focused memos, recommendations, or reports.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and the ability to engage with a multidisciplinary team and collaborators, including a wide array of partners from diverse backgrounds and in a remote work setting.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, including proactivity and agility in response to potential early warning indicators.
• Familiarity with a variety of social media platforms and the ability to evaluate source credibility.

Preferred

• Master’s degree in a relevant field.
• Expertise in conducting open source intelligence (OSINT) investigations to monitor activities of conflict actors, especially via social media and alt platforms.
• Familiarity with ACLED data.
• Experience translating research findings to policy and practitioner audiences.
• Experience working on a remote team, including familiarity with relevant work tools (e.g. Slack, Zoom, Asana, etc.).
• Familiarity with common research tools (NexusUni, ProQuest, Google News Alerts).

Hours and Compensation

• 36 hours per work week.
• Compensation: Fixed monthly contract retainer between $6,700 and $7,400 per month, commensurate with experience.
• Total Contract Value: The maximum gross value for this 7-month contract period is estimated between $47,500 and $52,000. As an independent contractor position, this role is not eligible for university employee benefits.

Application Instructions

Interested candidates should submit a resume and cover letter to BDI@princeton.edu with the subject line "Georgia State Lead" outlining their qualifications and experience as they relate to the role and BDI’s mission, including details on their direct ties to, and experience within, the state of Georgia. Applications that do not meet this criteria will not be considered.

As an independent contractor position, this role is not eligible for university employee benefits.