The European Forum of LGBTI+ Christian Groups is looking for a RESEARCH OFFICER (part time; remote)
The European Forum of LGBTI+ Christian Groups is an ecumenical association of LGBTI+ Christian groups in Europe. It aims to achieve equality and inclusion for LGBTI+ people within and through Christian churches and other religious bodies and multilateral organisations. With over 40 member groups from more than 20 countries in Europe, the European Forum works for freedom of religion for LGBTI+ people, for human rights, for the dignity of LGBTI+ people and for an affirmative discourse on human sexuality.
The European Forum is preparing for the second run of its research on the inclusivity of European churches towards LGBTI+ people. The first run was carried out in 2020-2021 in partnership with the Protestant Theological University in Amsterdam. The Rainbow Index of Churches in Europe (RICE) is available at https://www.inclusive-churches.eu/
The main purpose of this run is to adjust the methodology based on the lessons learned from the first run and to analyse the development of the situation in European Churches since 2021.
To do this, the European Forum is looking for a qualified person, i.e. with some experience in research, preferably a Masters student, or an advanced Bachelor student in Social Sciences, to execute the data collection and data aggregation for the project. The candidate will need to be in contact with the European Forum membership to collect the feedback that will help the academic partners of the project in amending the methodology and then facilitate the collection of the data based on this updated methodology that will then be analysed by the academic partners. In the final stages of the project, the Research Officer will be involved in presenting the results of the research to the wider public. The Research Officer will be supervised together by one of the members of the European Forum board and Rev. Wielie Elhorst as the project leader.
We expect the Research Officer to:
- have knowledge of and experience with data collection;
- be familiar with the church landscape in Europe and with the context of LGBTI+ rights;
- have affinity with the European Christian LGBTI+ movement and the cause of inclusion of LGBTI+ persons in faith communities;
- be able to work with volunteers in an international context;
- be proficient in English;
- be accurate and skilful;
- be communicative and social.
Knowledge of other European languages would be an advantage.
The European Forum facilitates a welcoming, international and dynamic working environment and offers a contract for the duration of 18 months (May 2024 – October 2025), ca. 12 hrs per week, with a monthly contract fee of 1200 EUR (gross, with the contracted person responsible for taxes and social security payments in their country of residence). We expect the Research Officer to operate remotely and be ready to travel to several events during the contract duration at the expense of the European Forum (e.g. the annual conference of the European Forum on 9-12 May 2024).
For further information contact Wielie Elhorst.
To apply, please send your CV and motivational letter via this form.
Deadline for applications: Wednesday, 20 March 2024 (23:59 CET). All applicants will be contacted before 27 March 2024.
The job interviews for preselected candidates will be scheduled for early April and will take place in Warsaw, Poland. Travel and accommodation for the invited candidates will be covered by the European Forum.
The European Forum operates an equal opportunities employment policy, in that it does not discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, race, ethnicity, disability, age, faith/religious identity or lack thereof.