Senior Researcher – Human Rights Investigations and Accountability
Justice for Iran (JFI) is seeking an experienced Senior Researcher to support its work documenting serious human rights violations and advancing accountability in Iran. A central focus of the position will be identifying and documenting alleged perpetrators and producing research and evidence that can be used in complaints and submissions to international and other accountability mechanisms.
The position is full-time and offered on a three-year contract.
Key Responsibilities
The Senior Researcher will:
- Lead research and investigations into serious human rights violations and potential international crimes, with a particular focus on identifying and documenting alleged perpetrators.
- Lead and supervise a small research team comprising research assistants, junior researchers, and volunteers, providing methodological guidance, quality control, and professional support.
- Plan and allocate research tasks, monitor progress, review team members’ work, and ensure that research outputs meet JFI’s quality, ethical, and security standards.
- Develop and implement research and investigation methodologies consistent with international human rights and evidentiary standards.
- Conduct interviews with victims, survivors, witnesses, and other relevant sources and obtain detailed witness statements in a safe, ethical, and trauma-informed manner.
- Identify, collect, preserve, assess, verify, and corroborate testimonial, documentary, digital, and open-source evidence.
- Conduct and supervise OSINT investigations, including verification and analysis of publicly available digital information.
- Research individuals and entities allegedly responsible for violations, including command structures, institutional affiliations, roles, conduct, and potential responsibility.
- Assess the reliability and evidentiary value of information and maintain appropriate records concerning sources, verification methods, and chain of custody where relevant.
- Analyse findings within relevant international human rights and legal frameworks.
- Produce high-quality research and evidentiary outputs capable of supporting complaints, legal submissions, and other interventions before international and national accountability mechanisms.
- Work closely with JFI’s legal, advocacy, research, and communications teams.
- Ensure strict adherence to informed consent, confidentiality, data protection, digital security, and do-no-harm principles.
Essential Qualifications and Experience
Candidates must have:
- At least 7 years of professional research experience in human rights, international justice, accountability, conflict, investigative journalism, or a closely related field.
- A demonstrated track record of conducting complex and sensitive human rights research and investigations.
- Experience leading or supervising researchers, research assistants, or volunteers and managing collaborative research processes.
- Significant experience interviewing victims and witnesses and obtaining witness statements.
- Demonstrated knowledge of international standards for collecting, verifying, preserving, and documenting evidence of human rights violations.
- Strong practical experience in open-source intelligence (OSINT) research and verification.
- Experience identifying and researching alleged perpetrators and corroborating information from multiple sources.
- Strong understanding of research ethics, informed consent, confidentiality, security, and risks associated with working with victims and vulnerable communities.
- Excellent analytical and drafting skills and full professional fluency in written and spoken English.
- Fluency in spoken Farsi and the ability to read Farsi to a professional research standard.
- Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgement, manage highly sensitive information securely, and provide effective leadership to a small research team.
Desirable Qualifications
- An advanced degree in law, human rights, international law, international relations, political science, conflict studies, or another relevant field.
- Knowledge of international human rights law, international criminal law, transitional justice, and accountability mechanisms.
- Experience preparing evidence or research for legal complaints, submissions, sanctions processes, universal jurisdiction proceedings, UN mechanisms, or other accountability processes.
- Strong knowledge of Iran’s political, institutional, and human rights context.
Candidate Profile
We are looking for a passionate, resilient, and highly professional researcher and team leader who is committed to human rights and accountability and prepared to work on complex and challenging investigations. The successful candidate should be comfortable confronting difficult subject matter, navigating obstacles and uncertainty, and maintaining persistence and sound judgement under pressure.
They should combine intellectual rigour and attention to detail with sensitivity towards victims and survivors, strong professional ethics, and the ability to lead, mentor, and motivate a small and diverse research team. The role requires someone who is ready to face challenges, find practical solutions, and remain focused on producing credible evidence capable of contributing directly to accountability efforts, while maintaining the highest standards of accuracy, independence, confidentiality, and security.
How to Express Interest
Interested candidates should upload their CVs here, together with the contact details of two professional references, at least one of whom must be known within the Iranian human rights community.
The deadline for submitting CVs is 31 August 2026.
Following an initial review of the CVs and references provided, only a small number of candidates will be invited to submit a full application for the position.
