IRD – Thailand (Research Assistant position for the Globalsmog project)

7 March 2022

IRD is a French public research institution, supporting equitable scientific partnership and committed to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Since 1985, IRD has developed research projects focused on three main areas in Thailand: environmental sciences and natural resources, health and social sciences. Research programmes are designed and implemented in partnership with Thai universities, research centres and Thai governmental agencies, as well as civil society in Thailand. IRD Representative Office in Thailand is located in Bangkok, at Chulalongkorn University. 

The Globalsmog project is an international research program supported by the French National Research Agency (2022-25) that looks at the governance of air pollution across 10 large cities in the Global South. Although air pollution has become a major concern worldwide and especially in tropical countries, few cities manage to tackle this pollution effectively. This multidisciplinary project proposes to better understand what causes such hindrance by analysing the perceptions of this public health problem, the orientations of public action and the obstacles to its implementation in ten African and Asian cities. Bringing together specialists in urban policies, health policies and territorial governance, this project investigates models of public policy and interventions, the place of scientific knowledge in the framing of issues and solutions, and the modes of governance of urban systems that accompany the management of air pollution. 

The research team will analyse together the technical processes that produce knowledge on air quality and health (monitoring, epidemiology, norms and standards of risk assessment) and their social appropriation at the local level. Our methodology relies on acquisition and analysis of epidemiological and pollution-related databases, on interviews with key actors and on ethnographic data, acquired through fieldwork with the assistance of multiple local partners. 

To this end, we are looking for a research assistant to join our dynamic and multidisciplinary team to contribute to fieldwork activities in Bangkok. The research assistant is expected to do review of the literature, data management and analysis, coordination of data collection and interviews and contribute to the writing of scientific papers.

Location:

The research assistant will be located at IRD Thailand Office, Faculty of Political Sciences, Chulalongkorn University

Main duties and tasks:

  • Bibliographic research on AQI and epidemiological surveillance systems in Bangkok.
  • Data collection and data cleaning of AQI and epidemiological surveillance systems in Bangkok.
  • Designing and conducting interviews with experts and policymakers.
  • Writing abstracts for presentation of results at scientific conferences.
  • Contributing to writing scientific articles.

Training and experience:

  • Master’s degree or PhD in social sciences with good ability in database management and analysis.
  • Knowledge of literature review methods
  • Experience in conducting interviews
  • Ability to contact various key informants among academics, institutions or civil society

Skills:

  • Excellent organization and communication skills.
  • Autonomy
  • Critical thinking

Languages:

Proficiency in Thai and in English (written and spoken).

Contract:

Starting from 1st of May, 2022 (to be discussed)

Duration: 6 months

Contract type: Voir le type de contrat selon les règles locales.

Salary: between 20,000 and 30,000 Thai baht per month according to experience and profile

How to apply:

Applicants must send a CV and a motivation letter to olivier.evrard@ird.fr + bertrand. Applicants are encouraged to submit 2 references among their previous professors or employers. The closing date for the receipt of applications is 17th of April 2022.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

For more information, please contact at thailandde@ird.fr or tel. (66 2) 252 3405.