Research Fellow, Centre for Applied Law & Technology Research (ALTR)

Call for Applications: Research Fellow, Centre for Applied Law & Technology Research (ALTR)

The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (Vidhi) invites applications for the post of a Research Fellow for ALTR, at its New Delhi Office.

ABOUT VIDHI

Vidhi is an independent think-tank doing legal research to make better laws and improve governance for the public good. Vidhi is committed to producing legal research of the highest standard with the aim of informing public debate and contributing to improved governance. Vidhi works with Ministries of the Government of India and State Governments, as well as other public institutions, providing research and drafting support at various stages of law-making. Vidhi also conducts and freely disseminates independent research in areas of legal reform which it believes is critical to India’s future.

Vidhi is an equal opportunity employer and neither practices, nor tolerates any kind of discriminatory behaviour.

ROLE DESCRIPTION

Vidhi is looking for a Research Fellow for its interdisciplinary research work and engagements on legal and policy issues emerging from leveraging technology for the public good in India (and the global south). Our work focuses on three broad areas of law and policy with respect to tech innovation and adoption in India: 

• General information technology governance for in India;
• Data governance frameworks; and
• AI ethics and governance of AI with an India-centric approach.

Through our work, Vidhi aims to provide robust and independent research evidence on these prominent discourses within the tech policy space, currently of great interest for policymakers. This in turn is to further our institutional goal of improving governance through better informed and well drafted laws and policies. 

To advance this objective, the Research Fellow will be expected to: 

• Undertake high quality research (both doctrinal and empirical) on Indian and international legal and policy frameworks on the aforementioned issues; 
• Prepare reports, research notes and presentations; 
• Coordinate and attend meetings with government officials, academics, researchers and other stakeholders; and 
• Organize and attend consultations with key stakeholders for informing and disseminating Vidhi’s research.    

You can access ALTR’s ongoing work here.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Essential Requirements 

Applicants must meet the following requirements 

• An undergraduate or postgraduate degree in law, public policy, social science research, or any other pertinent field
• 0-3 years of work experience (a master’s degree will be counted as one year of work experience)
• Good research and writing skills 
• Excellent communication skills 

Preferable Requirements 

Applicants who meet the following requirements will be preferred

• Prior experience of working and publishing on critical issues emanating from the law, policy and technology intersection.
• Prior experience of undertaking empirical research within the law, policy and technology domain. 

LOCATION AND SALARY 

• This is a full-time position based out of New Delhi. 
• The Fellow will be engaged in this position for a duration of one year, and renewal shall be subject to performance. 
• Salary will be commensurate to the level of skills and experience. 

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested candidates should apply through our online portal and must submit following documents merged in one document:

1. Latest Curriculum Vitae (CV) in not more than three A4 pages.
2. Any piece of published or unpublished original writing as a sample, of not more than 500-800 words showcasing the candidate's legal research and analysis skillset. Any submission exceeding the prescribed word count will not be considered.
3. A brief statement of motivation in applying for the position, in not more than 500 words
4. Names and contact details of two professional referees who may be contacted for references

The deadline to submit applications is 3rd February 2023.  

Queries may be sent only through e-mail titled ‘ALTR: Application for Research Fellow’, addressed to careers@vidhilegalpolicy.in. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.