Research Assistant

at  Trinity College Dublin

Trinity is Ireland’s leading university and is ranked 87th in the world (QS World University Rankings 2025). Founded in 1592, the University is steeped in history with a reputation for excellence in education, research, and innovation, which has been inspiring generations of thinkers for over 400 years.
Trinity College Dublin - an introduction
Applications are invited for a research assistant to join the GEOFORMATIONS research team. GEOFORMATIONS examines the geographies of dynamic governance assemblages in development cooperation civil society spaces and is a European Research Council funded project led by Dr Susan Murphy.
In response to rising instability, uncertainty, and increasing levels of complex needs, driven by interacting and intersecting socio-political, economic, and environmental crises, the international development cooperation sector has responded by proposing a range of new ways of working. This sector, which is comprised of states, intergovernmental organisations, non-governmental organisations, business and private sector actors across multiple scales and geographies, is moving towards increased localisation, greater coherence across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus (the triple nexus), a shift to adaptive and inclusive development, and deep structural investments in strengthening civil society relations and cooperation across spaces.
Operating through transnational networks of partners to design and implement climate-sensitive humanitarian and development solutions, civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are positioned to lead in the transformation of this sector towards greater localisation, enhanced local ownership, and improved coordination and coherence across the climate-humanitarian-development-peace nexus. However, little is known about the number and nature of partners and partnerships, with no recognised system for recording or evaluating partnership models. GEOFORMATIONS will develop new conceptual and analytical frameworks to inform in the design and evaluation of just governance models within this sector.
The project is mapping the multi-level, multi-scalar governance policy and regulatory landscape within which civil society organisations interact, operate, and partner to deliver life-saving and human development supports, services, and advocacy and influencing activities. The mapping exercise will gather key policy documents and synthesize governance requirements, evaluation criteria, hierarchies, task-differentiation, and management expectations, norms and values systems across multiple levels and scales of institutional structures which interact and intersect to international development practice and humanitarian action. Further details on the project can be found at https://geoformations.eu

• Support the primary data and document collection, management and analysis processes.
• Support planning for fieldwork, data collection and management.
• Support scientific literature review and synthesis process.
• Manage updates to the website and social media content generation
• Support dissemination and engagement activities including event coordination of project seminars and workshops.
• Support project administration.
  Please see full job description and application procedure below.
  Application Procedure: Applicants should submit a full Curriculum Vitae to include the names and contact details of 2 referees (including email addresses), to:-
  Name Dr Susan Murphy
  Email Address susan.p.murphy@tcd.ie
  At Trinity, we are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion. Trinity welcomes applications from all individuals, including those applicants with disabilities, those who may have had non-traditional career paths, those who have taken time out for reasons including family or caring responsibilities. We also welcome international applicants including those whom have been displaced due to war.
  Trinity College Dublin is Ireland’s premier University. We are an EU Sustainable Gender Equality Champion and we hold an Athena Swan Silver award, recognising our ongoing work to advance gender equality both within Trinity and in the Higher Education sector. Trinity is committed to supporting work-life balance and to creating a family-friendly working environment