• Based at our Melbourne, Burwood Campus + hybrid work arrangements
• Part-time and fixed term (until January 2027)
• Level B $117,684 - $139,191 + 17% Superannuation

Who are we? 

Deakin is a cutting-edge public university in Victoria, revolutionising education with 61,000 students across seven campuses: Melbourne Burwood, Geelong Waurn Ponds, Geelong Waterfront, Warrnambool, Deakin University Lancaster University Indonesia (DLI), GIFT City, India and our dynamic online Campus. We're proud to be a progressive and open-minded university, delivering the highest student satisfaction in Victoria and consistently ranked in the top 1% of the world's universities. 

About the role

The Centre for Humanitarian Leadership (CHL) is an innovative collaboration between Deakin University and Save the Children Australia that combines good humanitarian practice with academic rigour to transform and disrupt the humanitarian system.

CHL’s mission is to lead and influence change within the humanitarian system through critical analysis, transformational and disruptive education and research, and meaningful contributions to policy and practice. CHL envisions a diverse humanitarianism that embraces the agency of affected people and promotes distributed power, social justice, and equity.

At Deakin, CHL sits within the Faculty of Arts and Education, which is dedicated to being at the forefront of teaching, learning, creating and social development and fostering cutting-edge research and discovery. CHL places high emphasis on research that makes a difference and is solution-led. We work closely with industry partners and the government to put findings into practice.

CHL is seeking a highly motivated and skilled Research Fellow to support a multi-disciplinary research program focused on crisis leadership in humanitarian contexts. The position involves working across several research streams, leading data management and analysis, managing overseas research assistants, writing scholarly articles, and ensuring ethical compliance related to sensitive research data. The ideal candidate will bring both academic rigour and practical experience working with vulnerable populations or sensitive contexts.

The Research Fellow will initiate, design and conduct productive, high-quality research, scholarship and creative activities generating high impact outputs in their discipline area. The Research Fellow may lead and research activities and is expected to engage collaboratively to develop novel research outcomes. This position is suited to a researcher keen to explore and build on new areas and foster research and researcher development to have real-world impact and contribute to a dynamic and enthusiastic research team.

As a Research Fellow, you will:

• Conduct qualitative and quantitative data analysis, including qualitative coding, mixed-methods analysis, and/or network mapping as appropriate.
• Manage and ensure the ethical handling and privacy of sensitive research data, including maintaining secure storage and data anonymisation protocols; overseeing ethical translation processes for data collected in languages other than English; and managing compliance with data destruction and management plans.
• Assist in research project management tasks, such as coordinating project timelines, data collection schedules, research team communication across time zones, and compliance with donor scope of works.
• Lead literature reviews, evidence syntheses, and theoretical frameworks.
• Co-author and support the development of research output, including peer-reviewed articles, policy briefs, research reports, and donor-facing products.
• Work respectfully, collaboratively, and ethically with culturally and linguistically diverse teams.
• Perform other research-related tasks as required to support the objectives of the project.
• Support, and may lead, applications for research and creative activities, including applications for external competitive funding, external funding for commercialization and translation activities and other funding demonstrating sustained efforts.
• Lead and support ethical approval processes, including Deakin and National Statement compliance with high-risk ethical research with human subjects.
• Build a national reputation, based on a growing, focused body of work recognised for quality, excellence and impact and a growing track record of timely delivery of outcomes for industry partners.
• Initiate, design, conducts and may lead intra- and inter-disciplinary research collaborations, to enable major breakthroughs in knowledge and understanding and solutions to complex problems.

• Initiate, design, conduct and may lead in development of industry partnerships and collaboration to enable major breakthroughs, innovative solutions for future translation into real world impact.
• Initiate, design, conduct and may lead innovation and translation into policies, frameworks, strategy, generation of products, services, new ways of operating, priority setting and or other innovations with positive impact and national recognition. Demonstrate timely and sustained delivery of commercialisation and translation outcomes.
• Supervise honours and/or HDR students with timely completions and productive, high-quality outcomes and provide effective mentoring to HDR students to support professional and career development and employability.
• Adopt and promote a culture of research excellence, innovation and impact and support industry partnerships that provide HDRs with industry experience and establish/expand industry networks to create opportunities for placements.
• Communicates outputs to discipline(s) and the community and ensure impact of academic activity in the field and the community.
• Liaise with international and local research partners and donors

To be successful, you’ll have:

• PhD in a relevant discipline (Humanitarian Studies, International Development, Political Science, Sociology, or a related discipline) and/or other relevant qualifications and experience
• Demonstrated experience working with vulnerable populations or managing sensitive data, with a strong understanding of ethical research principles.
• Emerging reputation in research and scholarship through publications
• Success in obtaining external research funding.
• Ability to contribute to communities through research.
• Capacity to contribute to leadership of research and administration.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to establish good working relationships with colleagues

Here's how to apply: 

Please submit your updated resume along with a brief cover letter outlining your relevant skills and experience by clicking the 'Apply' button.

For a confidential discussion regarding this role, please contact Mary Ana McGlasson , (Director, Centre of Humanitarian Leadership) via email at maryana@cfhl.org.au

For a copy of the position description, please see below:

 Research Fellow.pdf

Applications for this position close on 30^th November 2025.

Are You Ready?

Deakin is a Victorian university with a global impact. We are an agile, dynamic, and innovative university committed to making a positive impact through our excellence in education, research and innovation and the contributions we make to the wider community.

We understand that our reputation has been built on the dedication and expertise of our staff and we offer a dynamic and diverse working environment with opportunities to grow and develop careers. We believe that a progressive, thriving culture will ensure that people choose to come, and stay at Deakin and contribute to our ongoing success.

We value diversity and aim to build an inclusive environment that champions, embraces and respects differences. We support and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people of all abilities, cultures, sexual orientation, and genders.