הזדמנות // משרה: עוזר/ת מחקר בעל/ת תואר שלישי בתחומי היסטוריה, מדע וחברה לפרופסור יובל נח הררי. דדליין=1.3.20

The Research Assistant will work in the area of historical, scientific and social research. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong analytical ability; creative and “out of the box” thinking; excellent writing skills; the ability to work productively under time pressure; the capacity to work well independently; and the ability to interact with a high profile, globally known scholar and public thinker – Prof. Yuval Noah Harari, and with other colleagues on his team.

The position will involve academic research; writing clear, precise summaries on diverse and inter-disciplinary topics; and helping to manage a range of academic projects.

Primary Duties Include

• Providing analysis, and drafts for internal and external texts on diverse and inter-disciplinary topics, including topics that are not traditionally listed under the research-field and interests of the candidate. These topics may range from Artificial Intelligence to Neanderthal genetics, and from the nuclear arms race to Muslim theology.
• Submitting written summaries that are based on up to date research and that are presented in an organized, accessible, and easy to read format.
• Scientific editing of written material. Note that the written material could either be academic scientific work or creative, popular science work (movie scripts, books for the general public, newspapers’ articles, etc.).
• Updating references and footnotes, based on new findings and up to date research.

Basic Qualifications

• Phil or Ph.D. degree, preferably in the humanities or social sciences.
• Evidence of academic excellence.
• Proven evidence of independent research in an advanced field of study.
• Strong skills related to the Microsoft Office Suite and Google Drive.
• Excellent writing skills in English.

Additional Qualifications

This position requires an individual capable of consistent use of discretion, judgment, and initiative.

Ability to read academic and non-academic material and write a reasoned and thoughtful analysis, as well as produce a creative interpretation – is a must.

This position requires the ability to successfully and professionally perform tedious footnote and errata work on the one hand, and engage in the creative interpretation of information and data on the other hand. Both are required.

Evidence of prior high-quality writing; background in analysis; and/or interpretation of research, news, and literature is a plus.

Additional Information

• The offered position is either a permanent part-time position, with 2 to 3 regular working-days a week, or a full-time term appointment – depending on the candidate’s availability.
• Applicants who do not reside in Israel, will work from home.
• Applicants residing in Israel can work from either from home or from the company offices in Tel Aviv.

Deadline:

March 1^st 2020

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

Job Application Documents

1. A cover letter: The cover letter needs to include the candidate’s preference with respect to the appointment’s term – full time or part-time. If the selected term is part-time, then the candidate should indicate the days of the week they are available.
2. A resume.
3. A written sample of academic work.
4. Three assignments.

Assignments:

For each of the following assignments, you are welcome to tell us how you went about answering the question, and what was the logic behind the choices you made.

First assignment:

Please write a 1-2 page report on the following topic –

If Professor Harari wants to get an insider understanding of the worldview of Trump supporters, which non-fiction recently-published books (published within the last 5 years) should he read? Note that we are not asking for books about Trump or his administration, or for external analysis of Trump supporters – we are asking about books that Trump supporters themselves read and love, and that well represent their worldview. These might be books in any field (economics, biology, history, etc.).

Second assignment:

For a new popular scientific card game (Pokémon style – but scientific and educational), please list 3 thought-provoking, fascinating, curious facts on each of the following archaic human species – Homo neanderthalensis, Homo erectus, and Homo Denisova. The facts can be humorous, but they must be based on up-to-date scientific research. They should both entertain and teach.

Third assignment:

As part of the preparation for a meeting with Ren Zhengfei (CEO of Huawei), you are requested to write a short summary (150-300 words) of information that you believe is important, relevant and interesting for Prof. Harari to have before engaging in conversation with this person. Assume that Prof. Harari does not know anything about this person, that Prof. Harari has little time to prepare for this meeting, and that this meeting could be politically sensitive.

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