Demos Helsinki is hiring communication and interaction experts to strengthen the impact of our research activities at the intersection of technology, society, and economy.
Demos Helsinki is an independent, globally operating think tank dedicated to creating a fair, sustainable, and joyful future, and we believe that change can only happen together. We conduct academic research and consultative projects in collaboration with a wide range of partners, including influential universities and research organisations, UN organisations, and various governments and companies. Unlike many think tanks, we are primarily project-funded and politically independent. Over the past 20 years, we’ve grown into a 70-person team working on over 100 impactful projects annually.
Our academic research focuses on accelerating societal change through large multidisciplinary projects funded by Horizon Europe and the Academy of Finland’s Strategic Research Council. We currently have 16 multi-year projects accelerating constructive societal change and providing evidence, scenarios, and knowledge on how to build a fair and sustainable society.
We are recruiting interaction experts
We are looking for communication and interaction experts who can level up the communication and interaction of our research activities. Beyond the project work, the experts will strengthen our capacity to have an impact, especially in the EU context where the projects operate.
The main responsibility of the interaction and communication experts will be the implementation of the communications and interaction of three research projects in the areas of technology, democracy and economy: CO3, MERGE and FORSEE funded by the European Commission.
- MERGE redefines prosperity through new economic models, sustainable wellbeing, and metrics that go beyond GDP.
- CO3 develops democratic and resilient social contracts that address societal challenges and crises through theoretical and empirical research.
- FORSEE (starts in 2025) explores the societal impacts of AI deployment, focusing on the intersections of technology, social groups, and the broader implications beyond economic efficiency.
The communication and interaction experts will also lead the development of impact methods and design plans for new research proposals, with support from the Demos Helsinki team.
We are looking for candidates with complimentary skills and motivation. The roles, responsibilities and salary level can be tuned to match the candidate. Both seasoned experts with plans to take Demos Helsinki to a new level and developing professionals motivated to grow as an impact-driven comms expert are encouraged to apply.
We expect you have the following experience and skills:
- Passion for advancing fair and sustainable societal transitions and influencing public policy.
- Strong motivation and experience in impactful communication and interaction across various platforms, including e.g. websites, social media, policy briefs, and podcasts.
- Proven ability to design and execute communication strategies and stakeholder events in a project-based environment.
- Experience in science-society interaction.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
We’ll be especially excited if you have some of the following skills or experiences:
- Experience in policy interaction in Finland and / or European Union context
- Proven track-record of creating impact through science-policy interaction
- Experience of working with scientists and in scientific research projects
- Understanding and experience of co-creation, dialogue and/or other societal engagement methods
- Experience in participating in grant-writing processes
- Experience in academic writing
- Excellent written and verbal commincation skills in Finnish
Working at Demos Helsinki
Demos Helsinki promotes equality in working life. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive community, a place where we can all be ourselves. This means e.g. flexible working arrangements and family friendly employment policies. Our office and all workspaces are wheelchair accessible. We take sticking to pre-agreed working hours, and work-life balance, seriously. We treat others with dignity and respect, do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment and continuously strive to improve on aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion within our work place.
As stated in Demos Helsinki’s Impact Model, our ethos of fighting for a fair, sustainable, and joyful next era is visible daily. We approach societal change as a continuous, complex and collective effort without blueprints, proxies or simplified objectives. Thus, discussions and argumentation to avoid simple truths are key for us.
- We offer full time positions (37,5 h/week). Due to the project-based nature of the work, positions are fixed-term, ending either 31.12.2026 or 31.12.2027. Preferred start date is as soon as possible, but no later than January 2025.
- Demos Helsinki has an office in Helsinki, Finland. However, we are also open to you living and working remotely from elsewhere in Finland. Working from outside of Finland is not possible due to the projects’ funding instrument requirements.
- Depending on the abilities and experience of the candidates the monthly gross salary can be either 3020 €, 3640 € or 4160 € per month.
- In addition we offer a phone benefit, a bike benefit, a holiday bonus and flexible working hours.
How to apply?
We want to encourage applications from people from all backgrounds. We have an anonymous application process in the first phase of the candidate selection. You can apply for these positions by filling out the application form, but the details that are irrelevant for the preliminary selection (e.g. your name and city) are temporarily hidden when we go through the applications.
Please apply by 15th September 2024. All applicants will be informed of their status in the application process at the latest on 23rd September. The interviews will take place in September and early October either live in Helsinki or over Google Meets according to the applicant’s wishes.
You can find the application form here: https://forms.gle/qta4vDYhZYWhS9of7
For further information, please be in touch with:
Iina Koskinen (Research Operations Lead) for questions related to research impact at Demos Helsinki. You can reach Iina at iina.koskinen@demoshelsinki.fi or +358 50 557 6578 either on Wednesday September 4th at 13–15 (EEST) or Monday September 9th at 9–13 (EEST).
Ifeoma Kulmala (People Lead) for questions related to working arrangements, working at Demos Helsinki, recruitment process or relocation. You can reach Ifeoma at ifeoma.kulmala@demoshelsinki.fi or at +358 50 365 8993.