The application deadline is January 28th at 5 PM ET

The Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (HLS PILAC) is an independent, nonpartisan research program that seeks to identify and analyze — and inform responses concerning — some of the foremost challenges facing the normative and operational framework governing armed conflict. Governments, U.N. system actors, advocates, and academics regularly draw upon the Program’s independent analyses and research products.

For the Spring of 2021, HLS PILAC seeks research support on several projects. Those projects include the Program’s flagship Counterterrorism and Humanitarian Engagement Project (the CHE Project), which is the leading research and policy platform dedicated to analyzing how counterterrorism measures affect humanitarian action in situations of armed conflict involving acts of terrorism, and the Medical Care in Armed Conflict project, which seeks to shed light on the evolution, drivers, and nature of the fragility of the medical mission and offer principles-based analysis as to how to strengthen the legal framework. In addition, the Program seeks assistance in exploring several seed ideas, including on legal frameworks regulating the resort to force; bilateral and multilateral investment treaties and armed conflict; and war-lawyering standards. Under the supervision of Program faculty or senior staff, HLS student research assistants may undertake a range of tasks, including conducting original research and analysis; drafting and editing research products; drafting communications materials; or contributing to internal discussions and debates. The Program plans to bring on HLS student Research Assistants on a part-time basis (five to 12 hours per week on average) for six- to 16-week commitments during the Spring of 2021 (February–May). Positions are remunerated at the hourly HLS RA rate.

Interested eligible current HLS students may apply via the form below. We note that we anticipate receiving more applications than available positions.

Eligibility

The Program is committed to offering equal opportunities to all current HLS students interested in positions at PILAC. We have been advised that there are many variables that may impact the hiring process for our international students while we remain in a remote status, including the tax and employment laws of the country in which students are currently residing (if they are not in the United States) and any restrictions relevant to their visa type. For this reason, we would encourage you to reach out to Lauren Reed to discuss your particular status if you are currently residing outside of the US or are on a VISA and residing within the U.S.

Please note that in some cases our only course for hiring may be through a Professional Employer Organization (a third-party employer that ‘hires’ on behalf of Harvard in countries where we are not allowed to hire directly). These arrangements often take 6–8 weeks to execute and, given the time necessary to establish this employment relationship, it may be the case that the work we have available must completed within that time frame. Additionally, PEO hires come with additional fees which can be prohibitively expensive.  Unfortunately, we are not always able to proceed with hires in those circumstances due to the extraordinary costs and time associated with establishing a relationship that complies with the labor laws of the relevant country. With the support of the Law School, PILAC will proceed with PEO supported student hire agreements where feasible. 

Deadline

Eligible students may submit an application through the following form by January 28th at 5 PM ET. Please note that we anticipate that decisions will be made by February 4th.

Application Form

* Indicates a required field.