Project Director - Consultant role

About CIR

The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) is an independent organisation dedicated to documenting human rights violations, exposing online harms against women and marginalised communities, and strengthening accountability for perpetrators. We achieve this through open source research, digital investigations, capacity-building with local partners, and collaboration with media to amplify our impact.

CIR was born out of a determination to expose those spreading harm – online and offline – around the world, particularly in areas of violent conflict, such as Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine. Our projects are at the forefront of efforts to investigate and document human rights abuses, war crimes, harms targeting women and minorities, and influence operations. We work closely with multilateral and national justice accountability bodies.

Role details

• Contract Type: Contractor
• Start date: We need someone to start full-time on 1st April 2026 with the potential of additional days before this to familiarise with the project, depending on candidate availability and project funding.
• Contract length: The position is a consultancy role for 12 months.
• Hours needed for this role: Full-time, 40 hours per week
• Location: This role could be based in London or remotely. You need to be able to work on UK/EA time zone.
• Closing date: Tuesday 3rd February 2026 at 23:55pm.
• Travel: During this 12 month contract, the Project Director will be expected to travel to East Africa region 1-3 times, as well as ad hoc visits to our London office. Required travel would be up to 4 weeks in total over the course of the contract.

About the Project - Sudan Witness

Sudan Witness was set up in April 2023, in response to the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan. The project focuses on collecting, verifying, and preserving open-source information pertaining to conflict incidents and alleged human rights violations in Sudan, and works together closely with justice and accountability mechanisms, international media outlets, and Sudanese civil society organisations.

About the Role

In this role, you will:

• Lead a diverse team investigating human rights violations and conflict-related events, uncovering critical insights, and providing meaningful capacity-building to Civil Society Organisations.
• Provide high-impact briefings informed by high quality investigations and analysis, and deep regional knowledge.
• Engage with the human rights and security landscape of East Africa, applying a conflict-sensitive and gender-aware approach.

We’re looking for someone who thrives in fast-paced environments, stays ahead of emerging risks, and is passionate about using OSINT to drive meaningful change.

Key responsibilities

• Defines and oversees the strategic impact the project aims to achieve, and the nature and scale of the outputs and outcomes needed to do so, aligning with CIR values and donor goals.
• Builds a strong relationship with senior donors, ensuring they have full confidence in the quality and impact of CIR’s work, and in the responsiveness of CIR to donor priorities.
• Provides technical guidance and mentorship to a multidisciplinary team of OSINT analysts, investigators, and GIS specialists, including quality control of outputs and collaborations.
• Oversees engagement with and support to external stakeholders and partners, including government departments, justice and accountability mechanisms, international media outlets, and Sudanese civil society organisations.
• This includes defining the deliverables to be provided by subcontracting organisations or other delivery partners, and collaborating with the project manager to determine appropriate allocations of budget and payment modalities.
• Provides strategic direction to the project management team on how the project’s resources should be allocated to activities to maximise outcomes, impact and value for money, and to meet commercial targets if relevant.
• Oversees design of Monitoring and Evaluation framework by Monitoring and Evaluation specialist, project manager and senior technical staff including Theory of Change, Results Framework and mechanisms for collecting and synthesising data.
• Develop and inspire a cohesive and complimentary team dynamic where members support and assist each other across components, contributing to the overall success and impact of the project.
• Ensures the project’s risk management process draws on the diverse knowledge and insights of the team, to generate information required by CIR’s standard risk register, and to comply with donor reporting schedules.
• Leads discussions with existing and potential new donors to expand or extend the project, advocating technical methodologies and deliverables, and collaborating with the project manager and CIR leadership to develop resource plans and budgets.

Qualifications and Competencies

Essential:

• An experienced, confident manager and leader for a diverse team in often changing environments. The Project Director will have experience applying adaptive management, and in establishing a productive working culture where team members work well together and deliverables are consistently met to a high standard.
• Strong interest and experience partnering with Civil Society Organisations, specifically delivering investigative and capacity-strengthening support.
• Strong networking / stakeholder relationship building and management experience, including with a range of stakeholders, including government departments.
• Experience of overseeing projects in complex conflict settings, and skilled at adaptive programme risk management.
• Strong understanding of OSINT methods and application within Human Rights and Justice & Accountability.

Highly Desirable:

• Strong OSINT skills with experience in leading investigations.
• Strong contextual knowledge and experience working on East Africa region and ideally in/on Sudan.

Working Arrangements

The role will be full-time and can either be office based, hybrid or remote with the opportunity to work from CIR’s offices in London, if desired. CIR encourages flexible working and is happy to agree a working pattern to suit the successful applicant.

Recruitment Process

To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter, and answer the application form questions. For this role there will be a technical task, followed by a first-round interview. Candidates who advance to the final stages will also have an informal second-round interview with representatives from CIR’s strategic or senior management team. CIR encourages applicants from under-represented communities. CIR is an equal opportunities employer. If you require adjustments or additional support to complete this process, please let us know in your application.