Senior Analyst - MENA focus in London

About ExTrac

ExTrac is a decision intelligence company used by governments, defence organisations, financial institutions, and corporates operating in complex, fast-moving environments. Our capabilities fuse curated data sources, domain-specific AI, and deep human expertise to transform information overload into clear, actionable foresight. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a core region for ExTrac's intelligence coverage, spanning the political and security dynamics, actors, movements, and online ecosystems that shape risk across the region and beyond it.

The Role

As a Senior Analyst covering the MENA region, you will help ExTrac understand and anticipate political and security developments across the region, including the activities of state and non-state actors, violent extremist organisations (VEOs), and the online ecosystems in which they operate. Working in Arabic every day, across standard and dialectal material, you will turn what you find into timely reporting that feeds ExTrac's intelligence products and data platform.

What the job involves

• Intelligence collection and analysis
  • Monitor and assess political, security, and socio-economic developments across MENA, including regional diplomacy, state and non-state actors, and geopolitical risk.
  • Conduct daily monitoring of Arabic- and English-language media, including news outlets, social media platforms, official statements, and other open-source information environments.
  • Track VEO and non-state armed group activity, including organisational developments, propaganda and communications activity, governance dynamics, operational activity, and regional linkages.
  • Identify new narratives, actors, platforms, and threats appearing across online ecosystems.
  • Apply structured analytical techniques to assess complex information and identify patterns and relationships.
• Intelligence production
  • Lead and contribute to daily, weekly, monthly, flash, and deep-dive analytical reporting, with a particular focus on MENA and VEOs.
  • Translate and assess Arabic-language documents and other source material.
  • Contribute to client-facing discussions, briefings, and ad hoc research requests as required.
  • Develop and maintain subject-matter expertise across designated countries, actors, organisations, and thematic areas.
• Data curation
  • Lead and contribute to source coverage for the region, identifying and proposing new actors, entities, channels, and outlets for inclusion in ExTrac's research ecosystem.
  • Verify and assess sources in the original language prior to inclusion.
  • Maintain coverage against intelligence requirements, identifying where it should expand or deepen.
  • Contribute to the taxonomy and tagging decisions that structure MENA and violent extremism data.
  • Work with the wider research and data teams to translate analytical judgement into structured data.
• Leadership and collaboration
  • Support the Team Lead with the reviewing and quality assurance of analytical outputs.
  • Mentor junior analysts on research methodology, analytical standards, and source validation.
  • Support other teams across ExTrac on projects and deliverables when required.
• Innovation and capability development
  • Help develop research methodologies, monitoring frameworks, and analytical processes to improve team efficiency and product quality.
  • Integrate AI systems and AI-assisted workflows into analytical practice.

You should apply if

• MENA is the region you already follow closely, across its politics, security dynamics, and the violent extremist movements and online ecosystems operating within it.
• You work in Arabic, not just alongside it. You read Modern Standard Arabic and dialect comfortably.
• Writing is one of your strengths. You can turn a fast-moving, ambiguous picture into a concise, evidence-based assessment under deadline.
• You care about the quality of the underlying data as much as the quality of the analysis built on it.
• You want to keep producing analysis at volume and take on more alongside it.
• You thrive on operational tempo. Daily and flash reporting alongside longer deep dives suits how you like to work.
• You are already using AI in your workflow and are interested in what it changes about analytical craft.

Where this role can take you

• Build recognised subject-matter expertise across your assigned countries, actors, and thematic areas.
• Build leadership experience through mentoring junior analysts and supporting prioritisation across a small team.
• Support the development of the monitoring frameworks and analytical methodologies used across the team.
• Shape how AI changes intelligence work itself, championing new tools and methodologies.

Requirements

• At least five years of professional experience in intelligence analysis, geopolitical risk, disinformation analysis, strategic communications, international security, international relations, or a related field.
• Strong subject-matter knowledge of the MENA region, including its key political and security actors and regional dynamics.
• A working understanding of VEOs, their online ecosystems, communications strategies, narratives, and operational activity.
• Fluency in written Arabic, across both Modern Standard Arabic and local dialects.
• Demonstrable experience applying structured analytical methodologies to complex information environments.
• Strong written communication skills, with a track record of producing concise, high-quality, policy-relevant intelligence and analytical outputs under tight deadlines.
• Hands-on experience curating source coverage: identifying and verifying online sources.
• Experience proofreading, editing, and quality-assuring analytical products.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to work independently while managing multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to distinguish meaningful developments from high-volume information flows.
• Able to communicate complex political, security, and extremist-related developments clearly.
• Comfortable integrating AI systems into your workflow.
• A strong understanding of the legal and ethical considerations surrounding intelligence collection.

Desirable

• Experience leading analysis on international security, violent extremism, terrorism, or state- and non-state-aligned influence.
• Demonstrable experience researching VEOs and extremist online activity.
• Experience with data science, AI-enabled research tools, or advanced OSINT platforms.
• Proficiency in one or more additional relevant languages.
• Familiarity with the PHIA Yardstick.
• Experience developing analytical methodologies, research frameworks, or data schemas.
• Experience mentoring junior analysts or leading small analytical projects.

Interview Process

We aim to ensure that each person who interviews with our team has the opportunity to showcase their experience and strengths. The process for this role is as follows:

• Initial interview with the hiring manager – 30 minutes
• Technical craft assessment – two tasks covering analytical writing and source curation
• Competency-based interview – 45 minutes
• Senior Executive interview – 45 minutes

Benefits

• Competitive salary based on skills and experience.
• A generous benefits package, including Private Medical Health Insurance and an enhanced pension package.
• £500/year education budget with more expensive items covered with manager approval.
• 33 days of leave across the year inclusive of bank holidays.
• A role that combines mission-driven purpose with cutting-edge technology in a fast-growing company.

ExTrac AI provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and welcome people from all backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and abilities.

ExTrac AI is committed to a fair and transparent hiring process. We confirm that this advertisement is for an active, existing open role within our organisation.