إدارة التعاون األكاديميللتواصل مع

مكتب وزير العمل بجدة

e-mail: acd@mol.gov.sa Tel 012-2759819

Opportunity for Collaborative

Research

Academic Cooperation Department

Overview of Research Project

As part of the Ministry of Labor and MOLplus’s efforts to provide sustainable, meaningful

employment opportunities for young Saudis, MOLplus is embarking upon a nationwide study of

Saudi youth. This study aims to provide ground-breaking insight and information with regards to

youth to better inform and shape policymaking decisions and programs as well as serve as a

database concerning youth today and possibly into the future.

Why This Study?

Currently, most studies of Saudi youth seem somewhat limited both in terms of their levels of

insight and analysis due to a number of reasons found in the scope and aim of said studies. Many

focus on one-way interactions with youth such as asking either a youth or an influencer of youth

about their opinions, feelings, or concerns of topics pertaining to youth. Others deal with aspects

of being a youth such as health, education, employment, behavior, etc.

While such data is crucial for informing policymakers as to what’s on the mind of youth, it

has a number of shortcomings. First, they only offer one-way interactions and fail to provide

insight and information with regards to various measurements of interaction. For example, data

is collected and includes Saudi youth A responding that his/her parents does not talk about career

exploration. What goes missing in the data collection is why, according to the parents of Saudi

youth A, career exploration is not being talked about. Second, they tend to only be single variable

studies; currently causality is unknown amongst Saudi youth, and therefore these studies entirely

miss out on the opportunity for data-mining. For example, a study might explore what Saudi

youth are feeling with regards to the labor market and their abilities to gain employment. What

remains missing is the possible correlation or causation between the original topic and other

topics such as youth ecosystems, historical events, contemporary youth culture within the

country, education, region, gender, age, crime, disability, and other factors that can be measured

against and amongst each other. Third, they do not build upon the vast amounts of data and

studies that have already been conducted on Saudi youth and youth internationally. For example,

a study might draw out Saudi youth insights into what are some difficulties between education

and employment in Saudi Arabia today. What go missing are the tens of twenties of previous

studies and data that have already proven this; developments in areas such as youth participation,

positive youth development, or evidence-based youth policies remain absent from both

framework and analysis. Instead of modifying the wheel, most studies are out to reinvent it.

Thus, very few studies cover multiple topics at once, and even fewer studies explore

relationships between or amongst these topics, while many ignore previous studies altogether.

All this adds up to studies that do not provide root-cause analysis or evidence of causalities

amongst Saudi youth.

Therefore, MOLplus seeks to move beyond many of the abovementioned limitations by

scoping this study’s aim to be over two areas of maximization: Saudi youth potential and Saudi

youth contribution to the country. In order to do this, MOLplus is creating multiple research legs

to cover all areas. To make clear, the aim of the National Youth Study is to support the

maximization of Saudi youth potential and contribution to the country. Such aims require

cutting-edge systems of measurement and analysis, of literature review and framing, of

interdisciplinary approaches and youth engagement, and of commitment and drive. The

measurements of an individual’s potential and contribution, provided by the individual, members

within their ecosystems, and related information, will be the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia with

regards to both project scope and size. Multivariable analysis will offer the opportunity for data-

mining and geo-mapping, with various profiles and segmentations available based on research

needs as a result of this study. We will use a mixed-method approach with extensive piloting

during both the qualitative and quantitative phases to ensure that our instruments and methods

will delivery on our aims.

Job Overview

The Human Capital Development’s Research & Development department offers researchers the

ability to be involved in various and/or multiple phases of the Study.

We offer an environment that includes working alongside policymakers and international

subject-matter experts, in addition to research experts;

We’ll provide support and encouragement for growth and development on the part of the

researcher;

We offer the opportunity to publish based on degree of involvement and publication options

of the project;

We provide exposure to ground-breaking research, and welcome requests for letters of

recommendation based on performance;

We will consider offering employment opportunities based on needs and performance.

Requirements and Responsibilities

We are looking for researchers with experience in qualitative and/or quantitative research/data

gathering and analysis, subject-matter background on youth, Saudi youth, and youth

development both within and outside of Saudi Arabia. We prefer backgrounds in anthropology,

economics (behavioral, labor market, macro), international relations, public policy, sociology,

statistics, and international development.

Fluent in both English and Arabic concerning reading, writing, and speaking at the

professional and scholarly-academic levels;

Provide both individual and cross-disciplinary research and analysis while supporting the

creation and maintenance of a research database;

Review literature and provide appropriate summaries and analysis;

Be able to support in the creation, drafting, and piloting of a youth survey based on project

development;

Develop and maintain social networks pertaining to the subject of youth, as well as track all

relationships via documentation;

Be comfortable working within their discipline as well as other disciplines based on project

needs;

Have strong interpersonal and communication skills, with highly effective individual and

team work abilities, strong problem solving skills and the ability to organize their own work

within tight time schedules;

Computer literate in most MS Office applications, especially with regards to Word, Excel,

Power Point, and statistical software;

Willing and able to travel within Saudi Arabia based on the needs of this study;

Able to work from our offices in Riyadh a minimum of 20% of the week;

Work as full or part-time, 20-40 hours/week on a Sun-Thur schedule;

Seeking both Saudi women and men researchers;

Must be able to commit to a minimum of 2 months, with the option of extending up to 1 year.

Interested candidates, please email your CV and a statement of interest to acd@mol.gov.sa .