Ukraine Researcher

Location: Remote, located in a timezone between UTC and UTC +4

Application Deadline: 1st September 2025 (Monday 12 CET)

About OCCRP

OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) is one of the largest investigative journalism organizations in the world, headquartered in Amsterdam and with staff across six continents. We are a mission-driven nonprofit newsroom that partners with other media outlets to publish stories that lead to real-world action. At the same time, our media development arm helps investigative outlets around the world succeed and serve the public.

Our mission is to spread and strengthen investigative journalism around the world and expose crime and corruption so the public can hold power to account. Our work has four main pillars: 

Investigations - we lead collaborative cross-border projects and publish hard-hitting stories; 

Infrastructure - we provide training, tools, and resources so investigative outlets can thrive; 

Innovation - we develop new technology and solutions that serve the field of journalism; and 

Impact - we accelerate the fight against global crime and corruption with groundbreaking partnerships.

Position overview:

We are seeking an experienced researcher with extensive knowledge of tracking down public records in Ukraine to support our partners and projects in the region.  We are looking for someone with a proven track record of doing investigative research and are open to candidates coming from journalism, law, finance or a related field. This is a remote position, but regular calls require you to be in a timezone between UTC and UTC-4, ideally in Ukraine.

Our Research and Data Team is the brainpower behind OCCRP ID, a service that helps investigative journalists in the OCCRP network conduct research quickly and effectively. You will join a team of research and data experts who use a combination of commercial and self-compiled databases, coding skills, as well as publicly available open sources, to help journalists track down people, companies, and assets anywhere in the world and build out data-heavy investigations.

Team: Research & Data

Job description

Responsibilities include: 

• Running extensive background checks on people, companies, and their networks – with a focus on Ukraine 
• Interpreting corporate, legal, property, and financial documents
• Writing comprehensive reports on research findings to be shared with journalists
• Responding promptly to research requests from journalists in the OCCRP network 
• Joining investigative teams to provide research support on long-term investigations, including proactively proposing creative avenues for research
• Working closely with other members of the research team to respond to complex research queries
• Identifying ways to obtain information from new sources, specifically in Ukraine and Russia.
• Periodically training investigative journalists from the region on research techniques and navigating local databases

Person Description

Required Skills:

• Understanding of, and ability to obtain, public records in Ukraine and Russia
• Fluency in English and Ukrainian, written and spoken
• Ability to work well with people from a range of countries, languages and backgrounds, online and in person 
• Ability to express ideas in a clear and concise manner
• Persistence and curiosity — you should be someone who enjoys looking for needles in a haystack 
• Thoroughness and strong attention to detail
• Ability to work independently, while asking for guidance when needed
• Computer literacy, with experience using Word, Excel, and Google Docs

Desirable Skills:

• Previous experience in research, journalism, law or finance
• Basic knowledge of data wrangling and analysis
• Understanding of how to track movement and ownership of ships and planes
  

To Apply:

To apply, please upload a cover letter and resume, no later than 1st September 2025.

All applications must be submitted in English. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Whilst we have internal goals to reply to unsuccessful candidates, we regret that the high number of applicants greatly exceeds our capacity to respond to each person. We apologize that we will not be able to reply to every unsuccessful applicant. Selected candidates will undergo a test and an interview as part of the recruitment process.

As an equal opportunity employer, OCCRP values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We offer competitive compensation and benefits and encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, medical conditions, family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics. If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or an accommodation to complete any step of the application process, please contact hr@occrp.org.