Board

Murhaf Jouejati, Ph.D.

Is currently a Professor of Middle East Studies at the National Defence University, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. Dr. Jouejati is also an adjunct Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the George Washington University, as well as an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He has over two decades of experience researching and working on the political, social and economic aspects of the Middle East. He served as an advisor to the European Commission Delegation in Damascus and as focal point for several EU funded regional development programs, including civil society projects. Prior to that he served with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), first as the National Program Officer in Syria (1993 to 1994), and then as a consultant to the Bureau of Arab States in New York. He holds an M.A. in Arab Area Studies and a Ph.D. in Political Science. Dr. Jouejati is a member of the Syrian National Council.

Muhanad Alhasani, Esq.

Is a civil rights attorney. He has many studies on Law and Human Rights, and is well-known for his rights activism. His defence of human rights in Syria led to his arrest and subsequent life-long prohibition from practising the legal profession by resolution of the Damascus Branch of the Lawyers Bar Association. He was one of the founders of Syria’s National Committee for the Defence of Prisoners of Opinion and Conscience in 2001, and is both a founding member and current Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Syrian Organisation for Human Rights (Sawasiyah), which was established in 2004. He is also a founder of the Coalition of Defenders of Justice for Syria (Adala), established in 2011, and a member of the International Law Commission in Geneva.

Rouba Al-Fattal Eeckelaert, Ph.D.

She holds an M.A. European politics from Montreal University and a PhD in Transatlantic Electoral Assistance from Leuven University, Belgium. Dr. Eeckelaert gained significant field experience at the Canadian Mission to the EU, the Security and Defence Agenda, and the NATO-Parliamentary Assembly as a Research Assistant. She is also an Associate Editor at the Central European Journal for International and Security Studies (CEJISS). She published, lectured and worked as a Project Manager at various institutions including HIVA, CIMIC and McGill University. Currently she works as a Senior Information and Communication Expert for the European Commission ENPI-Info Centre with a focus on south Mediterranean countries.

Mohamad J. Samman

Is the founder and managing partner of EMPOWER Management Consulting LLC and Managing Director of EMPOWER Research Center based in Doha, Qatar. He holds a Master’s Degree in HR Management from The American University, Washington D.C. He is also a Certified Professional in Global Human Resources Management (GPHR) from the American HR Certification Institute (HRCI) with 22 years of hands-on executive experience. His distinguished areas of expertise include Organizational Development, Communication & Change Management, Organizational Structure & Job Design, Performance Management, and Training & Career Development. He is the Founder and Executive Chairman of the HR Executives Club and Executive Steering Committee Member of the HR Best Practice Group in Qatar. He is a co-founder of Syria Foundation, a world-class Syrian NGO focused on rebuilding Syria.

Key Staff

Ausama Monajed, Executive Director.

Mr. Monajed founded the centre in 2010 and has worked on developing and expanding the centre since. He is widely quoted and interviewed in prestigious international press and media outlets. He previously worked as communication consultant in Europe and the US and formerly served as the director of Barada Television, and an economist and projects manager with the European Commission and the United Nations Development Program UNDP. Mr. Monajed holds a postgraduate degree in Politics and Communications from the UK and an undergraduate degree in Economics and Management from Syria.

Dr. Ammar Kahf, Research Manager.

Dr. Kahf joined the centre in 2011 and has been in charge of research development, including the newly launched Transition Period Research Programme. Dr. Kahf is currently responsible for setting research guidelines, reviewing submissions and developing the transition period research in a systemic manner. He also helps in reviewing and editing policy analysis papers, strategic briefs, and other reports. Dr. Kahf earned his PhD from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) with a dissertation topic "Syrian Authoritarianism: Persistence or Change". He is trained in political science, ethnicity studies, and history of the Middle East.

Claire Duffett, Development Manager.

Claire Duffett is a master’s candidate at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston where she concentrates on Middle East politics, conflict resolution and human security. Previously, she worked as a reporter for The American Lawyer magazine in New York and as a foreign correspondent covering the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia for The Economist and GlobalPost. Most recently, she spent two years living in Syria, working as a freelance reporter and as managing editor of Syria Today, an independent, English-language politics magazine based in Damascus. She has taught journalism workshops and courses at The Royal University of Phnom Penh, the Syrian-European Business Council and the Al-Makan Art Association. 

Hamza Fakher, Communication Manager.

Mr. Fakher joined the centre in 2011 and has been in charge of the Centre's communication strategy and products. He has been developing the centre's daily news round-ups of the uprising in Syria, documenting everyday’s events, stories, videos and images, with analysis. At the same time he has provided analysis for international media outlets and regional publications. Formerly a journalist, Mr. Fakher co-founded Syria’s first English newspaper, Baladna. He was a reporter for economic affairs in Syria and was also a consultant in Public Relations.

Ahmad Rahban, Media Associate.

Mr. Rahban joined the centre in 2011, he is responsible for gathering stories, video and media materials for the daily news round-ups and weekly briefs. He also takes on regular translation, in addition to interpretation of the video material in accordance to their relative importance. Mr. Rahban was born and studied in Damascus then moved to Cyprus where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering at the Frederick Institute of Technology, and a Master of Business Administration at the European University.

Fatma Hadaoui, Administrative Assistant.

A business school graduate, Ms. Haddaoui joined the centre as trilingual secretary and administrative assistant. She handles correspondence, bookkeeping, travel arrangements and all other administrative responsibilities.

Mission Statement

For many years Syria has remained largely hidden from the spotlight of both international media and academia. The number of detailed studies about Syria does not reflect the country's status as an influential player in the Middle East. The total number of publicly available studies on Syria focusing on the period 1919-2007 does not exceed 114. Consequently, debates on Syria have been internal discussions driven by ideological issues and not by unbiased information and research.

The studies originating in the West, though valuable, often can be enhanced by the finer points of Middle East politics and society. A nuanced understanding can be achieved when Western intellectual rigour is married with on-the-ground knowledge and data-gathering abilities of locals. The Strategic Research and Communication Centre will engage with Syrian academics and researchers in order to produce more home-grown policy research.

Raw data from political, socio-economic and strategic studies will be made available to decision makers, reporters, journalists and academics who deal with Syrian issues. The centre will also be examining data and creating reports and papers by in-house researchers on topical issues. These reports will be widely disseminated to the public. 

The centre’s research will concentrate on giving a better understanding of the socio-economic fabric and realities of Syrian society. There will be attempts to give an awareness of facts surrounding everyday life in Syria. Our objective is a better informed public discussion of Syria which can influence the agenda of decision makers.

Careers

Employment with SRCC

Thank you for your interest in a career opportunity with SRCC. All open positions for which we are seeking candidates are listed below. Please click on the position of interest to learn more about the open position and how to apply.

The staff is made up of highly motivated and dedicated individuals from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise.

Employment at SRCC provides challenging and intellectually stimulating opportunities whether based in the field or in our offices. Alongside colleagues from varied backgrounds, many of whom already have distinguished track-records in the academic as well as public domain, the organisation provides a unique work environment. Staff members are supported and encouraged to enhance research and analytical skills, contribute to the development of policy recommendations and participate in our strategic advocacy initiatives. SRCC provides its staff a competitive salary along with a benefits package.

Currently open positions at SRCC

We do not have any vacancies at the moment, please visit this page later or subscribe to our RSS feed to stay up to date for future openings.