TISS Prayas Senior Research and Documentation Officer 2026

TISS Prayas Senior Research and Documentation Officer Recruitment 2026: Overview

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), a deemed university funded under the Ministry of Education, is hiring a Senior Research Officer and a Senior Documentation and Communication Officer for Prayas. Prayas is a field action project of the Centre for Criminology and Justice, School of Social Work, running since 1990.

The project works with people caught up in the criminal justice system. It helps people at risk of being criminalised, people exploited for commercial sex, and people living in destitution rebuild their lives through socio-legal and economic rehabilitation. Both posts are 12-month contractual roles based at the TISS Mumbai campus. If you have field experience in criminal justice or social work with marginalised groups, this is a strong fit.

Posts and Disciplines

• Senior Research Officer: the research lead for Prayas, handling study design, field data collection, analysis and publication. Good spoken Hindi plus spoken and written English is needed; Marathi is an added advantage.
• Senior Documentation and Communication Officer: the project's writer and communicator, handling process and case documentation, donor reports, proposals and the Prayas social media. Excellent written English and working Hindi and Marathi are expected.

Post-wise Duties

Senior Research Officer

You will plan research studies, run field-based data collection, analyse the data with qualitative and quantitative software, and write reports and papers for publication. You will also work with police, courts, prisons, government officials and civil society groups, and travel within and between states when a study needs it.

Senior Documentation and Communication Officer

You will document the project's ongoing work and individual cases, collect monthly data from the field team, and write reports, concept notes and proposals for funding agencies. You will also run the Prayas social media handles, prepare newsletters, and coordinate podcasts, short films and other media.

Service Conditions and Caveats

• Tenure: Both posts are on a 12-month contract under the Prayas project.
• Pay includes travel: The monthly pay already includes Travelling Allowance, so no separate travel allowance is paid.
• Reservation: The posts are unreserved, but reserved-category candidates can also apply.
• One form per post: If you want both posts, you must submit a separate application for each.
• Shortlisting: Meeting the qualifications does not guarantee an interview call; TISS may relax qualification, experience or age limits in exceptional cases.
• Working candidates: If you are employed, bring a No Objection Certificate from your employer to the interview.
• Joining: The selected candidate must join within 15 days of selection.
• No TA/DA: You will not get any travel allowance for attending the interview, and canvassing leads to disqualification.

Application Submission Notes

• Online form: Apply through the "Apply Now" link shown with this advertisement on the TISS website, www.tiss.ac.in.
• Gmail ID: You must give a Gmail address in the online form, since interview calls go out by email.
• Acknowledgement: Print the acknowledgement page after you submit and keep it safe.
• In-person interview: The personal interaction happens at TISS Mumbai. Requests for an online interview will not be accepted.

• Plan and run field-based research studies on criminal justice and marginalised groups
• Collect, analyse and report research data using qualitative and quantitative software
• Document project work, processes and individual cases every month
• Write reports, concept notes and proposals for funding agencies on time
• Manage the Prayas social media handles, newsletters and media content
• Coordinate with police, courts, government officials and civil society partners
• Travel within and between states for fieldwork when needed