DepartmentThe Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex wishes to appoint a talented and ambitious quantitative researcher to the post of Research Fellow or Senior Research Officer (depending on experience) to carry out research and development work on Understanding Society in relation to childhood;. Understanding Society is the largest household panel study in the world designed to address key scientific and policy questions of the 21st century. We interview all household members annually, and are expanding the range of other data collected between waves and from other sources. The Study is underpinned by rigorous innovation in survey methods, and produces high quality research data for academic and policy communities.
Duties of the RoleThis three year post is fully funded by the Understanding Society until March 2023 in the first instance. The successful candidates will collaborate with leading experts to produce and disseminate high quality research on childhood, and develop approaches to enhance Understanding Society and promote awareness of the value of the Study at this key life stage. They will undertake research on childhood, carrying out data analysis and writing of manuscripts for publication in academic journals. They will engage with relevant external networks and carry out knowledge exchange activities, which promote the Study at this key life stage, and identify ways of improving it. Drawing on this learning they will contribute to the design of R&D activities for example by, undertaking experiments, evaluating implementation, monitoring fieldwork and preparing associated documentation.
For the Research Fellow role, candidates may be expected to undertake additional duties including taking responsibility for leading small research programmes or defined areas of larger projects, to independently develop research objectives and proposals, and to develop a research agenda which pursues individual and/or collaborative research objectives and proposals that will as a minimum meet the University's expectations for future Research Exercise Framework (REF) exercises.
A full list of duties and responsibilities can be found in the Senior Research Officer or Research Fellow job packs.
Skills and qualifications requiredCandidates should evidence research on childhood. They should be interested in longitudinal research; have experience of undertaking statistical analysis of complex and/or longitudinal data; and, of writing up and publishing research in academic and other kinds of outputs.
For the Senior Research Officer, grade 8 role, candidates should have a relevant doctoral degree in quantitative social science or other quantitative disciplines or be close to completion of PhD.
To be appointed at the higher grade 9 of Research Fellow, candidates will have a relevant doctoral level degree in quantitative social science or other quantitative disciplines. Additionally, they will already have an independent research reputation and a proven ability to publish at the highest level so that they can make a strong contribution to the next Research Excellence Framework exercise in 2020.
Appointment will made either as Senior Research Officer or Research Fellow. This is a full-time post (fixed-term until 31 May 2023), however, part-time working will be considered at a minimum of 0.8 FTE. Please state your preference on your application.
At the University of Essex internationalism is central to who we are and what we do. We are committed to being a cosmopolitan, internationally-oriented university that is welcoming to staff and students from all countries and a university where you can find the world in one place.
Please see the attached job packs, which contain a full job description and person specification which outlines the full duties, skills, qualifications and experience needed for this role plus more information relating to the post. We recommend you read this information carefully before making an application. Applications should be made on-line, but if you would like advice or help in making an application, or need information in a different format, please telephone the Resourcing Team (01206 876559).
*More information: Working at the University