UK Data Archive
The UK Data Service is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to meet the data needs of researchers, students and teachers from all sectors, including academia, central and local government, charities and foundations, independent research centres, think tanks, and business consultants and the commercial sector.
The UK Data Service collection includes major UK government-sponsored surveys, cross-national surveys, longitudinal studies, UK census data, international aggregate, business data, and qualitative data.
We are pleased to announce vacancies for two Senior User Support and Training Officers within the UK Data Service. These posts will support researcher activity relating to use of our social science data collection and within our busy Secure Lab (a Trusted Research Environment).
Duties of the Role
Using your excellent analytic and communication skills you will provide a range of researcher-oriented activities, including: advising on the content of data, appraising research project proposals for robust statistical methodology, reviewing statistical outputs for potential disclosure risk and reproducibility (syntax/code, tables and narrative), delivering training on the use of safe environments, and advising on statistical software packages available in our Secure Lab.
You will need to be a confident and clear speaker, with experience of teaching or training researchers, and will be expected to represent the Service at various external meetings. There will also be opportunities to publish on a range of methodological areas relating to the use of restricted data and its use.
A full list of duties and responsibilities can be found within the job pack.
Qualifications and Skills required
The successful applicant should possess a postgraduate degree or comparable experience in a data-using discipline.
You will have a background and expertise in social science methods and data analysis, with a good practical understanding of statistical data quality and analytic outputs. You should be a confident user of R and /or Python and be familiar with their various software libraries, including code-tracking tools for enabling reproducibility.
The role could provide an excellent opportunity for a postgraduate Early Career researcher to develop detailed insights into the use and governance of potentially disclosive social science data. Equally, it may provide an opportunity for a data/business intelligence analyst looking to develop experience of the use of data in academic research settings. Existing PhD students may also be interested in this post if the part-time working arrangement aligns with your studies.
These posts are fixed-term until 30/09/2022 due to funding however there is a firm expectation that the funding for the UK Data Service will be extended until at least 2024. Posts can be up to full-time (36 hours per week), but we would also welcome part-time applications for 0.6 FTE or 0.8 FTE. In addition, a job share arrangement could be considered for the right candidates and we would similarly welcome applications from those looking to work 0.5 FTE (18 hours per week) on this basis. Please indicate on your application the number of hours you would prefer to work.
The role involves access to Government systems, information or data and will be subject to the staff vetting process. Further information can be found in the job pack.
At the University of Essex, internationalism and diversity 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, faiths and backgrounds, where you can find the world in one place.
To support this commitment we have our Global Forum, a staff-led network that promotes and celebrates the rich cultural diversity among Essex staff, and our Colchester campus based Faith Centre, which hosts regular services, meetings and events organised by our chaplains and faith representatives. For more information see: https://www.essex.ac.uk/life/student-facilities/religion-and-faith
Please see the attached job pack, which contains 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 email the Resourcing Team (resourcing@essex.ac.uk).
*More information: Working at the University