Salary Range: £36,024 - £44,263
FTE: 1.0 (35 hours/week)
Term: Fixed Term (24 months)
Closing Date: 15/01/2024
The University of Strathclyde invites applications for the role of Research Associate to support the 2-year project “Cultures of Collaborative Research in a Socially Progressive Technological University.” Funded by the Wellcome Trust as part of a national investment in Research Culture, this post is an opportunity to contribute to sector-wide initiatives to enhance research, knowledge exchange, and innovation environments.
The University of Strathclyde’s project has two main challenge areas:
Challenge 1: How can we work with partners in industry and the public and third sector to co-produce inclusive research cultures?
Challenge 2: How do we value and recognise the breadth and depth of everyday contributions which sustain thriving collaborative research cultures?
This post is open to applicants from any social science or related discipline that involves qualitative and quantitative research methods. Experience in a range of methods (for example, analysing large data sets, designing surveys, conducting interviews, creative methods, and/or participatory action research) would be an advantage. We would welcome applications from candidates with an interest in inequalities in research environments; organisational cultures; Higher Education policy; or the sociology of Higher Education.
Can you measure a positive research culture? This question has opened a sector-wide debate, which this project responds to through critical approaches to inequality and inquiry into ‘invisible’ forms of research labour. The project’s Research Associate will be involved in gathering new qualitative and quantitative data to investigate barriers to collaborative research. This research will be used to test interventions which the RA will evaluate. The RA’s outputs will include contributing to key evidence-based reports on fostering positive collaborative research cultures, the creation of toolkits for identifying positive research culture, as well as workshops and events on the responsible use of research metrics. We welcome applicants interested in qualitative data, as surveys and researcher diaries will form a core element of the data collection. Experience in analysing quantitative data, especially for benchmarking, is desirable.
You will be part of a project team that includes the Associate Principal for Research and Innovation, Deputy Associate Principals for Research and Knowledge Exchange (representing the University’s four Faculties), and Research Professionals drawn from Research and Knowledge Exchange Services (RKES) and Human Resources (HR). The Research Associate will be an integral part of the team and will work closely with the project Knowledge Exchange Associate.
We are committed to professional development. The successful applicant will be provided with a training and development budget, 10 days per annum for professional development activities, and a mentor. More information on the University of Strathclyde’s research can be found here.
The University supports flexible working and will consider secondments. This is a campus-based role with an expectation of three days a week at the John Anderson campus in Glasgow’s city centre.
Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Dr Emma Compton-Daw, Researcher Development Manager (emma.compton-daw@strath.ac.uk) and Prof Churnjeet Mahn, Deputy Associate Principal Research and Knowledge Exchange (churnjeet.mahn@strath.ac.uk). Please note the University will be closed 25th December 2023- 5th January 2024.
Formal interviews for this post will be held on 12/02/2024.
We anticipate the role will commence on 3 June 2024.