Senior Research Assistant

Post Title: Senior Research Assistant

SBU/Department: School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education

FTE: 0.7 FTE (working 23.9 hours per week)

Duration of Contract: Fixed term contract until 31st March 2026

Salary: UH6 £30,619 pro rata. pa with potential to progress to £36,333 pro rata, pa on achieving designated skills and experience

Annual Leave: 35 days pro rata plus standard public holidays and an additional 4 days including the closure of our office between Christmas and New Year

Location: De Havilland Campus, Hatfield

This is an opportunity to work as part of the UK team undertaking ground-breaking research on aesthetic and embodied learning for democracy. The UK research is an integral part of a three-year European project funded by Horizon Europe and UKRI – the AECED (Transforming Education for Democracy through Aesthetic and Embodied Learning, Responsive Pedagogies and Democracy-as-becoming) project. Our partners are University of Aberta (Portugal), University of Lapland (Finland), Philipps University Marburg (Germany), Riga Technical University (Latvia) and University of Zagreb (Croatia).

The Senior Research Assistant will be part of the UK research team and their role will be to support the University of Hertfordshire’s work on the project throughout the project’s six phases. This will include liaising with education stakeholders, negotiating research access with organisations (such as higher education institutions and departments, schools and other education providers) and potential research participants (including educators and learners), contributing to the design of the project’s case studies and their methods of data collection and analysis, communicating to research participants the project pedagogical framework and guides to practices and facilitating their use, facilitating participatory involvement of participants in the case studies and undertaking data collection, contributing to data analysis and contributing to the writing up of findings and dissemination of the project.

Required skills and experience include experience in qualitative research methods and knowledge of the field of education and professional learning, as well as the ability to plan and manage own activities effectively and to deal with sensitive material with strict confidentiality, a methodical approach and attention to detail, excellent interpersonal and presentation skills in spoken and written English, flexibility and adaptability in relation to workload and team requirements, effectiveness in a team setting, including in online meetings, and the ability to demonstrate initiative and to learn new skills.

Desirable for this post is a postgraduate degree, such as a PhD in a relevant subject, or equivalent experience. An undergraduate honours degree at a minimum (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline is essential.

Please view the job description and person specification for a full list of the duties and essential criteria. Please attach a personal statement showing clearly how your skills and experience match the Person Specification.

An appointment to this role may require an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate.

Contact Details/Informal Enquiries: Professor Philip Woods, Professor of Educational Policy, Democracy and Leadership (p.a.woods@herts.ac.uk) Dr Karen Smith, Reader in Higher Education (k.smith27@herts.ac.uk)

Closing Date: 14th June 2023

Interview Date: 5th July 2023

Reference Number: 050276

Date advert placed: 24 May 2023

Our vision is to transform lives: UH is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and building a diverse community. We welcome applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of their protected characteristics, and recognise there are different ways applicants may achieve the criteria in this document. We offer a range of employee benefits including generous annual leave, flexible location opportunities within the UK, discounted Sports Village memberships and free Active Staff sessions, personal and professional development and family-friendly policies. #GoHerts