About the role
We’re looking for a research assistant with a strong quantitative background to support a project funded by Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund, which focuses on transformative, high-risk/high-reward international research. The post is offered on a part-time basis at FTE ( and is funded for 12 months in the first instance.The appointment will be at Research Assistant Grade 6B and starting salary offered will be in the range of £38, - £41, pro rata, per annum, inclusive of London Allowance.The study is led by Prof Karen Chapple at the University of Toronto School of Cities, with support from UCL (Prof Max Nathan) and the University of Kentucky (Prof Matt Zook). It examines the long-term recovery patterns in three global cities (Bogotá, London, and Toronto) to understand why some cities and neighbourhoods have better supported a resilient recovery – bounce back or adaptation leading to positive and equitable health and employment outcomes. The study deploys mixed methods, complementing analysis of data on health care billing and cell phone trajectories with bespoke databases on health and urban policies during the pandemic, as well as interviews with policymakers and other stakeholders. The aim is to improve our understanding of the economic and health consequences of Covid-19 mitigation measures for women and youth, with particular attention to intersections with race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class and other identities.Main purpose of the job: Working with the UToronto project leadership and London lead, the role will focus on: Extracting and managing large microdatasets from UK and other sources; data- and entity-linkage; Conducting analysis and modelling to support econometric and related analyses; Contributing to authored/ co-authored journal articles and other outputs; Helping support the qualitative elements of the project.Main duties and responsibilities: Conduct at-scale cleaning and linkage of sensitive data, including from administrative and commercial sources, potentially including online and textual data; With others in the team, create and maintain high-quality documentation and code, enabling review and replication of results; Learn further programming tools as needed; With others in the team, prepare econometric and related analyses/visualisations for academic papers, and for more public forms of engagement; Contribute (as a named author or co-author) to writing research papers for peer-reviewed journal publication; Contribute (as a named author or co-author) to other outputs, for example UK and international conference / workshop presentations, and non-technical formats as required; Support the qualitative parts of the projects by arranging / co-ordinating stakeholder interviews and meetings; Attend regular hybrid project progress meetings and other 1:1 / group interactions; conduct other in-person tasks as required. Work effectively with other team members.This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit for more information. We will consider applications to work on a part-time, flexible and job share basis wherever possible.For any queries about the role please contact Max Nathan (). A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page. The interviews with shortlisted candidates will be held on 15th November. To apply for the vacancy please click on the ‘Apply Now’ button below.
About you
The postholder will have a Masters degree in a relevant quantitative discipline by start of post. This includes economics, economic geography, economic sociology, computer science, spatial/urban data science and similar. They will also have demonstrated interest in the project topics and research questions; advanced skills in handling very large datasets using Stata/R/Python, ideally including structured and unstructured data; strong understanding of project-relevant statistical methods, ideally including data linking / matching; ability to learn new programming skills; experience of execution and write-up of independent research projects, such as an undergraduate or masters’ thesis; ability to interpret and analyse patterns or trends in data and to think through problems analytically; excellent written and verbal communication skills; including conveying technical material to non-academic stakeholders; ability to work effectively independently of close supervision; strong organisational skills, in order to work with data providers, project stakeholders and co-ordinate / integrate work of other team members.
What we offer
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below: - 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days); - Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme; - Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE); - Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan; - Immigration loan Relocation scheme for certain posts; - On-Site nursery; - Onsite gym; - Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay; - Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service; - Discounted medical insurance.
