About the role
We are seeking a motivated and skilled Computational Social Scientist to join our interdisciplinary team as a Research Assistant (without PhD) or Research Fellow (with PhD) focused on the phenomena of small homes in English cities. The postholder will be responsible for developing and delivering a national database of properties in England using EPCs as a source of floorspace data, linking this with Price Paid Data, Zoopla, local planning, and such other housing data as may be identified through record matching protocols incorporating machine learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP). This work will form the basis for time series and spatial analysis of residential property size at multiple scales since . We have completed ‘proof-of-concept’ data linkage work in London but now seek to extend the breadth of our pilot, exploring the wider geographies of very small homes in English cities whilst increasing depth of understanding by assessing whether small homes ever constitute adequate homes. The role is part of the UKRI-funded “No Place Like Home?” project (ESRC/Z/1). The post-holder will interact actively with members of the wider research group, identifying synergies that will help build our collective intelligence about the issue of small housing. Team includes Profs Phil Hubbard and Katherine Brickell, both in the Department of Geography, King’s College London, Prof Helen Carr (Southampton) and Dr Eleanor Wilkinson (Sheffield) alongside Prof Jon Reades (UCL). Further detail about the duties and responsibilities can be found in the job description at the bottom of this page, but these broadly cover: data linkage and exploration, decision-support, collaboration and stakeholder engagement, research and publication, and basic project management to a timeframe.The funding for this role is fixed and affects the duration of the post. The minimum term is 15 months, in the first instance, at Grade 7 with the possibility for extension depending on salary level ( appointment at a lower level would increase the minimum contract length). This can be discussed in greater detail at the interview stage.Starting salary (at Grade 7, Research Fellow) offered will be in the range of £43, - £45, per annum inclusive of London Allowance, due to limited amount of funding available.Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Research Assistant Grade 6B (salary - £38,–£41, including London Allowance per annum) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD thesis.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 contactProfessor Jon Reades (). A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page. To apply for the vacancy please click on the ‘Apply Now’ button below.
About you
You will have a relevant background, such as a degree and/or professional experience, to allow you to engage with both the computational and domain components of the research project. Appointment at Grade 7 requires a completed PhD in a relevant discipline. All other appointments would be at Grade 6. Relevant disciplines include Computational Social Science, Spatial or Geographic Data Science, and Urban Analytics. Relevant professional experience would include work ‘at scale’ in the housing or urban analytics sector. As part of the application and interview process we will be seeking to assess your experience of working with large geospatial data sets and on data linkage problems, your capacity to learn and apply your coding skills to real-world problems, and your knowledge (if any) of the UK planning and housing context. It is essential that you are proficient in at least one of the Python or R programming languages (the proof-of-concept work is in Python), as is a working knowledge of SQL. A basic understanding of Named-Entity Recognition and Natural Language Processing would be highly desirable. However, the ability to work across disciplinary and methodological boundaries is also integral to the project: you will be supporting qualitative and survey work packages through the identification of areas for intensive investigation as well as collaboration around research outputs. The post-holder will have opportunities to work with stakeholders in the public, private, and governmental sectors, so an interest in the communication of research methods and findings to non-technical audiences is desirable. For full list of essential and desirable criteria, please see a job description and person specification at the bottom of this page.
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.
