Research Associate Knowledge Exchange and Impact

Salary:  £34,866 to £45,163  per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellentbenefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 26 November 2024

The Role

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) seeks to appoint a Research Associate (full-time for 18 months) to support the delivery of knowledge exchange and impact work emerging from research in the Social Sciences.

The postholder will be responsible for working on the delivery of knowledge exhange and impact activities emerging from research in the Social Sciences. These activities might include facilitating events, running workshops, contributing to the development of materials that platform research findings and helping to shape policy interventions.  Capturing impacts, showing change and demonstrating the benefits arising from the social-science research will be another key part of the role.  The ability to work effectively alongside Project Leads and collaborate with external partners will be another important aspect of the work.  The postholder will have a completed PhD in a Social Science discipline and have experience working on the delivery of knowledge exchange and impact-related activities.

The role will be funded by the  ESRC IAA, a block grant of £1.25M (2023-2028) from the Economic and Social Research Council, the UK’s largest funder of economic, social, behavioural, and human data science. The overarching aim of Newcastle University's ESRC IAA is to mobilise our social science researchers, working in collaboration with partners across a broad range of sectors, to determine and drive future solutions to economic and societal challenges on the local, national, and global scale.

For informal enquiries, please contact Alexandra Hughes 

Key Accountabilities

• Work alongside the Faculty’s Dean of Research and Innovation and the ESRC IAA Operational Team on the delivery of impact and KE projects linked to research in the Social Sciences
• Collaborate with Project Leads in support of their projects. Depending on the project, this work might involve: planning events and activities; liaising with partner organisations (including public, private and third sector). creating materials; networking; administration; facilitating meetings and workshops and writing reports so as to ensure the impact is captured
• Record keeping and planning will be key parts of a role that will involve working on a range of impact projects in parallel, some across the long term, others more focussed and concentrated in nature. The ability to work flexibly and responsively is therefore a key part of the role
• Your work plans will be agreed in consultation the Faculty Research Impact Officer (with responsibility for the IAA) and the Dean of Research and Innovation (and the Associate Dean)

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to broker and sustain relationships between both internal colleagues and external partners
• Insight into the knowledge exchange and impact agendas and their role in the UK HE research landscape
• Experience delivering successful KE and impact activities
• A record of running events and public-facing projects
• Experience of partnership working with external organisations on the delivery of impact-related activities
• A track record of managing projects and experience working as part of a team

Attributes and Behaviour

• The ability to plan projects and deliver them to time
• The initiative and problem-solving experience needed to work at the interface of academic research and impact
• Skills in effectively managing a range of projects simultaneously

Qualifications

• A completed PhD in a Social Science discipline

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silverAthena Swanaward in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold aRace Equality CharterBronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are aDisability Confidentemployer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 27714