Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA)

Location: Milton Keynes

Terms: Fixed term contract for 25 months, Part-time post (33 hours per week)

Closing Date: 16 February, 2023 - 12:00 noon

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education.

The role

We are seeking a post-doctoral research associate to contribute to the Economic and Social Research Council-funded project entitled Strategic development of the UK-EU relationship: Can neighbours become good friends?, part of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative. The successful candidate will help produce research that will enrich understanding of the developing relationship between the UK and the EU, using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods to map and model current activity and future possibilities. The successful candidate will use their research knowledge and skills to capture, analyse and disseminate data to a range of academic and non-academic audiences, as well as working with the central team of the initiative in maximising the potential for dissemination and engagement.

Skills and experience

• A PhD in Politics, IR, European Studies or related fields
• Expertise in qualitative research methods, particularly Discourse and Content Analysis
• Experience in elite interviewing
• Basic skills in quantitative research methods, particularly Social Network Analysis

The full summary of duties and person specification can be found within the Job Description.

If you would like to discuss the application or recruitment process before making an application, please contact Paula Haycock at Resourcing Hub on 01908 655544 or paula.haycock@open.ac.uk quoting the reference VRF 20693

What you get in return

We have a strong commitment to providing training and development in and beyond your current role. This includes thorough induction into the organisation and regular reviews of your training and development needs.

We also offer a great range of benefits that support our employees and their families for the long term. Staff Benefits include an attractive pension proposition and 30/33 days holiday per annum pro rata, plus Bank Holidays and Christmas closure days.

The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all our staff can reach their potential and attract diverse candidates.  We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength. 

We offer a range of inclusive employment policies which include family and carer friendly flexible working arrangements and have many supportive staff networks and wellbeing services. We also endorse the principles of Athena SWAN, with commitment from all levels of the organisation in promoting gender equity. Our Staff Benefits page under Employment provides further links and information.

Advert information