Senior Research Associate (Part-time 0.6 FTE, Fixed term 12 months)

Salary on appointment will be £35,333 per annum pro rata with an annual increment up to £42,155 per annum pro rata.

UEA has some of the most innovative and highly regarded centres for research in the UK.

UEA has some of the most innovative and highly regarded centres for research in the UK. Applications are invited for the post of Senior Research Associate to undertake research with Dr Simon P Hammond to conduct a realist evaluation of ‘Caringlife’, a digital life story work application used to promote the positive identity and mental health of looked-after children. This work is funded through The Sir Halley Stewart Trust.

The aim of the project is to undertake a realist evaluation to unpack the complexities that underlie the real-world use of digital applications like ‘Caringlife’. A realist approach is being used to allow us to explain how important outcomes happen, why, and in which contexts. All this understanding is then brought together into something called a Programme Theory – a detailed explanation of how ‘Caringlife’ works.

You will work with project team members to:

• Develop an initial Programme Theory that captures our current understanding and assumptions of how, why, to what extent, for whom and in what circumstances ‘Caringlife’ is expected to work (or not);
• Collate data on ‘Caringlife’ usage, and young peoples’ mental health and engagement with education before and 3 months after they have used ‘Caringlife’;
• Conduct up to 25 online participatory interviews with young people, their carers, and other social care professionals with care-experienced co-researchers to find out their users experiences of using ‘caringlife’;
• Combine these data to improve our understanding of how ‘Caringlife’ works (or not), and develop an improved final Programme Theory;
• Use this to develop and share practice best practice guidance widely

The research will be based at the University of East Anglia in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning.

Essential requirements for this post include a PhD or equivalent relevant professional experience, significant previous experience of independent research and the ability to meet all the essential criteria set out in the Person Specification.

A flexible approach to working will be required as some online interviews may need to take place outside core hours to fit with the needs of participants and care-experienced co-researchers.

Further information on our great benefits package, including 44 days pro rata annual leave inclusive of Bank Holidays and additional University Customary days, can be found on our benefits page.

For further information on the School of Education and Lifelong Learning please see https://www.uea.ac.uk/web/about/school-of-education-and-lifelong-learning.   

This post is available from 8 May 2023 on a part-time (0.6 FTE) basis for a fixed term period of 12 months. 

Closing date: 7 March 2023

To apply for this vacancy, please follow the online instructions at: https://myview.uea.ac.uk/webrecruitment/

The University is committed to diversifying its workforce. As examples, we already hold an Athena SWAN Silver Institutional Award in recognition of our advancement towards gender equality. We also have a Vice-Chancellor led Taskforce on Tackling Racism and a Race Equality Charter Working Group which support our work on race equality. Our aim is to submit to the Race Equality Charter in 2024.

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