Research Fellow Computational Social Science

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK 

Full Time / Fixed Term contract up to 3 years

Closing date: 30th September 2023

We will start reviewing applications on 20 June and invite shortlisted candidates for an interview on a rolling basis. If all positions are filled prior to the final closing date (30 September), we may close the advert, so we encourage early applications. 

Application Process:

To apply, please submit the following materials:

• Cover letter, detailing your research interests and motivation for applying.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of publications.
• Two representative publications or preprints.
• Contact details for two academic referees.

Research Project

The Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Government (CAIG) at the University of Birmingham invites applications for a Research Fellow (Grade 8) or Senior Research Fellow (Grade 9) with a strong background in Computational Social Science or Social Data Science. This is a 3-year position.

This position is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated and skilled researcher to play a pivotal role in the Centre's mission to expand the role of AI and data science in the social sciences. This mission is institutionally supported through the Data Science Initiative in the College of Social Sciences. The Centre is based within the Institute for Interdisciplinary Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (IIDSAI), which is a nexus for collaborative research and education at the University of Birmingham. Working across all five Colleges, the Institute is developing and fostering a culture of continuous interaction to address important challenges in areas including governance, sustainability, equality, health, and data-driven science.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct innovative research in computational social science, contributing to the advancement of state-of-the-art methods and tools.
• Pursue personal research including developing research ideas and winning support, including financial support.
• Plan, publish and execute high quality research.
• Project manage research activities and supervise other research staff.
• Present findings in high quality publications and conference proceedings.
• Supervise and examine PhD students, both within and out with the University.
• Provide expert advice to colleagues and students within discipline.
• Contribute to the administration/management of research in the Centre.
• Develop and make substantial contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement and public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the Centre and the University.
• Contribute to some administrative activities within the University, typically relating to research.
• Apply knowledge in a way that develops new intellectual understanding.
• Actively manage equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour.

Person Specification:

• PhD in political science, international relations, international development, public policy and management, or a related field.
• Extensive research experience and scholarship in quantitative research methods, including the application of machine learning, natural language processing, and data science to social science questions.
• Extensive programming experience in Python and/or R.
• Extensive experience in advanced statistical methods and data visualisation techniques.
• Extensive experience and demonstrated success in planning, undertaking and project managing research to deliver high quality results.
• Extensive experience and achievement in knowledge transfer, enterprise and similar activity.
• Experience and achievement reflected in a growing reputation.

Please direct any questions about the position to Professor Slava Jankin at v.jankin@bham.ac.uk.

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