Research Associate (Violence Reduction Unit)

The Department of Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University is one of the largest in the UK, with 80 members of staff and over 1500 students across all levels. It delivers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy. The department of Sociology is both teaching and research intensive with a strong focus on applied, empirical social science.   Our success in achieving above sector student satisfaction and Graduate Outcomes, demonstrates our commitment to excellent, student-centred learning.  We are nationally recognised for our innovative approach to quantitative methods and data literacy via our Q-Step centre. Our teaching is informed by our research and practice. Our department is home to several research centres, including the Policy Evaluation and Research Unit, the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies and the Substance Use and Addictive Behaviours unit. In the REF21 we were rated top 15 for research power in both UoA20 and UoA21; our research is impactful, interdisciplinary and socially engaged.  

About the role

You will undertake quantitative and qualitative research designed to support the delivery of violence reduction research and evaluation projects by assisting, and where necessary taking the lead, with research data collection and analysis, and the dissemination of findings to appropriate groups related to the project. You will support the development of new areas in the field of Criminology, Policy Evaluation and Quantitative Social Science.

Proficiency in a range of quantitative methodologies and software packages is desired. The post holder will be skilled in the application of frequentist and / or probabilistic techniques such as linear and logistic regression, spatial analysis, data mining and clustering approaches. The post holder will be skilled in the use of Stata, SPSS and / or R. The postholder will also be required to hold a working knowledge of GIS (MAPINFO, ARCINFO, QGIS or equivalent), MS Exel, and / or ACCESS. 

About the team

The post is based in the Crime and Well-Being Big Data Centre of the Policy Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU), part of the Sociology Department at Manchester Metropolitan University. PERU is a multi-disciplinary team of evaluators, economists, sociologists and criminologists. We specialise in evaluating policies, programmes and projects and advising national and local policy-makers on the development of evidence-informed policy. We work in the UK and Europe for clients and funders including UK government departments, local government, the voluntary sector and the European Commission. What makes our work distinct is our emphasis on methodological rigour. We work across sectors that include criminal justice, education, youth engagement and radicalisation, welfare reform and social innovation.

A substantial part of the role will be to work on a projects funded by the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit.

If you would like to join our people and share our ambition, we would love to hear from you.

To apply, please submit your CV and Covering Letter via our application portal. For informal enquiries, please contact Jon Bannister (Director, Crime and Well-Being Big Data Centre) on J.Bannister@mmu.ac.uk

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