Research Fellow in Peripheral Populations and their Integration

This post is full time, 35 hours per week and is fixed term for two years.

Our University is a place where discoveries are made, barriers are broken, diversity is celebrated and where everyone is welcome.

Westminster Business School is embarking on an exciting development journey and is seeking to recruit 34 academics. With 7000 students from all over the world we are one of the largest Business Schools in London, and have a global perspective. We are inclusive and innovative, inspiring students and colleagues to realise their full potential, driving social mobility and making the world more sustainable, healthier and better place.

The Peripheral Populations and their Integration Research Centre (PPIRC) investigates the experiences and challenges faced by peripheral groups in integrating into society. These include migrant workers, refugees, asylum seekers, workers in the informal economy and immigrants to the UK under special visa schemes. We also look at the causes and effects of migration, particularly from low-income to high-income countries and the extent to which regulation and policy, and practice on the part of the advocates of peripheral populations have improved rights and well-being.

A key feature of our Centre is generating high-quality evidence with the aim of informing policy discussions. Increasingly, we are shifting our attention to engaging in impactful research to benefit society, economy, policy and practice. Our interventions to support the reproductive health needs of factory women migrant workers in Malaysia have changed the way factories respond to these health needs. Our research with waste pickers in Colombia provided crucial evidence which they used to make a legal case to increase their labour market participation in the waste economy. Our work with social enterprises to empower women led to the development of a Gender Empowerment Guide for use by the wider social enterprise community.

We are looking to further strengthen the work of the Centre with the appointment of a Research Fellow. Applicants should have good knowledge of issues relating to social integration of peripheral populations. They should have strong quantitative (surveys and statistical analysis) and qualitative (timelines interviews, focus groups and ethnography) skills and be experienced in research design. Some peripheral populations may be hard to reach. Ideally, the applicant should have experience researching hidden populations and can use creative methodologies to collect data from these populations. There will be opportunities to work on a variety of projects that have real world impact and which have secured us the 2nd highest REF 2021 impact score nationally in Business and Management.

This is an exciting opportunity for applicants with an eye for detail, an aptitude for cutting-edge research on peripheral populations and their integration, and an interest in shaping public policy. We welcome those with imagination and creativity, who will work in an environment which provides the freedom to generate research ideas and the encouragement to develop project proposals and expertise. The successful candidate will join a vibrant research centre, with staff working at the forefront of the discipline.

Please visit the PPIRG website Peripheral Populations and their Integration Research Group | University of Westminster for more information.

Professor Lilian Miles [l.miles@westminster.ac.uk ]; and Dr Maria Granados [m.granados@westminster.ac.uk] are also happy to discuss any aspect of our work.

To apply for this vacancy please click 'Apply' above. Further information can be found in the job description and person specification, which can be accessed through this link too.

At the University of Westminster, diversity, inclusion and equality of opportunity are at the core of how we engage with students, colleagues, applicants, visitors and all our stakeholders.

We are fully committed to enabling a supportive and safe learning and working environment which is equitable, diverse and inclusive, is based on mutual respect and trust, and in which harassment and discrimination are neither tolerated nor acceptable.

The University has adopted Smart Working principles to support and further our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion aims of being an inclusive, collaborative and flexible employer. Further details of Smart Working can be discussed at interview stage.

Closing date: midnight on 31 March 2024

Interviews are likely to be held on: 26 April 2024

Administrative contact (for queries only): Recruitment@westminster.ac.uk