Research Assistant - Close the Gap (0.6 FTE) (Part Time, Fixed Term)

The Project

The Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge wishes to appoint a Research Assistant to work within Close the Gap, a project funded through an award of £800k by Research England and the Office for Students, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and through contributions from project partners Blueprint for All and The Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) Ltd. Working in partnership, and with wider stakeholders, Oxford and Cambridge Universities are analyzing formal and informal doctoral admissions cultures, systems and practices, and developing and testing new disciplinary-specific, race-literate, fair selection processes that are designed to bring about meaningful change in doctoral candidate-selection systems.

About the Role

The research assistant role involves working with academic and administrative staff across a range of departments in the University of Cambridge on a process evaluation of new initiatives in postgraduate admissions. The holder of this post will be based in the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge. They will work with Sara Baker (Faculty of Education) and Nuala Murray (Postgraduate Admissions Office).

The position is advertised at .6 FTE with flexible hours. Hybrid working will be possible.

What you will need

Essential qualities include:

• A good undergraduate degree (2:1 or above)
• Experience of quantitative and qualitative approaches to data gathering and analysis
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to liaise with a range of stakeholders including professionals in a range of roles
• Excellent IT skills; particularly Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.
• Excellent oral and written presentation skills with attention to detail
• Proven ability to take day-to-day responsibility for workload, managing multiple priorities across projects, and maintaining tight timelines
• An ability to work independently in a complex environment, taking initiative where necessary, and consulting with stakeholders at all levels of seniority as relevant

Desirable qualities include:

• Evidence of interest in the topics (widening participation; organisational change)
• Knowledge of UK Higher Education, especially postgraduate programmes

Benefits

You can expect to receive: 

• A competitive salary with automatic service-related progression and annual cost of living increases
• A generous annual leave allowance of 41 days per year (pro-rata; including bank holidays)
• Access to a hybrid pension scheme with attractive employer contributions
• Access to a range of shopping and travel discounts through the Cambens scheme.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 18 months in the first instance.

To apply online for this vacancy and to view further information about the role, please click the 'Apply' button above.

Informal enquiries can be addressed to  Professor Sara Baker (stb32@cam.ac.uk)

Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. If you have any questions about the application process please contact the Faculty of Education HR team (recruitment@educ.cam.ac.uk)

Please can you upload a letter of application indicating how you meet the person specification and would contribute to the responsibilities of the post.

Please quote reference JR40778 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

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