Research Associate

Full-time: 35 hours per week

Fixed-term: 13^th November 2028

The Opportunity:

An exciting opportunity has arisen with the BRAID Programme as Research Associate for Social Return on Investment.  

Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) is a £15.9M UK-wide programme dedicated to integrating Arts and Humanities research more fully into the Responsible AI ecosystem. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, it runs from 2022 to 2028.     

Whilst AI is increasingly framed as a dynamic solution to social ills, there is scant demonstration of its social value, or rigorous evaluations of anything beyond simple cost savings. The successful applicant will seek to understand how best to understand and measure social return on AI investment in at least two contexts, depending on complexity (e.g., education, health, public media). It is anticipated that the research will involve a review of existing literature and methods for assessing social return, the development of database of existing evaluation resources and metrics, the development of two case studies, and validation of a series of values and measures applied in each context to demonstrate value.     

The post is full-time (35 hours per week), fixed term until 13 November 2028. The post is expected to be extended until 13 February 2029, subject to a no-cost funding extension being granted.  We would be happy to consider flexible working patterns, and we are also open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working. 

The salary for this post is £41,064 to £48,822 per annum. 

Your skills and attributes for success:   

The successful applicant will hold a PhD in a demonstrably cognate discipline, such as sociology, economics, psychology, STS or philosophy and be able to demonstrate strong qualitative research skills, as well as an understanding of the benefits and limitations of AI tools and methods in context. Prior experience of assessing the social and/or economic return arising from the application of technology would be an advantage. Quantitative researchers are encouraged to apply where they can also demonstrate strong qualitative research skills.

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