Research Associate: Place based approaches to employability and skills (EPICFuturesNI)

Job Title: Research Associate: Place based approaches to employability and skills (EPICFuturesNI)
School: Ulster University Business School
Campus: Belfast
Salary: Grade 6/7 (£33,020 - £36,654 per annum)
Full-Time, Fixed Term
Closing Date: 25th November 2025
Reference Number: 039148

- ABOUT US -

We are a university with a national and international reputation for excellence, innovation and regional engagement, making a major contribution to the economic, social and cultural development of Northern Ireland.

Our core business activities are teaching and learning, widening access to education, research and innovation and technology and knowledge transfer.

- THE ROLE -

We are recruiting for a Research Associate position to work on the EPIC Futures Northern Ireland (NI) Project. EPIC Futures NI is a £4.8million Local Policy Partnership (LPIP) hub, led by Ulster University and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Innovate UK and the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The post holders will join a team which involves academics and external actors from policy, industry and community representatives. The Research Associate role will involve exploring literature and conducting empirical research focused on understanding place-based policies, interventions and tools which can aid employability and skills. The candidate will be expected to write up reports, academic research papers and present findings to stakeholders. The position will be based at Ulster University Belfast Campus.

- ABOUT YOU -

The post-holder will conduct literature reviews to understand place-based approaches to policy making to aid labour shortages, employability and skills. The Literature reviews will also specifically be exploring the role of ‘place’ and ‘culture’ impacting upon both policy and practice. The post-holder will be responsible for the design of research tools for data collection and associated data analysis and reporting. This includes qualitative and quantitative techniques and photovoice. The post-holder will engage with non-academic partners affiliated with EPIC Futures NI to support them with research activities.

Please find our employee benefits on our website.

Ulster University holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advancing Gender equality in higher education. You can read more about what this means on our University website. The University has a range of initiatives to support a family friendly working environment, including flexible working.

The University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants from all sections of the community, particularly from those with disabilities. Appointment will be made on merit.

Advert information