Senior Research Officer

We are seeking to appoint a full-time Postdoctoral Researcher for a three-year (or until 31 August 2029 at the latest) fixed-term post in the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex. The postholder will join the Leverhulme Trust-funded project How Culture and Cognition Shape Judgements About Antibiotics Under Uncertainty, led by Professor Miroslav Sirota.

This ambitious, theory-driven project examines how people across countries judge whether antibiotics are needed and how these judgements are shaped under uncertainty. Using a signal-detection framework, it combines four large-scale cross-cultural online experiments in nationally representative samples across 10 countries with experimental tests of information designed to improve antibiotic-related judgements. The project will identify key mechanisms and generate evidence to support more accurate and sustainable antibiotic use.

We are a Psychology Department with a strong commitment to research and an inclusive academic environment. We rank in the top 20 in the UK for research power in REF 2021 and in the top 125 worldwide and top 25 in the UK for psychology in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2026, and we hold an Athena SWAN Silver Award in recognition of our work to promote gender equality.

Duties of the Role
The successful candidate will play a major role in delivering the project. They will review literature, co-develop study designs, procedures, and materials, computerise experiments, support the coordination of large-scale online studies, contribute to data collection, preparation, and analysis, write and edit research papers, and present findings at conferences.

This is an excellent opportunity to take on substantial responsibility within a high-profile international project and to make a leading contribution to publications and project delivery.

Although cross-cultural in scope, the project will be conducted from the University of Essex in the UK using online methods and existing international collaborations, and no overseas fieldwork or routine travel is required for the core duties of the post.

A full list of duties and responsibilities can be found within the job pack.

Qualifications and Skills Required
You will be able to demonstrate research skills commensurate with your career stage in literature review, study design, protocol development, ethics, survey and experiment implementation, management of large-scale recruitment and online data collection, statistical analysis, and publication in internationally excellent journals.

We are particularly seeking a candidate with experience in supporting substantial research projects or large-scale studies, including coordinating study procedures, overseeing data collection, and maintaining high standards of organisation and research quality. Strong written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively are essential.

The successful candidate will be expected to show initiative, strong project management skills, and the capacity to contribute at a level appropriate to an advanced postdoctoral appointment.

A full list of applicant requirements can be found under the Person Specification section within the job pack.

Please use the 'Apply' button to read further information about this role including the full job description and person specification which outlines the full duties, skills, qualifications and experience needed for this role. You will also find details of how to make your application here.

Our website http://www.essex.ac.uk contains more information about the University of Essex. If you have a disability and would like information in a different format, please email resourcing@essex.ac.uk.

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