Research Associate (Development Studies)

About the role

An opportunity to join an ongoing UKRI grant funded research project investigating opportunities and constraints to self-employment in South Africa's townships. The title of the research is “Economic prospects, trust and governance in South African townships”. 

The main focus will be on data analysis and writing for high quality academic journals, primary data collection under the project having mostly been completed. This makes the post ideal for an early career researcher. 

This is a collaborative project with staff at Fort Hare University in South Africa and LeHigh University in the USA. There will be opportunities to attend conferences and to visit South Africa for dissemination purposes.

As a member of Research Staff at the University of Bath, you will be encouraged to take up a minimum of ten days professional development pro rata per year

You will benefit from and be expected to contribute to the lively research interdisciplinary culture of the Department of Social and Policy Sciences, including the Centre for Development Studies. 

We are looking for the following for a postholder who:

• is a highly motivated and academically outstanding post-doctoral social scientist seeking an opportunity to develop their academic career in the broad field of international development studies
• has demonstrable skills in producing and presenting high quality academic research publications, in development studies or related journals
• has a strong interest in development issues in South/Southern Africa, particularly with reference to urban employment issues
• has an interest in using innovative apps and genAI to analyse and synthesize primary and secondary data
• has excellent interpersonal including cross-cultural communication skills, and enthusiasm for both working independently and collaboratively.

Additional information

This is a full-time, fixed-term role expected to end in September 2027.

For an informal discussion regarding the role please contact:

James Copestake at hssjgc@bath.ac.uk and Aurelie Charles at ac697@bath.ac.uk.

We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equity and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students and encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on the university. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and community by reinforcing our Safer Recruitment commitment.

We're very proud to be a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant. an accredited Disability Confident Leader; autism friendly university, committed to building disability confidence & supporting disabled staff. 

What we can offer you 

We're continually expanding our benefits package to better support you and enhance your experience with us and the below is just an example of some of the many great benefits we offer:

• Generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance
• Generous employer contributory pension schemes
• Cycle to work scheme
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
• Staff benefits include discounted postgraduate tuition and language courses, alongside a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities such as apprenticeships, LinkedIn Learning, and more
• Local discounts, including free entry to the Holburne Museum in Bath

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