Research Assistant/Associate in Local

Salary: Reserach Associate - £33,951 - £35,608 per annum

           Research Associate - £36,636 per annum

The Role

Newcastle University’s Centre for Urban & Regional Development Studies invites applications for a Research Assistant or Associate to join the ESRC New Investigator project ‘Growing Green Talent: Building Local Skills Ecosystems to Connect Young People to Low Carbon Jobs’. You will be working alongside the project PI to examine how local skills ecosystems in England are responding to the growth of low carbon jobs by creating & adapting skills provision for young people. The project will involve qualitative interviews with policymakers & employment & skills stakeholders in two English case study regions to understand skills initiatives & strategies around growth sectors like carbon capture, electric vehicles & heat pumps & what impacts this is having on local skills outcomes. Additionally, the project will interview young people pursuing education or training for these emerging sectors, or considering doing so, to examine their experiences & perceptions.

We are looking for someone with an interest in & knowledge of green sectors & industries, the further education system & local & regional economic development. Importantly, you will have experience of conducting qualitative research involving interviews & focus groups. Alongside the project PI you will arrange & conduct interviews with research participants, which may involve some travelling to regions of the UK. You will code the data in NVivo or other suitable software & deliver high-quality analysis of the data. You will share research findings, in collaboration with the PI, in academic presentations, policy workshops & in peer reviewed academic journals. You do not need to live in Newcastle but will be expected to work on campus at least several days a month, and be present for any in-person interviews which will likely be in the North East of England and the West Midlands. There is also likely to be some travel to academic conferences in the UK and abroad.

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package, great pension schemes & a number of health & wellbeing initiatives to support you. You will also be given opportunities to progress your own career development through training & through dedicating some of your time to career development activities. 

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of Research Innovation Role Profiles.pdf. These profiles set out firstly the generic competencies & responsibilities expected of role holders at each level & secondly, the general qualifications & experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

Newcastle University is committed to the responsible use of research metrics as part of our research culture & research strategy. We advocate for the transparent, appropriate & inclusive use of metrics, guided by expert judgment, to support high-quality, impactful research that is open, collaborative & sustainable. Click here for our full policy statement on the Responsible use of Research Metrics. Click here for a self-study e-learning module on the Responsible Use of Research Metrics.

Find out more about the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences https://www.ncl.ac.uk/hass/.

Find out more about the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies https://www.ncl.ac.uk/curds/.

Find out more about the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/gps/.   

Find out more about the Department of Geography: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/gps/about/geography/.

Contact for the post is sanne.velthuis@newcastle.ac.uk.

Duration of post: until 31 April 2028 (17 months based on a start date of 01 December 2026).

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