Senior Research Associate in Social Policy (Quantitative)

The role

We are seeking to appoint a senior research associate to work on a study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, on family change, well-being and social policy. You will join a small team of researchers, led by Professor Susan Harkness alongside Dr Samuel Mohun Himmelweit (University of Bristol), Dr Silvia Avram (University of Essex) and a postdoctoral research fellow (to be appointed). The work is being conducted alongside Gingerbread, the UK’s largest single parent charity.

The project aims to understand the complexity of children’s family lives. You will be responsible for analysing secondary data sources to assess how family structure influences adult and child wellbeing. The focus of the study is to understand how changing family structure, including the growth step-families and in families where parents share care, interacts with the social welfare and child maintenance systems to affect access to resources.

We are also advertising a 'Fixed Term 12-month Research Associate' position on the same project under vacancy reference ACAD107785.  You can access this Job by searching on our Jobs Board - that advert closes on 12/11/2024.

What will you be doing?

The appointed researcher will be responsible for analysing a range of secondary data sources including, but not limited to, the Labour Force Survey, Family Resources Survey, Census data, and the British Household Panel Survey / Understanding Society. The appointed researcher will be expected to lead the quantitative analysis, with input from other members of the research team, to write up results and contribute towards writing for publication. You may also be required to present findings to academic audiences, the advisory group and other stakeholders. Assistance with administrative tasks associated with the project, including the organisation of advisory board meetings and dissemination activities, may also be requested. Occasional travel to London to attend meetings may be required.

You should apply if

You should apply if you have a PhD in the social sciences and strong quantitative analysis skills, including experience of using Stata. The project has a strong policy focus, and an interest in impact and policy engagement would be an asset. Those with an interest in the following areas of research are particularly encouraged to apply: family demography, family policy, economic inequality and poverty, social security provision and/or child maintenance policy.

Additional information

For informal queries about the role please contact - Susan Harkness - s.harkness@bristol.ac.uk

Contract type: Open ended with fixed funding for 21 months

Work pattern: 100% time (80% time for a 24 month contract length will be considered)

This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on 24/11/2024

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We recently launched our strategy to 2030 tying together our mission, vision and values.

The University of Bristol aims to be a place where everyone feels able to be themselves and do their best in an inclusive working environment where all colleagues can thrive and reach their full potential. We want to attract, develop, and retain individuals with different experiences, backgrounds and perspectives – particularly people of colour, LGBT+ and disabled people - because diversity of people and ideas remains integral to our excellence as a global civic institution.

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