Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Computational Social Science

Location: Department of Sociology, 42 - 43 Park End Street, Oxford

Salary: Grade 7: £38,674 - £46,913 with a discretionary range up to £52,539 per annum (pro-rata)

Contract Type: Fixed term for up to 24 months 

About the role

This is a postdoctoral position on the Digital Gender Gaps project led by Professor Ridhi Kashyap and supported by the Gates Foundation. We are recruiting a postdoctoral researcher to advance scientific understanding and inform policy on the impacts of digital expansion on gender equality and women’s social and economic opportunities. The post holder will develop research using computational, statistical and social data science approaches to expand knowledge on gender inequalities in digital connectivity, as well as the impacts of digital gender inequalities on social, demographic, and economic domains in low and middle-income countries, with a particular focus on Africa and South Asia. 

The post holder will be responsible for developing and maintaining existing data infrastructures as well as developing methodologies to collect and integrate novel sources of web, social media, and geospatial data with secondary survey datasets for analysing gender inequalities. The post holder’s research areas will include: (1) creation of real-time indicators of digital connectivity by gender at granular spatial resolution using social media, population and survey datasets, and statistical and machine learning approaches; and/or (2) analysis of the social and demographic impacts of digital expansion, especially from a gender perspective, using quasi-experimental methods. The research outputs from the project will inform knowledge exchange with various stakeholders for generating an evidence-base for policy, and the post holder will also directly contribute to these impact and partnership building activities. 

The post holder will report directly to PI, Professor Ridhi Kashyap, and work together within an interdisciplinary research project involving social and computational scientists. The post holder will also be embedded within an interdisciplinary research environment within the Department of Sociology and affiliated also with the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science. 

The post is fixed-term for a period of up to 24 months, commencing as soon as possible and preferably by July 2025, but with some flexibility. 

Application process

The closing date for applications is 12:00 midday UK time on 09 May 2025, with interviews expected to take place in the w/c 26 May 2025. 

You will be required to upload a covering letter/supporting statement, including a brief statement of research interests (describing how past experience and future plans fit with the advertised position), CV and the details of two referees as part of your online application. 

Further details for this position, including how to apply, are outlined in the job description. For informal enquiries about the posts, please email: ridhi.kashyap@nuffield.ox.ac.uk.

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