Research Assistant/Associate (Fixed Term)

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 12 months in the first instance starting from September 2023.

The Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

An exciting opportunity is available within the Faculty of Education to work as a Research Assistant/Associate in collaboration with the Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach (Neaco). Neaco is part of the UniConnect initiative and receives funding from the Office for Students. It is a collaborative programme involving all higher education institutions in East Anglia, working closely with schools, further education colleges, local authorities, and other stakeholders. The program operates in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Norfolk, and Suffolk, delivering a range of higher education outreach activities under the 'Take Your Place' banner. For more information about neaco and how it works, please visit https://www.takeyourplace.ac.uk/

Since 2017, the programme has been the focus of an external evaluation conducted by an independent team from the Faculty of Education at Cambridge. This has relied on repeated surveys of programme participants in schools and colleges, pilot studies of specific outreach initiatives, and linked administrative data.

The successful candidate for the advertised role would join this evaluation team in the Faculty of Education. The role will entail supporting the team with the development and implementation of quasi-experimental and potentially experimental evaluation designs (including randomized control trials), the analysis of quantitative data already held by the programme, and supporting the collection of further data.

About the Role

The postholder will be a researcher with experience and/or an interest in education, preferably higher education. If appointed, you will:

• Support the design and implementation of experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation designs in relation to the whole of the Take Your Place programme, or aspects thereof.
• Provide evaluation support to the Take Your Place program team and relevant delivery partners.
• Prepare and analyse quantitative data, including linked administrative data, to evaluate the effectiveness of the Take Your Place program.
• Write up evaluation results and other analyses for publication, including academic papers, policy briefs, reports, and other required outputs.
• Engage in project management by monitoring overall progress and development of projects.
• Collaborate with researchers and partners across the Faculty of Education, the wider University, and staff of the outreach intervention.
• Work closely with the neaco team, providing evaluation insights, assisting with data collection for evaluation purposes, and offering statistical analysis advice and support.

For full details of criteria for appointment and duties of the post please see the further particulars for the post.

Please ensure that you upload a detailed curriculum vitae and a letter of application indicating how you would contribute to the criteria for the post.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries can be addressed to Dr Sonia Ilie (isi22@cam.ac.uk).

Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. If you have any questions about the application process please contact the Faculty of Education HR team (recruitment@educ.cam.ac.uk).

Please quote reference JR37283 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.