About the role We are recruiting a team of ambitious early career policy sociologists to contribute to a major new £1.5million UKRI/ESRC-funded project From the Centre to the Periphery – which addresses regional economic disparities within the UK, and specifically examining the role education can play to reduce deep-seated spatial divides. We will address this major policy challenge by carrying out the first quasi-experimental evaluation of the Opportunity Areas programme, a £100million national area-based initiative that sought to close gaps in social mobility between different regions and places of the UK. It was a long-term investment in areas of the country that have the most pronounced levels of deprivation and where social mobility is the lowest. Working with our local authority partners, the Department for Education and other third-sector organisations, our research will help to shape future area-based education and social policy. This advertised post relates to the Bath-based Research Assistant. Running concurrently in this recruitment round is a further Durham-based Research Associate post advertised separately by Durham University. Those appointed to these posts will work directly with our interdisciplinary team of geographers, sociologists and educationalists, including Professor Michael Donnelly (Education, Bath), Professor Nadia Siddiqui (Education, Durham), Professor Richard Harris (Geography, Bristol), Dr Joanne Davies (Education, Bath), Dr Ceri Brown (Education, Bath), Professor Matt Dickson (IPR, Bath) and Professor Nick Pearce (IPR, Bath). The Bath-based Research Assistant will primarily be responsible for impact and knowledge exchange activities but will also contribute to some of the qualitative data collection and analysis. They will implement the knowledge exchange and impact strategy for the project, working with impact lead Dr Ceri Brown. This involves working with Dr Brown to engage key stakeholders, ensuring their knowledge is inputted into the project as well as key policy-learnings successfully impact policy and practice at national, regional and local levels. These posts represent an excellent opportunity for early career researchers wishing to develop an academic career in public policy research – those appointed will receive mentoring from the senior colleagues involved in the project to develop co-authored and sole-authored outputs in leading academic journals that are world-leading in quality. As a member of Research Staff at the University of Bath, you will be encouraged to take up a minimum of 10 days professional development pro rata per year About you These posts represent an exciting opportunity for ambitious and enthusiastic early career researchers to join one of the largest studies ever to have been carried out into spatial inequalities in education and social mobility within the UK. We are looking for somebody who is passionate about the topic area, is confident at engaging with stakeholders and the wider public, has knowledge of effective knowledge exchange activity, and has strong qualitative research skills. Further information This role is offered on part time (21.9 hours per week) fixed term basis with an expected end date of 27/09/2027. For informal discussions about the role please contact Professor Michael Donnelly on mpd35bath.ac.uk or Dr Ceri Brown on clb27bath.ac.uk What we can offer you: a very generous employer contributory pension scheme generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance we are a family-friendly University and with an increasingly agile workforce, are open to flexible working arrangements an excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities a number of support options available for new and existing staff to help with the cost of some immigration expenses which you may be eligible for: Relocation allowance, Visa Reimbursement, Interest-Free Loan. Find out more about our benefits. 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 equality 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, so we 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 are very proud to be an autism friendly university and are an accredited Disability Confident Leader ; committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff. Find out from our staff what makes the University of Bath a great place to work. Follow us UniofBath and UniofBathJobs on Twitter for more information. Closing Date: 15 Jan 2025 Department: Education & Research Salary: £30,505 to £36,924 pro rata per annum