Senior research associate

The Institute for Children's Futures

Senior Research Associate

The Institute for Children's Futures brings together communities of researchers, practitioners and policy makers across Manchester Metropolitan University and beyond. In doing so, it is establishing a critical mass of research power to support evidence-based policy and practice and to identify trends and patterns which affect children's futures.

If you have an academic speciality in the field of children and young people at a postdoctoral level, and the commitment and drive to apply your career to improve the lives of children and young people through research and evaluation, then this is your opportunity to join us as the ICF's first Senior Research Associate. This role is being offered on a full-time basis, initially for a fixed-term period of two years.


About the role

The main purpose of this role is to carry out cross-faculty research, evaluation and reporting on behalf of the ICF. Specifically, the role will support the ICF's priority workstreams of research (‘Internationalisation', ‘Voices and Participation of Children and Young People', and ‘What Makes A Child Friendly City/Region?'), working closely with ICF's senior leadership team and its network of members. The role will report directly to one of the ICF's two Co-Directors, and will collaborate closely with the Founding Director and each of the ICF's four Faculty Lead colleagues.

This role is a unique opportunity for a committed postdoctoral researcher in the field of children and young people to make significant contributions to advancing the ICF's first phases of research. The role will involve building research connections and professional relationships with colleagues in all four faculties across Manchester Metropolitan University, and externally with the ICF's growing network of partners and stakeholders in organisations such as local and national government agencies, commercial organisations, charities, and international bodies such as the United Nations.


About you

We would expect you to have completed a PhD in the field of children and young people, and to possess significant experience of contributing towards the evaluation of research programmes. Experience of working in multidisciplinary and multi-agency teams would also be considered a significant advantage.

It is essential that you have the capability and confidence to represent the ICF to colleagues across the University and further afield, and to represent and advocate for both the University and the ICF in collaborative and decision-making forums.