Postdoctoral Research Officer

University of Reading

Reading

GBP 40,000 - 60,000

Job description

The Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Reading welcomes applications for a full-time, 2-year Postdoctoral Research position for the UKRI-funded project ‘DIVIDED: Inequality and Polarization Prevention’ (PI: Dr. Miriam Sorace). The successful candidate will spend a year at the LSE DSI, where they can avail of training and library resources, and be embedded into the LSE DSI industry networks and academic community.

We are seeking to appoint an exceptional individual with demonstrable potential to produce exciting, innovative, and methodologically rigorous research in Econometrics/Social Science Methodology, with very strong expertise in quantitative methods, and particularly computer game design and game-based inference/simulations. Advanced knowledge of and experience using R is required. The successful candidate will have a PhD in Political Science, Economics or Methodology/Econometrics and have expertise in developing computer games and using simulation/game-based inference in their research. Candidates with a PhD in Computer Science and Computer Software/Videogame development will also be considered, provided they show some experience with and interest in social science/political economy research.

The postdoctoral position and the wider team are based in the Department of Politics and International Relations, a small but dynamic department with internationally-recognised strengths in Comparative Politics, Political Theory, International Relations, and Strategy. We came 6th highest in the UK for research outputs in the 2021 REF (Politics and International Studies, when scoring by Output GPA), having been =10th on the same measure in 2014 (see https://www.ref.ac.uk/).

Main duties and responsibilities

Work alongside the PI and Opinium in trialling and testing gamification in mass surveys and carrying out the required statistical analyses
Support in data architecture/infrastructure work, helping to collect, clean and organise large datasets on economic inequality and social networks as required by the needs of the project
Support in the writing up of the research results into academic articles
Pursue an exciting, ambitious, and innovative research agenda in social science methodology and econometrics
Undertake Continuing Professional Development in relation to research and research methods required by the project, and, optionally, additional areas (impact, teaching, etc.) of interest to the applicant.
Support team members and colleagues in attending regular team meetings and providing academic/methodological support and advice to team and colleagues as required.

This is a full-time, temporary post (24 months), tenable from 1st January 2025. If you are interested in applying, please provide the names and contacts of 2 academic referees and send in your CV (including a section with working and published academic papers) and a cover letter (2-page maximum) by November 13th, 2024. Interviews will be held December 2nd, 2024. Referees will only be contacted after shortlisting and prior to the interview.

Please see the job description and personal specification for further details.

The closing date for applications is 23.59 on 13th November 2024

Interview date - 2nd December 2024

Contact details :
Contact Name Miriam Sorace
Contact Job Title Associate Professor in Comparative Politics
Contact Email address m.sorace@reading.ac.uk
Alternative Contact Name Adam Humphreys
Alternative Contact Job Title Head of Department of Politics and International Relations
Alternative Contact Email address a.r.humphreys@reading.ac.uk

By reference to the applicable SOC code for this role, sponsorship may be possible under the Skilled Worker Route. Applicants wishing to consider the SWR must ensure that they are able to meet the points requirement before applying. Successful candidates not already holding a Skilled Worker visa issued before 4th April 2024 will need to have a relevant PhD qualification or qualify as a new entrant before being able to be sponsored. There is further information about visas on the UK Visas and Immigration Website.

The University is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce, supports the gender equality Athena SWAN Charter and the Race Equality Charter, and champions LGBT+ equality. Applications for job-share, part-time and flexible working arrangements are welcomed and will be considered in line with business needs.