Research Assistant/Associate (History)

Salary: Research Assistant £32,546 - £33,482  per annum

            Research Associate £35,116 - £45,413 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 30 June 2025

The Role

We are seeking to appoint a Research Assistant/Associate (RA) with previous ethnographic research experience in Himalayan Inner Asia to work on an innovative project entitled, Accessing the Wellbeing Commons: Therapeutic resource-fication of natural and historic environments and social exclusion in the UK and Inner Asia, led by PI Dr Elizabeth Turk and funded by the Wellcome Trust. Accessing the Wellbeing Commons is an ambitious, multi-sited research project analysing how social inequalities arise from differential access to therapeutic environments. Adopting a bold, transnational comparative framework, the project engages mixed historical and anthropological methods to generate conceptual shifts in understanding the complexities of social exclusion.

Working with the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, the RA will use ethnographic research methods combined with archival research to examine the changing ways in which people have been able to access and use therapeutic hot springs and medicinal plants in Sikkim set in historical context. This will involve conducting interviews, oral histories, participant observation and archival research to understand changing patterns of land ownership, governance and access, and how these changes are perceived and experienced by pilgrim bathers, local residents, and professional and lay medicinal plant collectors.

This is an excellent opportunity for an early career researcher to receive mentoring and gain experience in scholarly editing, working as part of a team, project management, impact and public engagement activities, and research networking opportunities. They will be encouraged to develop their own research goals, and manage their own training budget, in tandem with those of the project which will lead to joint and sole-authored publication.

This post is a (maximum) 4-years fixed term Research Assistant/Associate in History, and a full-time appointment. The successful candidate will start work as soon as possible after 1 October 2025. Flexible working is welcome, but the postholder must be willing to travel for fieldwork and other research/engagement activities as part of the project team.

Applicants with minority and/or host community backgrounds are particularly encouraged to apply. Should the successful applicant require a UK Visa for this role, they will be eligible to apply under the Endorsed Funder Route of the Global Talent Visa. The University will support the applicant through this process.

The project is hosted in the School of History, Classics & Archaeology, which has a vibrant and active research culture with particular strengths in interdisciplinary working and supporting the holistic career development of early career colleagues. The RA will be provided with academic and pastoral support within the School, and training will be provided to develop their competences. The RA will benefit from access to the School’s mentoring scheme, extensive training opportunities including a bespoke personal development plan, and peer support from a cross disciplinary cohort of talented postdoctoral and early career researchers. Newcastle University is a signatory to the Concordat to support researchers’ career development which entitles Researchers up to 10 days annually of personal CPD activities. 

For more information about the school please visit our website: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/hca/about/

To apply, please attach your CV and a cover letter that demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria for the position, as outlined in the Person Specification of the Job Description. Please also upload one writing sample (e.g. journal article, thesis chapter, or essay-in-progress) that you feel best reflects your research on a topic relevant to the project, preferably between 7,000-10,000 words. 

Any requested additional documents required as part of your application, should be included within the same file as your cover letter. The total file size must not exceed 10MB.

Applications are due 30 June 2025 by midnight BST. 

For informal enquiries about the position, please contact the project PI, Dr Elizabeth Turk;  Beth.Turk@newcastle.ac.uk

Key Accountabilities

• Work closely with project PI and others in the team on specific research studies relating to Accessing the Wellbeing Commons: Therapeutic resource-ification of natural and historic environments and social exclusion in the UK and Inner Asia.
• Conduct ethnography and archival research in Sikkim to examine therapeutic past and present usages of blue and green spaces in conjunction with changing land usage, access and ownership.
• Identify and work with a user-based Project Advisory Group as well as the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology and other groups involved in this research.
• Employ archival research to explore the themes alongside ethnographic methods to fulfil project aims.
• Work closely with a Research Assistant to develop a research report intended for relevant parties in Sikkim.
• Help develop and update a Digital Hub as central interactive space for the project.
• Attend core meetings with team members as well as workshops and conferences related to the project.
• Conduct knowledge exchange and dissemination of activities together with the research team.
• Author and co-author research publications as part of the project goals.
• Contribute to the research culture of the School and Faculty.

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 

• Experience of conducting ethnographic research in the Himalayan region of Inner Asia.
• Proficiency in Nepali or other relevant language(s).
• Knowledge of regional literature concerning conceptions of and practices relating to the natural environment, health and healing, and/or Tibetan medicine (Sowa Rigpa). 
• Emerging/track record of presentations/research publication
• Outstanding communication skills for realising research aims, public engagement and outreach, as well as those necessary to work successfully as part of a team.
• Knowledge of, and commitment to, issues of equality, access and discrimination in relation to past and current research. 

Attributes and Behaviour

• Ability and willingness to work with the PI and other RAs as part of a strong and integrated team.
• Ability to work independently and to take the initiative when required.
• Strong writing ability combined with good organisational and time management skills.
• Willingness and ability to work with research collaborators and audiences with care and sensitivity.
• Willingness and ability to work in an inter-disciplinary manner, synthesising research methods, themes and frameworks across a range of disciplines (e.g. history, anthropology, health geography, environmental humanities, etc).
• Willingness to undergo extensive periods of immersive fieldwork in Sikkim.
• Interest in developing skills in archival research.

Qualifications

• Master degree or PhD near Completion (Assistant Level) and awarded PhD (Associate Level) in social anthropology or another relevant subject or discipline such as geography, sociology, history, etc.  
   

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver  Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 28141