Research Assistant/Associate in Digital Civics

Salary: Research Assistant: £32,546 - £34,132 per annum, pro rata

            Research Associate: £35,116 - £37,174 per annum, pro rata

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: 31 March 2025

The Role

We are offering an exciting opportunity to join Open Lab, a world-leading Human-Computer Interaction research group, based in the School of Computing at Newcastle University. The Research Assistant/Aassociate will report to Prof. David Kirk (Professor of Human-Centred Design).

You will support the delivery of research within the EPSRC Next Stage Digital Economy funded Centre for Digital Citizens. In the final phase of the project we need a part-time research support to help with the delivery of in-flight projects. In particular, the appointed researcher will support engagements with key community stakeholders, including global charities, to help support research we are conducting around developing engagement methods for young people in future foresight activities. You will involve organising, conducting and analysing focus groups and interviews as part of co-design activities, to help design and evaluate hybrid (physical/ digital) games, that can be used in future foresight programmes. 

This position is available on a part time (1 day per week / 0.2 FTE), fixed term basis, to start immediately until March 31st 2026. 

For all informal enquiries, please contact Professor David Kirk, david.kirk@newcastle.ac.uk

For more information about the School of Computing, please click here

For more information about our research, please click here

To apply, please complete an online application and upload a plain text copy of your CV and covering letter only. In your covering letter, you should evidence how you meet or exceed the essential and desirable requirements for the role. Please note, any other ‘Additional Document’ you upload may not be received by the reviewing panel.

As part of our commitment to career development for research colleagues, the University has developed 3 levels of research role profiles.  These profiles set out firstly the generic competences and responsibilities expected of role holders at each level and secondly the general qualifications and experiences needed for entry at a particular level.

Key Accountabilities

• Organise and run co-design and evaluation sessions with relevant stakeholders
• Organise and meet with project partners and document project progress and meeting outcomes
• Provide design insight and support around game designs for hybrid games
• Analyse and report on research data
• Contribute to the writing up of research and its dissemination, either through seminar and conference presentations or through publications.
• Contribute to grant applications submitted by others and in time develop own research objectives and proposals for funding.

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Detailed knowledge in areas relevant to the research (Digital Civics)
• High level of analytical and problem-solving capacity
• Ability to communicate complex information with clarity and to encourage the commitment of others
• Presentations at conferences and/or high-quality publications.
• Aware of the ethical issues involved in their research work
• Experience of successfully preparing and submitting ethics applications
• Experience of game design

Attributes and Behaviour

• Initiative
• Creativity
• Collegial attitude with coworkers

Qualifications

• Honours degree (or equivalent) with some subject knowledge in the relevant area (Research Assistant)
• May possess (or be working towards) a higher research degree (Research Assistant)
• A PhD in Human-Computer Interaction (Research Associate)

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: 27979