Position Details
School of Social Policy and Society
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,130 to £45,413 with potential progression once in post to £48,149
Grade: 7
Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to August 2027
Closing date: 1st July 2025
'Open House' Drop In Session:We will be holding an ‘open house’ drop in session at the University’s Exchange building, in Centenary Square, Birmingham, between 10am and 5pm on Friday 6th June 2025. If you’re interested in working at the University of Birmingham and perhaps have a few questions, this is an opportunity to meet colleagues in the Recruitment team. It will be a relaxed and informal event – you can drop in at any time.
Background
CHASM is an interdisciplinary research centre for financial security, wellbeing and inclusion.
There has been a significant shift in responsibility for financial security in recent years, with Governments passing more responsibility to households to cover the costs of, for example, precarious work, becoming ill, losing a job, paying for care, and planning for retirement. At CHASM, we carry out rigorous, policy-relevant research to understand and address the disadvantages and inequalities created by this shift. We work closely with academic and non-academic partners to create evidence-based changes in policy and practice for a fairer and more financially inclusive society.
The CHASM core team consists of over ten members of professional services and academic staff with varied disciplinary backgrounds from across the School of Social Policy and the Birmingham Business School. CHASM also has honorary professors and research fellows and internal and external associate members from institutions across the UK and overseas.
Role Summary
This post will enable the successful applicant to work across a range of projects currently in operation or under development in the Centre, with a particular emphasis on areas of activity requiring advanced quantitative research skills.
The post-holder will be expected to work individually andwith members of the CHASM team on a range of relevant research activities including data analysis related to our financial inclusion research, writing academic papers and policy briefings, organisation and delivery of workshops, seminars and larger events such as the annual CHASM conference, as well as other research-related activity when needed. The post-holder will be based in the School of Social Policy/Department for Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology.
Applicants will be expected to outline at least one research project they would like to design and deliver during the two-year post (with potential for extension subject to funding). If shortlisted, they will be expected to come prepared to discuss their project ideas in more detail at interview. We welcome ideas based on wealth inequality, long-term savings, and other financial wellbeing and inclusion-related topics.
Main Duties
* Managing and analysing large-scale individual-level panel datasets (E.G. WAS, BHPS, UKHLS,) including linkage of data to other socioeconomic or census datasets.
* Undertaking quantitative research on topics related to CHASM’s core areas of activity using appropriate datasets and appropriate quantitative methods (including CHASM’s financial inclusion monitoring)
* Managing data for appropriate sharing and archiving, including taking appropriate care to ensure preservation of confidentiality where required.
* Desk research on financial inclusion
* Organisation of and contribution to public engagement activities, seminars, workshops, conferences and other research events with support from the CHASM team.
* Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters .
* Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
* Undertaking management and administration arising from research.
* Contribute to CHASM research related activities and research related administration.
* Being an active member of the CHASM team, attending and contributing to meetings, seminars, events, and contributing to CHASM research-related activities
* Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
* Contribute to writing bids for research funding
* Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
* Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
* Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
* Undertaking any other duties required, commensurate with the grade of the post
Person Specification
* First degree in area of specialism and normally, a higher degree relevant to research area or equivalent qualifications
* Demonstrable evidence of training in quantitative methods.
* Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
* Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
* Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
* Demonstrable quantitative analytical skills.
* Demonstrable experience of use of appropriate statistical packages (e.g. STATA (preferred), R).
* Ability to work collaboratively as a member of research team.
* Ability to communicate complex information clearly
* Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
* Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
* Excellent organisational skills
* Ability to work to deadlines
* Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly
Desirable:
* Substantive expertise in a financial wellbeing/personal finance-related field
* Experience of (co-)writing academic and non-academic outputs
* Experience of stakeholder engagement
Informal enquiries to Dr Louise Overton, email: l.e.overton@bham.ac.uk
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .
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