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The Alan Turing Institute is looking to recruit a Research Associate to work on the ‘Data/Culture. Building sustainable communities around Arts and Humanities datasets and software’ project which seeks to develop and test models of building sustainable communities to ensure past investments in Arts and Humanities datasets and tools are still being leveraged. The overall goal of the project is to develop sustainable communities around the Seshat Global History Databank project and the Living with Machines project, as well as the establishment of a Research Software Engineering network for the Arts and Humanities. This role will contribute to the Seshat Global History Databank component of the project.

ROLE PURPOSE

The Research Associate will work closely with an international group of scholars and research software engineers to analyse datasets on religious tolerance, ritual, power transitions, and luxury goods in world history.

The candidate may be from a (data) science background, whilst having an interest in working with historical and cultural datasets, or from a social sciences, humanities, and arts background, whilst having demonstrated expertise of deploying statistical and data science techniques. Their role will be to analyse existing Seshat dataset as part of a team, to refine statistical methods for the study of cultural datasets, incorporate levels of uncertainty and community/expert engagement within the analyses, foster scholarly communities around the datasets, and help writing up the results.

As Research Associate on the Data/Culture project you will work report to the project PI (Dr Pieter Francois) and work closely with the wider inter-disciplinary team based at the Alan Turing Institute. This is a collaborative research role and so it is crucial that the candidate enjoys working with others and is responsive within an interdisciplinary research environment.

DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

The successful candidate will be expected to work closely with the project team, and to:

• Undertake research on the role of religious tolerance, ritual, and the resilience of societies in world history.
• Create a sustainable scholarly community around the datasets and tools from the Seshat Global History Databank.
• Produce high-quality publications for dissemination of the work to the wider community as well as research reports to document the work undertaken during the project.
• Work collaboratively with researchers, senior investigators from across the Turing and external partners on the project.
• Build upon open and accessible tools for the scientific research community.
• Manage and engage with open-source collaborative code on GitHub.
• Help create a friendly and approachable community of experts, datasets and engineers, and facilitate integration with Turing's research programmes.
• Attend and present research findings and papers at conferences, and to contribute to the external visibility of the Turing.
• Participate in the organisation of workshops and other events.
  

• To complete this section please copy the essential and desirable criteria from the Person Specification.
• Research Associate level: A PhD degree or equivalent professional experience in quantitative sciences (statistics, math, physics) or in the social sciences, the humanities and the arts.
• Research Assistant level: A master’s degree or equivalent level of professional experience in quantitative sciences, social science, or a related discipline.
• Experience with regression analysis.
• Experience with time-series analysis.
• Demonstrated experience in quantitative analysis.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills relevant to collaborating and working as part of a multi-disciplinary team and communicating with stakeholders in academia, the public sector, and industry.
• Highly motivated and committed to achieving the project goals.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

If you are interested in this opportunity, please click the apply button below. You will need to register on the applicant portal and complete the application form including your CV and covering letter. If you have questions about the role or would like to apply using a different format, please contact us on 020 3862 3536 or email [email protected].

If you are applying for more than one role at the Turing, please note that only one Cover Letter can be visible on your profile at one time. If you wish to apply for multiple roles and do not want to overwrite your existing Cover Letter, please apply for the role using the button below and forward your additional cover letter directly to [email protected] quoting the job title.

If you are an internal applicant and wish to apply, please send your CV and Cover Letter directly to [email protected] and your application will be considered.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: SUNDAY 21 APRIL 2024 AT 23:59 (LONDON, UK GMT)

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early or to interview suitable candidates before the closing date if enough applications are received.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This full-time post is offered on a fixed term basis until 31 March 2025. The annual salary is £42,893 - £48,510 plus excellent benefits, including flexible working and family friendly policies, https://www.turing.ac.uk/work-turing/why-work-turing/employee-benefits. This post requires an immediate start.

Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as Research Assistant at a salary of £40,148 per annum.

The Alan Turing Institute is based at the British Library, in the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter. We expect staff to come to our office at least 4 days per month. Some roles may require more days in the office; the hiring manager will be able to confirm this during the interview.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The Alan Turing Institute is committed to creating an environment where diversity is valued and everyone is treated fairly. In accordance with the Equality Act, we welcome applications from anyone who meets the specific criteria of the post regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We are committed to making sure our recruitment process is accessible and inclusive.

This includes making reasonable adjustments for candidates who have a disability or long-term condition. Please contact us at [email protected] to find out how we can assist you.

Please note all offers of employment are subject to obtaining and retaining the right to work in the UK and satisfactory pre-employment security screening which includes a DBS Check.

Full details on the pre-employment screening process can be requested from [email protected].