Research Fellow (Postdoctoral) - School of Government - 105879 - Grade 7

Position Details

School of Government

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

As this vacancy has limited funding the maximum salary that can be offered is Grade 7, salary £41,671

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to December 2026 

Closing date: 19th June 2025

Background

To create and contribute to the creation of knowledge by undertaking a specified range of activities within an established research programme and/or specific research project.

Role Summary

TWICEASGOOD, a five-year programme of research (2022-2026) funded by an ERC Advanced Grant, aims to better understand how encounters of “everyday sexism” on the campaign trail, both online and offline and in the media, shape women’s campaign efforts and chances at electoral success. See https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/projects/spspa/twiceasgood/

The role comprises:

• Working within the TWICEASGOOD project, attending team meetings, disseminating results
• Contributing to the development research ideas related to project themes of gender, political communication and “everyday sexism”
• Analysing and interpreting research findings and results based on large scale media data sets
• Contributing to engagement with non-academic partners, co-produce new knowledge, contribute to public understanding everyday sexism in campaigns

Main Duties

The main duties and responsibilities of the appointed postdoctoral researcher are to undertake analysis of data, report findings and write up results addressing research questions on everyday sexism in campaigns. In more detail the duties and responsibilities are:

• Analyse and interpret data using advanced quantitative techniques (e.g., NLP, classification, clustering), statistical modelling, and other computational techniques
• Process large scale text data sets in multiple languages
• Create documentation for data and processes guided by principles of reproducibility
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc – prepare and submit articles for publication
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods to understanding gender bias in political communication using text as data
• Contribute to public engagement activities that benefit dissemination of project research findings
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters 
• 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
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture

Person Specification

• A first degree and normally a higher degree (PhD, nearing completion, or equivalent research experience) relevant to research area of political communication or equivalent qualifications
• High level analytical capability including experience processing large media text data sets
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly such as publishing in political communication journals
• Demonstrable proficiency in advanced quantitative data analysis: applied machine learning, statistical analysis, and handling complex data. Programming skills in Python and R are essential
• Experience in applying computational methods to research questions in political communication and gender
• Ability to assess research and project resource requirements and use resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes within the project, such as experience creating documentation for data sets to make shareable and openly accessible
• Ability to Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• 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

Informal enquiries to Susan Banducci, email: s.a.banducci@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.