Closing Date: 30 September 2023
Value: £28,759 - £33,966 p.a., pro rata
About the Opportunity
The Department of Social Policy & Intervention is looking to appoint an experienced Research Support Assistant to work on our flagship Global Parenting Initiative (GPI). The GPI is a multi-million-pound five-year project with a vision that is bold, ambitious, and immediate: to provide access to free, evidence-based, playful parenting support to every parent, everywhere, so that they are equipped with the knowledge and tools to help their children realise their learning potential.
The Research Support Assistant role holds a core supportive position within the GPI initiative and provides an exciting opportunity to work with a dynamic, international team, dedicated to improving the lives of children across the globe.
The Research Support Assistant will assist the Research Manager on the ‘Parenting in the Pre-school System in Malaysia’ study, providing support with general research management, managing ethics documents, assisting with quantitative and qualitative analysis, and helping with other research-related tasks. This study aims to optimise the effectiveness and scalability of two Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) human-digital playful parenting interventions (ParentChat and ParentText) on parenting, learning through play, and child educational outcomes when embedded within a national government education system for low-income families in Malaysia. Funds supporting this project are provided by the LEGO Foundation.
The role will involve supporting with qualitative analysis, cleaning complex datasets, running simple statistical analyses, and writing up results to contribute to donor reports and papers for publications. Applicants are required to have completed (or be enrolled in) a relevant Masters programme with experience working on research projects, preferably in the field of evidence-based research and/or violence prevention. Candidates are also required to have experience using R statistical software.
The Department is committed to fostering an environment of equality, diversity, and inclusion. Our family-friendly ethos allows for hours to be worked flexibly. Applications are particularly welcome from ethnic minority candidates.
The position is part-time, 10 hrs per week, for a fixed term of seven months and will be based in Oxford with opportunities for remote working within the UK.
About you
Essential Relevant Experience, Skills and Knowledge:
- Masters Degree (or currently enrolled in a Masters programme) in relevant social science/public health/statistics discipline
- Experience in working on complex research projects, preferably in the field of evidence-based research,digital interventions, parenting, child development, and/or violence prevention
- Prior experience working on intervention research
- Experience in quantitative data collection and management. Proficiency in data cleaning and analysis using R, or Stata
- Demonstrable commitment to improving the life of children affected by abuse and poverty
- Excellent organizational and time management skills and ability to work to tight deadlines
- Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write text that can be published, present data at conferences, and represent the research group at meetings
- Excellent computer and internet skills
- Excellent team working skills and ability to manage own research and administrative activities
Desirable skills:
- Experience working in low- and middle-income countries, preferably in the field of child and family research
- Previous experience with playful parenting interventions
- Experience using Trello and Agile Scrum Methodology
How to apply
Applications close 1200 noon 30 September 2023 BST.
Read the job advert here, and the job description here.
Further information, including how to apply, is available in the attached job description. Any further enquiries may be directed to the hrteam@spi.ox.ac.uk.
Only online applications received by 1200 noon 30 September 2023 will be considered.
