At a Glance
- Tasks: Conduct innovative research on urban planning and its political dimensions.
- Company: Join the University of Sheffield, a world-class institution with a diverse community.
- Benefits: Enjoy 41 days annual leave, flexible working, and generous pension schemes.
- Other info: Part-time role with excellent career growth opportunities and a commitment to diversity.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in urban planning while developing your skills in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: PhD in planning or relevant discipline; experience in qualitative research is essential.
The predicted salary is between 38784 - 41064 £ per year.
The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university. We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement, a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.
We have an exciting opportunity in the School of Geography and Planning for a researcher with an interest in the political dimensions of urban planning. Based in one of the UK's foremost planning schools, you will work with Dr Jason Slade on the ESRC-funded project, Planning and populism: professionals at the precipice. The project will investigate the relationship between planning and populism in England, looking to explore the implications of new political complexities, understand how planners are navigating them, and how planning might be reimagined for the 21st century.
You will use your skills to make a vital contribution to the project: conducting a variety of original qualitative research, undertaking analysis of data and disseminating findings in high quality outputs. The varied and dynamic role provides an excellent opportunity to develop your skills and take the next step in your career.
Main duties and responsibilities:
- Undertake research on planning in line with project requirements (including remote ethnographic fieldwork within the UK that will likely involve overnight stays)
- Collect and analyse a variety of primary and secondary qualitative data from multiple sources
- Manage data storage
- Read and review literature as appropriate
- Contribute to writing of project outputs, including scholarly publications
- Liaise closely with other academics, advisers and administrators relevant to the project
- Contribute to and attend conference presentations, workshops and research advisory group meetings, as well as assisting in the running of them
- Support project reporting requirements
- Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post
Person Specification:
Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.
- A PhD in planning or a discipline of relevance to the project (Essential Application/interview)
- Demonstrable understanding of urban planning in the UK, including its political dimensions (Essential Application/interview)
- Experience of undertaking qualitative research and analysis (Essential Application/interview)
- Experience of ethnographic research (Desirable Application/interview)
- Ability to conduct participatory workshops with both communities of practice and the general public (Essential Application/interview)
- Strong communication skills in a variety of mediums (Essential Application/interview)
- Ability to contribute to scholarly publications (Essential Application/interview)
- Ability to manage individual workload and to work on own initiative (Essential Application/interview)
- Ability to work collaboratively with others (Essential Application/interview)
- Willingness to spend periods of time away from home (e.g. whilst conducting fieldwork or attending conferences) (Essential Application/interview)
Further Information:
- Grade: 7
- Salary: £38,784 to £41,064 FTE pro-rata to 0.9FTE
- Work arrangement: Part-time (0.9 FTE)
- Duration: 2 years: 1st January 2027 to 31st December 2028
- Line manager: Project Lead
- Direct reports: None
For informal enquiries about this job contact Jason Slade, Lecturer in Planning and Project Lead: on j.slade@sheffield.ac.uk.
Next steps in the recruitment process: It is anticipated that the selection process will take place in mid-September. This will consist of an interview. We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage in early-September. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact gpl-ops@sheffield.ac.uk.
We are a Disability Confident Leader. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.
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