At a Glance
- Tasks: Support research projects and integrate young voices into safeguarding initiatives.
- Company: Join the Global Centre for Contextual Safeguarding at Durham University.
- Benefits: Flexible hybrid working, travel expenses covered, and a chance to make a real difference.
- Other info: Dynamic role with opportunities for professional growth and collaboration across disciplines.
- Why this job: Be part of a transformative team dedicated to social justice and safeguarding youth.
- Qualifications: Interest in social justice; ideally pursuing or holding a Master's in Sociology or Social Research.
The predicted salary is between 30000 - 40000 £ per year.
The Global Centre for Contextual Safeguarding (GCCS) launched in September 2025, building on the work of a decade-plus, world-leading, Contextual Safeguarding Programme. It is now part of Durham's Sociology Department, whose members, postgraduate researchers, and students collectively develop 'sociological imagination' and apply it to contemporary processes and issues. The Department was ranked 1st for Criminology in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024, and ranked 4th for impact in REF 2021.
The GCCS builds on this history - an interdisciplinary Centre based in Durham's Sociology Department with direct integration with Law, Business, Education and Psychology. It brings together departments across the four faculties of the University to:
- Transform how societies understand and deliver services that safeguard young people beyond their homes;
- Create systems that look beyond the capacity of parents to protect children;
- Build sustainable partnerships in which safeguarding is truly everybody's business.
This is a Centre committed to a radical transformation in how safeguarding is conceptualised, studied, and practised, and by whom.
To continue developing the Centre's capacity to enact this change, we are recruiting a part-time GCCS Research Assistant who will work in the GCCS under the direction of the Senior Leadership Team. The role will sit across multiple workstreams to provide support to centre operations and research projects, with particular attention to integrating and reflecting the voices of children and young people into our developing work programme.
We are welcoming applicants with an interest in social justice; we anticipate such applicants having varied academic and professional journeys, potentially holding, or be working towards, a Masters Degree in Sociology or Social Research Methods.
The postholder will be required to undertake support tasks including:
- Working with other RAs in scoping existing research;
- Converting knowledge generated by staff across the GCCS into accessible and practical resources;
- Supporting the team with a range of research and operational activities across multiple ongoing projects;
- Supporting bid development activities across the Centre.
GCCS activities take place in multiple locations across the UK and beyond, so most team members work to a hybrid model, with research underway in various parts of the UK as well as via online data collection methods. Wider Centre activity takes place mostly online with occasional in-person meetings and working days. Travel to research sites and for impact and dissemination activities may be required, and travel for these activities is paid for by the Centre. The normal place of work is Durham, and you will be expected to be present in Durham for essential GCCS business as required (to be discussed with your line manager).
GCCS Research Assistant - Durham in Choppington employer: Durham University
Durham University is an exceptional employer, offering a vibrant academic environment that fosters collaboration and innovation. As a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Anthropology, you will benefit from extensive professional development opportunities, a supportive work culture, and the chance to contribute to impactful research that shapes understanding of diverse cultures. Located in a historic city, the university provides a unique setting for both personal and professional growth.
