Innovation Consultant – Construction Quality, Safety and Health in England

Quality and Safety data in construction are usually held separately and read in isolation. Yet the decisions that drive error, rework and harm are mostly made early, at concept and design, long before they show up on site. The two are more closely linked than the industry has the evidence to show.

Shirley Parsons and UCL are recruiting a KTP Associate to build a UK-first predictive capability: using real UK project data to turn Quality indicators into early-warning signals for Health & Safety and cost risk. This is a £242,000, 24-month research programme, funded by Innovate UK through its Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme, with significant investment from Shirley Parsons.

About the role

University College London (UCL) wishes to appoint a Research Associate in Construction Quality, Safety and Health. UCL and Shirley Parsons are partnering through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). A national scheme which helps organisations innovate and grow by linking them with a university and a highly qualified graduate, known as a KTP Associate.

As part of this partnership, the successful candidate will be employed by UCL but embedded full-time within Shirley Parsons, working at the interface of consulting, data-driven innovation, and industry delivery. This role is not a traditional academic position. The KTP Associate will work alongside world-leading academics and experienced industry practitioners on an innovative and scientifically rigorous project, translating research into practical, commercially deployable solutions.

This is a unique opportunity to gain hands-on consulting and commercial experience, while contributing to the development of a new, industry-facing capability that aims to improve project outcomes, reduce risk, and enhance performance across the built environment. This is a full-time post which has funding for 24 months in the first instance.

About the project

The purpose of this KTP is to develop, validate and commercialise a new, evidence-based approach to improving Quality and Health & Safety (H&S) performance across the built environment sector. This will involve creating predictive, data-driven tools that link Quality Management practices with H&S outcomes, enabling organisations to reduce rework, improve safety performance, and enhance project efficiency and cost certainty.

The role will focus on translating academic research and real-world data into practical, deployable solutions, which will be integrated into Shirley Parsons' consultancy service model and applied across live client environments.

In practice, this will involve:

• Analysing existing academic literature to connect Quality Management and H&S
• Designing and validating predictive tools by using public and commercial data in the UK construction and infrastructure sector
• Integrating research findings and predictive tools into Shirley Parsons' consultancy service model to enhance project performance and deliver measurable value across client projects
• Engaging with senior professionals across the industry to ensure outputs are suitable for use

Funding dictates that the maximum salary for this post will be £43,482 (per annum), equivalent to Grade 7, spinal point 34 (without London Allowance).

About you

The successful applicant will be expected to:

• Examine industry's typical approach to quality management establish requirements and proof of market for our approach to Quality, Failure, Health and Safety (QFHS) data management.
• Investigate patterns in quality, health and safety management data (e.g., compliance, pre-construction information, phasing, risk management/investigation/site-control, and other documentation).
• Identify a sample of client organisations implementing disciplined quality management processes, industry quality managers, and datasets that can be used to prove the practical implementation of the QFHS approach and its potential impact on outcomes.
• Examine the connection between quality management practices and health and safety data within building and infrastructure client projects.
• Develop new QFHS practices, tools and services.
• Identify projects to test and implement the new QFHS practices and tools and then commission a development team funded by clients and capable of exploitation.
• Evaluate and Further Develop the QFHS Approach, Case Studies and Evidence-Based SP Toolset.
• Make recommendations for quality, health and safety management policies and processes in the industry.

The appointee is required to have a minimum 2:1 postgraduate degree or PhD in construction project management, civil engineering, engineering management, occupational health and safety or a related field, and experience in conducting applied research independently. They will also have experience in the construction industry and good knowledge of quality, health and safety management or construction project delivery at the practical implementation level.

The successful candidate will have good stakeholder and relationship management skills to manage the partnership and work effectively with staff from the KTP project, UCL, SP and their clients. Appointment to the higher Grade 7 salary requires a completed PhD. Otherwise, appointment will be at Grade 6.

Your application will be assessed based on how well the criteria set out in the person specification are met using examples to demonstrate this. A cover letter is required which addresses the criteria in the person specification, we recommend copying the criteria from the job description to include as headers in your supporting statement.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer great benefits.

London Allowance is not included in the salary as this post is not based in London.