Research Assistant - POID

Overview

LSE is committed to building a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive university. Programme on Innovation and Diffusion ( POID ) at LSE Research Assistant Salary from £36,513 to £41,565 pa inclusive with potential to progress to £44,468 pa inclusive of London allowance Fixed term appointment for 1 year (with option to renew for 2 years). The Programme on Innovation and Diffusion ( POID ) is seeking to appoint a Research Assistant for a one-year period. The project will use cutting-edge research into how to boost productivity through nurturing innovation – ideas that are new to the world – and how to diffuse these ideas across the economy. The project is led by Professor John Van Reenen. The role-holder will play a major role in the planning, design, and implementation of the project and will co-author all outputs accordingly.

Responsibilities

• Assist with data matching, processing, modelling, and analysis.
• Contribute to co-authored top-journal‑quality publications.
• Plan, design and implement project activities in collaboration with the POID team.
• Co-author outputs and integrate team members’ work as required.
• Perform literature reviews to obtain data from data providers and to inform analysis.
• Present findings and interpret patterns or trends in data; communicate technical material in non-technical terms for policy and other non-academic stakeholders.
• Work independently for extended periods with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrate knowledge of and interest in economics of innovation, technological change, industrial/growth strategy, and policy issues related to productivity (desirable).

Qualifications

• Essential: undergraduate degree in Economics or another quantitative discipline.
• Desirable: Masters in Economics or another quantitative science (with very good knowledge of economics) by start date.
• Advanced experience of using Stata for analysing large-scale micro data sets.
• Experience of large-scale data-driven projects and data work requiring high accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to identify appropriate methods of economic investigation and to analyse patterns or trends in data.
• Ability to perform literature reviews and to obtain data from data providers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to convey technical material in non-technical terms for policy and other non-academic stakeholders.
• Ability to collate and present team outputs and integrate them into own work as required.

About the role and benefits

• We offer an occupational pension scheme, generous annual leave and excellent training and development opportunities.
• Visit https://poid.lse.ac.uk/ for information about POID, and https://cep.lse.ac.uk/ for information about POID’s related Centre for Economic Performance.

How to apply

• Applications must include a full Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume, a Covering Letter and an electronic copy of one relevant research paper.
• Applications must be submitted via the online system; if you have technical queries, use the “contact us” links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page.
• For queries about the role, please email C.H.Tocock@lse.ac.uk.

Closing date

The closing date for receipt of applications is Monday 16 February 2026 (23.59 UK time). Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications.