Research Associate

Job id: 087945. Salary: £43,205 to £50,585 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.

Posted: 17 April 2024. Closing date: 02 May 2024.

Business unit: Social Science & Public Policy. Department: Defence Studies Department.

Contact details:Jonathan Fennell. [email protected]

Location: Shrivenham Campus. Category: Research.

The School of Security Studies wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate to work on a pilot of the Second World War ‘Forces Record Project’ (FRP). The post is available full time from June/July 2024 on a fixed-term basis for 8 months.

The FRP is funded by a grant from the National Army Museum (NAM), with the postholder working alongside the Principal Investigator, Prof. Jonathan Fennell, Co-Investigator, Prof. Niall Barr, King’s Digital Lab, the team at NAM and stakeholders at the National Archives, the Ministry of Defence and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

By making use of a sample of personnel records from the Second World War, the eight-month pilot aims to conduct a proof of concept for a wider study exploring the social processes of fighting a ‘people’s war’.

The wars of the Twentieth Century generated unprecedented quantities of data. Military attestation and demobilisation forms contained information on subjects as varied as address, height, pre-enlistment occupations, ethnicity and service histories. Yet, the manner in which the processes of mobilisation and remobilisation affected communities, the social composition of forces, and their ability to function effectively, is still incompletely understood. The armed and auxiliary forces were not static social groupings; they were organisations characterised by constant change and the making and breaking of social networks.

The postholder will share responsibility with the PI and CI for the conduct of a pilot into how personnel records might be best explored with future research in mind. There will be opportunities for the postholder to develop their academic skills and profile, through engagement with the project stakeholders and the public, presentations at national and international conferences, and co-authored academic outputs.

The successful candidate will hold (or be close to completing) a PhD in History, International Relations, Political Science, Economics or a related discipline.

Defence Studies is part of the School of Security Studies and the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy. Together, we support an inclusive culture and diversity for our staff and students. We are committed to encouraging further growth from a diversity of groups, and we look forward to welcoming applicants of all abilities.

About the School of Security Studies: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/security-studies

This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for 8 months.

This is a full-time post - 100% full time equivalent.

• Undertaking primary (qualitative and quantitative) and secondary research.
• Delivering project outputs, including a major grant application and co-authored journal article.
• Conducting data entry and analysis.
• Creating visual media, including maps, graphs and tables.
• Presenting papers at conferences and disseminating the project outcomes.
• Engaging with key project stakeholders and the public.
• Liaising with KDL on the development of a database and user interface.
• Managing project website and social media.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

• Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6. 

To apply, please submit a cover letter (detailing your interest in and suitability for the role) and a CV, each of no more than two pages.

Please also submit a writing sample (this can be either published work or an excerpt from a doctoral thesis), of no more than 8,000 words.

For further information, please contact Prof. Jonathan Fennell ([email protected]).

To find out how our managers review your application, please take a look at our How we recruit pages.