Research Assistant (ICAS)

14518BR

Cardiff Business School

Research

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Research Assistant (ICAS)

Funded by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, this post offers a unique opportunity for an outstanding candidate to obtain first-hand experience of academic research that has direct practical value for the charity sector. You will work closely with leading academics in the not-for-profit sector to examine charities' impact reporting practices with a view to inform the development of impact reporting requirements for the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice prepared by the Charity Commission. You will as a result have the opportunity to engage with senior charity personnel, major funders in the sector and the Steering Group established by ICAS to oversee this project. The position will provide an excellent foundation for progression to future academic research or a career in a think tank, government or the voluntary sector.

The position offers the suitable candidate a flexible working opportunity as remote work is possible. The post is for 2 days for 5.5 months but the no. of days worked per week can be altered if preferred. The end date of the project is 31 December 2022.

Salary: £27,924 - £32,344 per annum, pro rata (Grade 5)

Date advert posted: Tuesday, 5 July 2022

Closing date: Tuesday, 26 July 2022

Cardiff University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds who have the ambition to create a University which seeks to fulfil our social, cultural and economic obligation to Cardiff, Wales, and the world.  In supporting our employees to achieve a balance between their work and their personal lives, we will also consider proposals for flexible working or job share arrangements.

“Cardiff University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions we will evaluate applicants on the quality of their research, not publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which the research is published. More information is available at: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/our-research-environment/integrity-and-ethics/responsible-research-assessment”  

Job Description

Research

•    Update literature review on impact assessment and reporting practices in the context of charities.

•    Conduct and present a content analysis of charities’ impact reports to assess the depth and breadth of these

•    Assist with seeking out potential interview candidates, organise interviews and undertake first coding of the interviews

•    Actively participate within the research team, including attending meetings with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, as required

•    Resolve issues and support senior colleagues in devising procedures required to ensure accurate and timely reporting

•    Contribute to report writing as required by ICAS: interim reporting and final report

Other

•    Undergo personal and professional development that is appropriate to and which will enhance the candidate’s skills and contribute to the research project

•    To ensure that an understanding of the importance of confidentiality is applied when undertaking all duties

•    To abide by the University policies on Health and Safety and Equality and Diversity

•    Any other duties not included above, but consistent with the role.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

Qualifications and Education
1.    A degree in any social science or management discipline  or equivalent experience

Knowledge, Skills and Experience
2.    Knowledge of charities’ activities and the need to report on performance

3.    Knowledge of different research methods to collect different forms of data

4.    Proven ability to engage in independent (but supervised) research

5.    Proven ability to synthesise and analyse data  

6.    Proven ability to produce reports / posters or other forms of research output

Communication and Team Working
7.    Proven written and oral communication skills, including presentation to audiences

8.    Excellent organisational and team-working skills

Other
9.    Proven ability to demonstrate creativity, innovation and teamworking within work

Desirable Criteria

10.    Postgraduate qualification in the social science / management disciplines that includes a supervised dissertation

11.    Knowledge of reporting practices and performance assessment practices in the charity sector

12.    Ability to work without close supervision

13.    A willingness to take responsibility for academically related administration.

Additional Information

IMPORTANT NOTE TO CANDIDATES
It is the University’s policy to use the person specification as a key tool for short-listing and we only invite candidates to interview who clearly evidence that they meet (or partially meet) each of the essential criteria. During the application process you will be asked to attach a supporting statement. This statement must outline how you meet the criteria below and we recommended formatting this by using each criterion as a sub-heading and providing your relevant experience/evidence below each sub-heading. It is crucial that you save your supporting statement with the vacancy number (e.g. xxxxxBR) in the filename as failure to do so may result in it being omitted from your application.

Cardiff Business School
Cardiff Business School is widely regarded as one of the leading business and management schools in the UK, ranked 6th in the UK for the quality of its research in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF).  We educate over 3,500 students annually, including over 1,500 international students. Cardiff Business School has an international faculty of world-leading scholars. Our research reputation has helped us become an attractive centre of scholarship for colleagues from the UK and beyond. As the world’s first Public Value Business School, Cardiff Business School has a commitment to delivering societal as well as economic value though the undertaking of world leading inter-disciplinary research addressing the grand challenges facing communities, business and organizations.

DORA declaration
Cardiff University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions we will evaluate applicants on the quality of their research, not publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which the research is published. More information is available at: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/our-research-environment/integrity-and-ethics/responsible-research-assessment.

Job Category

Academic - Research