Research Assistant/Associate: Music, Heritage, Place

Company description:

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

Job description:

The Role

Music, Heritage, Place: Unlocking the Musical Collections of England's County Record Offices is a 27-month AHRC-funded project led by Professor Stephen Rose (Royal Holloway, University of London), with Professor Kirsten Gibson and Nancy Kerr (Newcastle University) and in collaboration with 9 partner organizations.

This project will uncover and investigate the music manuscripts and printed sources from c.1550 to c.1850 held in local archives across England. The postdoctoral Research Assistant/Associate (RA) will work together with Professor Kirsten Gibson and full project team to contribute to all the work packages in the project. The role holder will be expected to undertake research that meets the overall objectives of the project, and produce independent and original contributions to the subject area. They will visit archives across northern England for research on the musical sources held there. They will also work with project partners including archives and educational organisations to co-create public engagement activities.

This post is for 0.8FTE; days of working can be discussed on appointment. The start date for the post is no later than 1 April 2024, and is fixed-term for 24 months, ending no later than 31 March 2026.

Applications will be considered from those very close to completing their PhD, in which case you will be appointed as a Research Assistant. Starting salary and grade will be dependent on skills, knowledge and experience demonstrated through the application process.

The position is based in Music within the School of Arts and Cultures at Newcastle University, www.ncl.ac.uk/sacs .

Informal enquiries may be made to Prof. Kirsten Gibson ([email protected] ).

To apply, please submit your CV along with a covering letter that outlines:

• Your experience of researching music history from the late 16th to the early 19th centuries;
• Your experience of reading historical musical notations and handwriting of the 17th and 18th centuries;
• Your knowledge of cataloguing practices as used in archives and for musical sources of the 17th and 18th centuries;
• Your IT skills and your experience of learning new IT applications, including tools for the digital humanities;
• Your experience of publishing articles in scholarly journals;
• Your experience of involving and engaging the public with academic research;
• Your experience of working as a member of a team;
• How you organise your workload, including balancing different priorities and meeting deadlines.