Research Assistant (Fixed Term)

The University

The Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge wishes to appoint a Research Assistant to work within PEDAL (the Faculty of Education's centre for research on Play in Education, Development and Learning) to work on the Playtime with Books study led by Prof. Paul Ramchandani and Dr. Christine O'Farrelly (Faculty of Education, Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning, PEDAL), in collaboration with NESTA the UK innovation agency for social good.

This is a full-time position, but we are happy to discuss flexible working arrangements.

About the Role

The project seeks to optimise an online book sharing programme, Playtime with Books, which aims to support children's early learning and language development. We will do this by working with Local Authority partners to test and improve the Playtime with Books programme so that it fits with families' priorities and is feasible for early years services to deliver at scale. Playtime with Books is based on a proven face-to-face intervention for families with young children.

The post-holder will contribute to testing and improving the programme which will involve collaboration with parents and practitioners. They will also contribute to the preparation and dissemination of key findings via academic publications and the optimisation of the training manual. The successful candidate will support our stakeholder engagement activities, as a key contact for parents, practitioners and our partners. The post-holder will have excellent IT skills as well as strong data management skills.

What you will need

-Educated to undergraduate level in Psychology or Education or a related discipline

-Experience in managing, organising and analysing data sets with Excel and other data analysis packages (e.g., SPSS, NVivo)

-Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail; including file management

-Good interpersonal skills and the ability to liaise with a range of professionals and families

-Excellent time management skills

-Ability to think flexibly and creatively and to problem solve

-Ability to prioritise workload effectively and think proactively

Benefits

You can expect to receive.

-A competitive salary with automatic service-related progression and annual cost of living increases -A generous annual leave allowance of 41 days per year (including bank holidays) -Access to a hybrid pension scheme with attractive employer contributions -Access to a range of shopping and travel discounts through the Cambens scheme

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 1 years in the first instance.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries can be addressed to Eloise Stevens ([email protected] )

Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. If you have any questions about the application process please contact the Faculty of Education HR team ([email protected] )

Please can you upload a letter of application indicating how you meet the person specification and would contribute to the responsibilities of the post.

Please quote reference JR40546 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Further information
Apply online