Sociodigital Futures (Consuming) SRA

Salary: £40,745 - £45,737 per annum (open ended contract with fixed funding for 36 months)

We are delighted to announce a new grade J Senior Research Associate (SRA) post within our interdisciplinary Centre (crossing Sociology, STS, Computer Science and Engineering). The SRA will join the Centre's Consuming Futures Domain, utilising an innovate suite of methods to explore how current patterns of consumption are configured, to model their social and environmental impacts and to explore their futures. The successful applicant will be involved in a programme of work to explore the changing nature of household entertainment and communication – and attendant infrastructures – with a view to thinking about how sociodigital futures in the making might be steered towards sustainable and equitable forms of consumption.

What will you be doing?

• Contributing to the design, development, implementation and delivery of fieldwork and research projects with the Consuming Futures Domain
• Collaborating with other Domains of Practice teams, and the Futures Studio Threads and Technical Affordance Projects (TAPs) teams to design, co-ordinate and deliver research and other activities across the Centre
• Collaborating with the Centre’s strategic partners (for example BT, Defra) in developing the programme of research and activities
• Playing a lead role (with support) in analysis and in the preparation of publications, other outputs (including blogs and social media etc), and wider impact and engagement.

The successful applicant will be supported in establishing research independence and a strong research profile, to include: an emerging track record of research publication, impact on policy and practice, and potential for securing external research funding.

You should apply if you have:

• A PhD in a relevant field (e.g. Sociology, Science and Technology Studies, Computer Science/HCI)
• Significant background knowledge and experience in one or more of the following areas: (1) Sociological (and/or related, e.g. from Anthropology or Human Geography) approaches to consumption, (2) Science and Technology Studies (STS), (3) Sustainable Consumption and Production, and (4) digital technologies and/or new media
• Strong qualitative research skills, to include: interviews, ethnographic methods, and a willingness the ability to work with archival and secondary data
• Experience of or capacity for/interest in interdisciplinary research across Social Science and Computer Science/Engineering
• Experience of:
  • independent and collegial academic contribution for fostering an active research culture.
  • writing and producing academic and other written materials
  • facilitating academic and other cross-sectoral workshops and events.

Deadline: Wednesday 7 June 2023

We expect this role to start by 1 Sept 2023. Interviews will be held in June (date TBC).