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Senior Research Fellow role profile (grade 10)

Communication

  • Is member of Boards of international journals and other international disciplinary bodies
  • Provides expert opinion and commentary to external audiences and bodies
  • Regularly communicates complex concepts and ideas.
  • Communicates regularly with colleagues in peer communities within and outside the University on research topics.
  • Communicates with research team on current and future research activity requirements.
  • Communicates with academic and administrative colleagues within the University and externally on matters related to the research processes.
  • Leads on the design and implementation of research methodologies including for example the writing of questionnaires.
  • Submits proposals for research grants.
  • Writes research papers, journal articles and materials for publication.
  • Gives presentations, lectures, seminars (internal or external) based on personal scholarship and research; and/or exhibits work at appropriate events.

Teamwork, motivation and managing people

  • Supervises PhD students
  • Mentors junior staff
  • Is team leader for research project teams.
  • Develops productive and effective working relationships with academic, administrative and research colleagues stakeholders and partners.

Liaison and networking

  • Provides evidence of contributions to major departmental functions – e.g. chairing examination committees, programme directorship, coordinating materials for internal and external reviews
  • Provides evidence of contributions to School administration – e.g. through membership of School committees
  • Initiates and develops links with external contacts such as other educational institutions, employers and professional bodies to foster collaboration
  • Is Member of Boards of international journals and other international disciplinary bodies
  • Provides expert opinion and commentary to external audiences and bodies
  • Liaises as appropriate to facilitate research and funding opportunities for example with external partners, stakeholders and colleagues.
  • Collaborates formally on research with other Universities and/or external bodies.
  • Presents papers at academic conferences as primary researcher.

Planning and organising resources

  • Establishes a coherent research programme for the next three to five years
  • Leads peer reviewed funding bids which develop and sustain research support for the specialist area
  • Plans research projects including management of financial and other resources.

Teaching and learning support

  • Has a record of good teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level
  • Supervises and assesses PhD students
  • Teaches and assesses undergraduate and masters level students
  • Acts as a personal tutor and provides pastoral care
  • Acts as a role model for teaching methods through excellent practice
  • Mentors junior staff, lead teaching teams where appropriate
  • Contributes to the development of teams and individuals and provide advice on career development

Research and analysis

Has evidence of:

  • A substantial body of high-quality peer reviewed publications or equivalent other outputs
  • A coherent research programme for the next three to five years
  • Achieving national and emerging international recognition through a sustained programme of research
  • Leading peer reviewed funding bids which develop and sustain research support for the specialist area
  • Initiating and developing links with external contacts such as other educational institutions, employers and professional bodies to foster collaboration
  • Contributing to the leadership of department research strategy
  • Publishing research in top quality RAE standard international peer-reviewed outlets
  • Giving invited papers to national and international audiences
  • Providing expert opinion and commentary to external audiences and bodies

Pastoral care

  • Shows general sensitivity when dealing with confidential and data protection issues.
  • Likely to have mentoring/coaching responsibility for PhD students.
  • Has pastoral and welfare responsibility for those supervised and working on research projects.

Initiative, problem-solving and decision making

  • Responsible for the operational decisions relating to own research projects.
  • Uses specialist knowledge of research area to devise solutions to unpredictable and unexpected research outcomes.
  • Constructs appropriate research strategies for tackling different types of research questions or problems involving a synthesis of prior subject knowledge and experience of different research methods which is then brought to bear on solving novel problems.

Sensory, physical and emotional demands

  • Uses a range of equipment as appropriate to research activity i.e. anything from laboratory equipment to pcs, to medical equipment.

Work environment

  • Based in office, teaching rooms, laboratory or in the field.
  • Could be required to wear specialist clothing.
  • Could be required to undertake risk assessment.

Knowledge and experience

  • Significant and substantial post doctoral experience that includes demonstrable research excellence.
  • Externally recognised national and emerging international reputation for research and scholarship and/or knowledge transfer
  • A successful record of securing significant peer-reviewed research funding
  • A record of good teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level

In addition to the above expectations

In addition to the above expectations, to be appointed on Grade 11 salary, it is essential that Senior Research Fellows should be able to demonstrate all of the following as requirements of their role:

  • Management of a research team.
  • Management of major research project and accountability for significant income generation.
  • Required to have significant input to the development of School Research Strategy.
  • Regarded as expert in field by external peer community.