Research Associate (Taxonomy)

Location: Dumfries, School of Social & Environmental Sustainability

Job Purpose

To make a leading contribution to the AHRC-DCMS funded project Developing a taxonomy for culture and heritage capital- working with the CoI Prof Patrizia Riganti, who is part of a consortium led by Historic England.

This is one of the six projects funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and DCMS as part of their £3.1 million investment in cultural heritage research. These coordinated projects aim to develop a multidisciplinary approach to valuing the benefits of culture and heritage assets to society and will contribute to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) Culture and Heritage Capital Programme (see https://www.ukri.org/news/new-projects-to-measure-value-of-culture-and-heritage-to-society/).

The successful candidate will help manage and direct this complex and challenging project and will also be expected to contribute to the formulation and submission of research publications and related research proposals.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. Take a leading role in the planning and conduct of assigned research individually or jointly in accordance with the project deliverables and project research strategy.

2. Document research outputs including analysis and interpretation of all data, maintaining records and databases, monitoring project’s progress, drafting technical/progress reports and papers as appropriate.

3. Liaise with all partners of the project in preparation for meetings, workshops organization, surveys implementation and all related fieldwork/data collection.

4. Survey the research literature and environment, understand the research challenges associated with the project & subject area, & develop/implement a suitable research strategy.

5. Establish and maintain your research profile and reputation and that of The University of Glasgow/ School/ Research Group, including establishing and sustaining a track record of independent and joint publications of international quality in high profile/quality refereed journals, enhancing the research impact in terms of economic/societal benefit, and gathering indicators of esteem.

6. Presentation of work at international and national conferences, at internal and external seminars, colloquia and workshops to develop and enhance our research profile and disseminate the project’s outputs/outcomes.

7. Take a leading role in the identification of potential funding sources and to assist Prof Riganti in the development of proposals to secure funding from internal and external bodies to support future research.

8. Take a leading role in developing and maintaining collaborations with colleagues across the research group/School/College/University and wider community (e.g. Academic and Industrial Partners).

9. Take a leading role in team/group meetings/seminars/workshops and School research group activities to enhance the wider knowledge, outputs and culture of the School/College, whilst disseminating the project’s achievements

10. Perform administrative tasks related to the activities of the research project, including Budgets/Expenditure.

11. Take the lead in the organisation, supervision, mentoring and training of undergraduate and/or postgraduate students and less experienced members of the project team to ensure their effective development.

12. Make a leading contribution to Teaching activities (e.g. demonstrating etc) and associated admin as assigned by the Head of School if required by the Principal Investigator Prof Riganti.

13. Keep up to date with current knowledge and recent advances in the field of applied cultural economics/heritage studies.

14. Engage in personal, professional and career development, to enhance both specialist and transferable skills in accordance with desired career trajectory.

15. Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by Prof Riganti and/or the Head of School.

16. Contribute to the enhancement of the University’s international profile in line with the University’s Strategic Plan, Inspiring People Changing The World.

Qualifications

Essential:

A1 Normally Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 12 (PhD) or alternatively possess the equivalent in professional qualifications and experience, with experience of personal development in a similar or related role(s)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Knowledge, Skills

Essential:

C1 A comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of current issues and future directions within the wider subject area or subject specialism (cultural heritage studies, cultural economics, ecological economics, ecosystem services valuation)

C2 Sufficient depth of relevant research experience, normally including sufficient postdoctoral experience in a related field, appropriate to an early career researcher

Desirable:

D1 A background in applied cultural economics

D2 Knowledge of environmental economics and ecological economics debate

D3 Knowledge of ecosystem services valuation

D4 Knowledge of stated and revealed preferences methods, in particular Discrete Choice Experiments, Contingent Valuation, Travel Costs Methods

Experience 

Essential:

E1 Proven ability to deliver quality outputs in a timely and efficient manner

E2 A track record of presentation and publication of research results in quality journals/conferences

E3 Experience of making a leading contribution in academic activities

E4 Ability to demonstrate a degree of independence as illustrated by identification of project objectives from assessment of the literature, design & analysis of experiments & drafting of papers.

E5 Experience in undertaking independent research

E6 Commitment to open research, as appropriate to the discipline, through open data, open code, open educational resources and practices that support replication.

E7 Proven commitment to supporting the career development of colleagues and to other forms of collegiality appropriate to the career stage.

Desirable:

F1 Experience of ecosystem services valuation

F2 Experience of applications of discrete choice experiments, contingent valuation studies to cultural heritage.

F3 Experience of typological analysis

For informal inquiries please Professor Patrizia Riganti, [email protected]

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 7, £39,347 – £44,263 per annum, pro-rata.

This post is part time( 17.5 hrs per week) and fixed term until 28/02/2026

As part of Team UofG you will be a member of a world changing, inclusive community, which values ambition, excellence, integrity and curiosity.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.

2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension – pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.

3 A flexible approach to working.

4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University  https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 7, £39,347 – £44,263 per annum pro rata.

This post is part time (17.5 hours per week) and fixed term for up to Fixed on 28/02/2026 (role for 24 months)

As part of Team UofG you will be a member of a world changing, inclusive community, which values ambition, excellence, integrity and curiosity.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.

2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension – pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.

3 A flexible approach to working.

4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University  https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.