Role: Research Assistant (Inclusive Careers in Engineering (ICE): Supporting the Career Progression of Marginalised Engineers)
Grade and Salary: Grade 6 - £31,236 - £36,636 (pro rata)
Contract: Part Time (10 hours per week/0.25FTE), Fixed Term for 8 months
Directorate: School of Social Sciences, Edinburgh Business School
Rewards and Benefits: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 buildings closed days (pro rata)
Job Purpose
Reporting to the Principal Investigator (PI), the Research Assistant will support the delivery of a qualitative research project. The role involves contributing to data collection, analysis, and dissemination activities, with a focus on understanding participants’ experiences through qualitative methods.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Conduct qualitative data collection, including focus groups
- Support participant recruitment and coordination of research activities
- Conduct qualitative data analysis, including thematic coding using NVivo
- Contribute to interpretation of findings and development of research outputs
- Assist in preparing research reports, academic papers, and dissemination materials
- Support ethical compliance and data management procedures
- Undertake administrative and organisational tasks related to the project
Person Specification
Essential
- Postgraduate qualification (completed or in progress) in a relevant discipline, or equivalent research experience
- Experience of qualitative research methods, including data collection (e.g. semi-structured interviews and/or focus groups)
- Experience of conducting thematic analysis and qualitative coding
- Proficiency in using qualitative data analysis software (NVivo)
- Ability to work effectively as part of a research team
- Strong organisational and time management skills
- Excellent written and spoken English communication skills
Desirable
- Experience of working on externally funded research projects
- Familiarity with research ethics processes in social science research
- Experience of contributing to academic outputs (e.g. reports or publications)
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines in a research environment
How to Apply
The role will remain open and applications will continue to be reviewed until a suitable candidate is appointed.
Interviews are expected to begin from 25 May 2026.
Please submit your CV & covering letter via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment.
At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.
Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.
Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.
Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ .
Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.
