Welcome to Participatory City
Exciting times! We are about to scale up the work we have been developing over the last 7 years through a brand new organisation - the Participatory City Foundation.
Working with an incredible group of Trustees and partners we are launching an ambitious idea — to make practical participation a key building block for improving the everyday life of residents throughout the borough. Our partners include Barking and Dagenham Council, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Big Lottery Fund and City Bridge Trust, and we will be building collaborative partnerships continuously in the borough and with a number of cities across the world. Departing from the old ideas of ‘top down’ and ‘bottom up’ we’re building a new type of distributed support system in the borough. Over the next 5 years Participatory City will work with local residents and organisations to create a high level of new activity. With a budget of £6.4 million Every One Every Day will grow a new network of 250 projects and 100 businesses.
Participatory City is hiring a:
Senior Researcher
to work on the School Team, within the Every One Every Day Initiative: Barking & Dagenham .
The Every One Every Day Initiative: Barking & Dagenham
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has long been an area of change. Recent demographic changes in particular have challenged traditional ideas of the area and of its population. There is a pressing need for the lives of people of living here to improve. It’s the ninth most deprived local authority in the country with significant health, economic and cohesion issues.
However the borough is also very rich in talent, creativity and enthusiasm, with brilliant resources, including community centres, schools and parks. The people we have spoken to in the neighbourhoods we visited during our research phase tells a very positive story. People we met are honest, proud with a rich history and heritage. They are increasingly diverse and young. And like almost all communities they are full of ideas … and want to help create a better future for themselves and their families.
The Every One Every Day initiative intends to provide a platform for this creativity and energy. As the borough grows, so too will the improvements to everyday life grow for the people living there.
About the Role
You and other researchers will be responsible for gathering and analysing data across neighbourhoods, through multiple means: interviews, questionnaires, ethnography, digital means/apps, participation data etc. You will work at the heart of the Neighbourhood School which consists of two specific streams of work: An Education Programme (lead by the Programmes Director) designed to grow participation and develop projects and community businesses. The School will work with hundreds of people per year, teaching, mentoring and codifying to scale participation and ensure replication.
Duties/Responsibilities of this role
- Develop a programme of research which will be led by researchers but supported by all Participatory City staff.
- Train Participatory City staff in the use of basic research techniques to ensure the collection of quality data throughout the project.
- Conduct analysis of data collected by the project, and from other indicators (eg national or borough level data).
- Develop new metrics based on collected data.
- Present on a regular basis interpretation of collected data, metrics and the story this is telling on large multiple partner research projects to a variety of internal and external audiences.
- Work closely with the External Commission to ensure all aspects of the metrics and research are coordinated.
- Work closely with the ‘Co Production Lab’ (which includes LBBD) to share and develop metrics and research expertise and findings, including the LBBD Social Progress Index (currently in development). A Research Programme (led by you) that will build new knowledge through researching, analysing and codifying the emerging practices, and frameworks in order that by year 5 the new approach has been fully tested, evidenced and documented - ready for replication in other cities and places.
Salary: Up to £35,000 - £42,000 per year, depending on experience.
Skills
- Able to develop programmes of research which use a wide range of research techniques.
- Able to use wide variety of research methods.
- Excellent track record in action research & participatory methods.
- Interaction with policy change.
- Excellent people person- thriving on working with a diverse group of people.
- Excellent communication skills- written and verbal.
Knowledge & Experience
ESSENTIAL
- Experience of being a lead researcher (Principle Investigator) on large multiple partner research project working with a range of disciplines and practitioners.
- An understanding of the importance of good practice in research conduct (including in research ethics, research integrity and handling research data).
- Ability to play a leadership role in a team and also be an effective and collaborative member of a broader team, working constructively with senior staff and supporting the work of less experienced staff or students involved in projects.
- Experience of managing a research budget.
- Experience of co-production techniques.
- Experience of working with diverse teams across multiple sites.
- Track record of being action orientated - able to get things done to time and budget.
DESIRABLE
- Some applied out of university work would be valuable.
- You have applied research insights to create solutions.
- Experience of designing/developing new indices.
- Hold a relevant PhD.
- Experience of participation culture.
How To Apply
First, please, read through the full job pack for more information about the application process and position itself.
To apply: Email your CV (in PDF format) and 2 Page Application (in PDF format) to Operations Manager: chris@weareeveryone.org with an email subject line of ‘Senior Researcher - [Your Name] application.’
If you have any questions about any aspect of this role, please contact Wayne: wayne@participatorycity.org
If you would like to find out about more jobs like this one, sign up for our UK Newletter here!
DevelopmentEducationInclusionInequality Participatory City - Senior Researcher - School Team Participatory City is searching for a Senior Researcher to work on The Every One Every Day Initiative: Barking & Dagenham School Team. English Participatory City http://www.participatorycity.org/
Non-profit Job (Full-Time) Research 1533852000 London, United Kingdom Development & PeacebuildingEconomyEducationEnvironment & SustainabilityjobseekerUKCommunityEconomicsEducationResearchSocial Impact Career chris@weareeveryone.org 1533938400 Default Image 1 
Premium GBP Senior Wissenschaftler*in London, Vereinigtes Königreich