Research Associate (state capitalism and R&D investments)

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Department of Marketing, Retail and Tourism

£19.51 hourly pay + £2.35 per hour holiday pay

Short term role

Business School

26 Apr 2026

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Research Associate (state capitalism and R&D investments)

Job Description

The current opportunity is available for current Manchester Met students, to apply you must be based in the UK for the duration of the role.

The main purpose of this role is to provide research support to colleagues and support staff for the project on state capitalism and R&D investments by assisting, and where necessary taking the lead, with research data collection and analysis, and the dissemination of findings to appropriate groups related to the project.

Support the development of new areas in the field of business and management.

Dates: 05 May 2026 - 06 July 2026

Hours: 16 hours per week

Key Tasks

Research Activities
The project involves training and evaluating a range of large language and deep learning methods to classify projects using their textual descriptions. This will involve comparing different approaches ranging from i) supervised learning with TF-IDF / N-gram features paired with machine learning algorithms such as random forests, gradient boosting, and support vector machines, ii) supervised learning with deep natural language inference, and iii) unsupervised learning using embeddings and LLM prompting. This requires advanced knowledge of Python and a sufficient combination of knowledge working with packages such as Pandas, Scikit-Learn, Pytorch, transformers, LLMs. The specifics of the work can be tailored in line with the technical knowledge of the research assistant.
Undertake training and evaluating large language and deep learning methods using some of: Python, Pandas, Scikit-Learn, transformers and LLMs.

Plan and prioritise own day to day work and resources to achieve agreed research objectives, leading the work of small teams of research assistants and/or research students as required.
Undertake quality research and detailed analysis, and present findings to appropriate internal and external groups, such as research forums, conferences, or seminars, as required.
Write up results of own research and prepare for presentation to research team and relevant stakeholders.
Use initiative and judgement to develop appropriate techniques in order to facilitate research work and resolve problems affecting the achievement of objectives and deadlines.

Liaison and Networking
Contribute to the dissemination of research findings through journals, conferences and seminars, in order to further the institution’s standing in the HE and research community.
Participate in the development of internal and external partnerships and networks in order to disseminate information, share best practice, generate income, establish opportunities for collaborative work, and to enhance the reputation of the University.
Work with partners and external agencies on collaborative projects that benefit both the department and the Faculty.

Teaching Support
Supervise the work/projects of taught postgraduate and/or research students as required and provide training on techniques appropriate to the role.
Contribute to teaching support via demonstration of practical methods or operation equipment to undergraduate, masters and/or research students as appropriate.

Service Provision
Keep relevant stakeholders updated on progress, and be responsible for exploring their needs, and acting on feedback, in order to ensure that research delivers against their requirements.
Collaborate with senior academic staff to organise, manage and carry out appropriate research.
Respond to enquiries and requests for information from potential students, academic staff from other HE institutions, and relevant stakeholders, when required.
Proactively and effectively engage with quality assurance procedures to ensure that University standards are upheld.

Team Working
Actively participate as a member of the research team, providing mutual support to colleagues to achieve successful completion of projects.
Attend Faculty, Department and Programme meetings/boards as appropriate and proactively contribute to decision making.
Introduce new starters to the area, giving training on basic skills and activities to assist their induction to the team.
Guide and support research assistants and other members of staff within the department in areas of expertise e.g. in undertaking research and writing up papers for publication.

Miscellaneous

You have a legal duty, so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure that you do not endanger yourself or anyone else by your acts or omissions. In addition, you must cooperate with the University on health and safety matters and must not interfere or misuse anything provided for health, safety and welfare purposes.

You are responsible for applying the University’s Equal Opportunities Policy in your own area of responsibility and in your general conduct.

You have a responsibility to promote high levels of customer care within your own areas of work.

Such other relevant duties commensurate with the grade of the post as may be assigned by the Manager in agreement with you. Such agreement should not be unreasonably withheld.

You have the responsibility to engage with the University’s commitment to Environmental Sustainability in order to reduce its waste, energy consumption and carbon footprint.

You have the responsibility to engage with the University’s commitment to delivering value for money services that optimise the use of resources and therefore should consider this when undertaking all duties and aspects of your role.

Person Specification

This role is only open to current Manchester Met students who meet the criteria below:

Essential

* Studying for, or holding a post graduate degree, equivalent qualification or substantial relevant experience, and evidence of continuous professional development in statistics and/or artificial intelligence.

* Ability to synthesise complex data from different sources and communicate findings orally and via written reports and articles for a range of diverse audiences.

* Ability to undertake research by preparing, setting up, conducting and recording the outcome of experiments and/or field work.
* Ability to use initiative, creativity and judgement to develop appropriate approaches in order to further research and scholarly activities.

* Proficiency in the use of relevant software packages such as Python, Pandas, Scikit-Learn, transformers and LLMs.
* Possess sufficient breadth or depth of AI knowledge (including current practice), to work within established research programmes.

* Research experience in the field of business and management or related fields, including computer science.

* Experience of making a demonstrable, independent contribution to projects.

* Experience of preparing written reports of results.

* Experience of data collection.

* Experience of prioritising work independently and as part of a team in order to deliver individual and team objectives

Desirable

* Experience building relationships, networks and partnerships with internal and external contacts.

* Experience presenting at national and/or international research meetings.

* Experience preparing funding proposals and applications to external bodies.

* Experience supervising student work and providing appropriate support and feedback.

How to Apply

Please apply via the Apply button, completing the form on the next page and attaching your covering letter and CV, as a single document, in either .docx (preferred for accessibility) or .pdf format.

The deadline for applications is 11:59pm on Sunday 26 April 2026.

Manchester Metropolitan University is committed to supporting the rights, responsibilities, dignity, health and wellbeing of staff and students through our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

We are committed to providing accessible and inclusive recruitment. If you require or would benefit from support or reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and in work, please contact us by e-mailing [email protected]. This information will only be used and shared with those who require it to implement any change(s) and only at the point this is required.

If you have any queries, or need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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