Atelier Research-led Teaching Assistant

The main purpose of this role is to provide research and teaching support to the & Atelier under the leadership of Jens Haendeler during semester 1 of the academic year 2026/27. I am looking for a post-graduate student at level 7 with experience in interacting with questions of mental health, counselling, homelessness and economic precarity including in the context of the urban condition and climate change. The successful candidate will join the research-led & atelier at the Manchester School of Architecture and serve as a teaching and research assistant in contributing to discussions around above-mentioned topics from a psychological perspective. The & atelier investigates the built environment of Manchester from a transdisciplinary perspective. I welcome applications from individuals who have experience in crisis management, especially with queer people and marginalized communities, academic experience in working on questions of mental health, especially counselling experience is of utmost benefit, as are academic experience with the impacts of mental health issues on marginalized communities including young people. An undergraduate degree in psychology would be highly favourable.

Dates: October 9 2026 - December 22 2026

Hours: between 3 to 6 hours of work per week

Location: Manchester Technology Centre, MMU

Key Tasks

Contributing to focus group discussions amongst staff, students, and participants. Discussing findings with staff. You will plan and prioritise own work and resources, within research project framework, in order to determine the most effective way to achieve agreed research objectives. Active work is taking place during Friday's atelier times 10am to 1pm. Conduct literature and database searches using standard techniques and methods and writing up results are only marginally included within the scope of this project. No publications are planned. Attend Programme meetings/boards as appropriate to proactively contribute to decision making. Assist in the supervision of taught postgraduate and/or research students, as required, to support the development research skills.

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.

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

Essential

• First hand experience in crisis management with queer people and marginalized communities including counselling experience;
• Academic experience with mental health and counselling, and the impact of such on young people and people in forensic settings;
• An undergraduate degree in psychology would be highly favourable;
• Lived experience in interaction with vulnerable groups
• Working individually and in a team, but always with high levels of self-motivation;
• 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.
• Possess sufficient breadth or depth of knowledge to work within an established research team;
• Experience of data collection
• Experience of presenting and communicating complex information to a range of audiences, both orally and in writing