Research Associate (Consumer Behaviour)

Newcastle University

Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 🇬🇧

Research Associate – Consumer Behaviour

Requisition ID:  22382

Location:  Newcastle, GB

Contract Type:  Fixed Term

Working Pattern:  Full Time

Posted Date:  17-Jan-2023

We are a world class research-intensive university. We deliver teaching and learning of the highest quality. We play a leading role in economic, social and cultural development of the North East of England. Attracting and retaining high-calibre people is fundamental to our continued success.

What’s in it for you? Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Newcastle is an inclusive global University community where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

Newcastle University is committed to being a fully inclusive Global University which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from everybody, regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital status/civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, as well as being open to flexible working practices.

Salary: ÂŁ32,348 to ÂŁ34,308 per annum, with progression to ÂŁ42,155 per annum

Closing Date: 10 February 2023

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join an interdisciplinary academic team at Newcastle University working on several sustainable water and energy consumption-related projects which are externally funded. 

We are looking for a highly motivated and driven individual with a background in Marketing (with a particular focus on consumer behaviour), or other disciplines that are relevant to the projects. You are expected to have advanced mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) research skills. You should have knowledge of the literature and current issues in sustainability and sustainable behaviours (e.g. water use, energy, waste management, recycling, green transport); consumer digital technology adoption and use; and behaviour change theory and practice.

Your role will involve activities related to literature review, primary data collection, preparing conference and journal articles for publication, preparing reports for funders and media dissemination. As a representative of our dedicated research group, you will also engage in collaborative activities with industry stakeholders and government partners, and a series of impact and dissemination activities. Thus, very good communication and networking skills are essential.

The project will require you to travel regularly to the Customer Energy Village (at the InTEGRel site based in Gateshead-Newcastle), the wider North-East of England region and, possibly, nationally and internationally for data collection and dissemination purposes. These requests will be based on individual project needs and at the discretion of the academic leadership team. Travel will be subject to any regulations and restrictions at that time.

Please note that the position will be subject to confidentiality disclosure agreements, as per the specifics of each research project.

For any informal enquiries, please contact Prof. Savvas Papagiannidis savvas.papagiannidis@newcastle.ac.uk and Prof. Diana Gregory-Smith diana.gregory-smith@newcastle.ac.uk

This is a full-time, two-year, fixed-term position with the possibility of an extension, subject to funding.

For information about the Newcastle University Business and our research, please click here

For current news about some of the projects connected to this role, please click the following links:

https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2022-03-15/why-this-surreal-gateshead-estate-will-include-homes-spanning-the-20th-century

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2022/03/sifsmarthomes/

https://www.nwg.co.uk/news-and-media/news-releases/northumbrian-water-awarded-funding-for-new-project-to-save-customers-money/

Key Accountabilities

  • Conducting research and other duties aligned with the research programme(s) on consumer behaviour in relation to sustainability and technology adoption, under the leadership of the academic team including Prof. Savvas Papagiannidis and Prof. Diana Gregory-Smith Research duties will involve, among others, undertaking literature reviews, data collection, analysing and writing up research findings etc
  • Effectively communicating results and working as a team player with the wider interdisciplinary academic research team at Newcastle University and all other industry partners involved in the projects’ consortia 
  • Contributing to the dissemination of the research by its prompt publication in high-impact peered-reviewed journals, media reports and reports to the funders, as well as presentations at national and international conferences, workshops and policy-making forums, as applicable/needed for each project
  • Contributing to the generation of further research ideas, the writing of research proposals to fund these ideas and interdisciplinary and industry networking
  • Contributing to the community of researchers within the Newcastle University Business School and the wider University
  • The projects related to this role are connected to the Northern Gas Networks’ Customer Energy Village (at the InTEGRel site based in Gateshead-Newcastle), and thus require regular engagement and work on that site and the wider city
  • The role will require travel in the North East region (for data collection, stakeholder engagement and project meetings), the wider UK and possibly abroad for impact and dissemination processes. All travel will be subject to Government and University advice/regulations
  • The role will be subject to confidentiality disclosure agreements, given the involvement of industry partners

The Person 

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

  • Experience of conducting mixed-methods research projects (i.e. involving surveys, experiments, interviews, focus groups)
  • Excellent knowledge of behaviour change theory and practice
  • Good knowledge of literature and current issues in sustainability and sustainable consumer behaviours (e.g. water use, energy, waste management, recycling, green transport)
  • Good knowledge of the literature and current issues regarding consumer digital technology adoption and use
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present the research to scientific community, industry partners/stakeholders, policy makers, general public
  • Ability to work independently to develop research designs, collect data via mixed-methods and to solve problems
  • Ability and willingness to report progress regularly to the academic team (e.g. reporting in line with project deadlines)
  • Excellent time-management and organisational skills
  • Good interpersonal skills, particularly in working as part of an interdisciplinary team
  • Ability to travel and work regularly in Newcastle and other parts of the UK, including regular/occasional overnight stays away from home, according to the project needs
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality and security of information
  • Commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion
  • Research experience in the context of water, energy and sustainable behaviour (Desirable)
  • Previous experience of working with industry partners/organisations (Desirable)
  • Proven record of publication in peer-reviewed journals (Desirable)
  • Post-doctoral research experience in consumer behaviour or similar areas (Desirable)

Qualifications

  • A PhD awarded or close to completion in Marketing (e.g. Consumer Behaviour) or other project-relevant disciplines such as Environmental Psychology, Management, Information Systems and Technology
  • Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree in a project-relevant discipline 
     

The University holds a silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. The University also holds the HR Excellence in Research award for our work to support the career development of our researchers, and is a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 22382 


POSITION TYPE

ORGANIZATION TYPE

EXPERIENCE-LEVEL

DEGREE REQUIRED

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