Research Associate in DiCED- Digital Campaigning and Electoral Democracy

​​​​​​​A Post Doctoral Research Associate is required to work on the Digital Campaigning and Electoral Democracy Project (DiCED) directed at the University of Manchester by Professor Rachel Gibson.  This project is a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Investigator Project.

The contract runs until 29 February 2024 and is a part time post of 0.6FTE. The Research Associate will be based in the Department of Politics, in the School of Social Sciences.  The University of Manchester values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

DiCED is a large-scale comparative project that studies the drivers and effects of digital campaigning in 5 countries and 7 national elections during the period 2020-2023. It combines a mix of qualitative and quantitative data and methods to investigate questions about the rise of a new form of ‘data-driven’ campaigning (DDC) within new and established democracies. Specifically, it examines whether, and if so how, digital and data-related innovations are fundamentally changing how campaigns are run, who runs them, and what their effects are on voters, parties and democratic systems more generally. DiCED is led by Professor Rachel Gibson and be delivered by a team of country, methodological and data management experts from the UK, Germany, France, Poland and the U.S.

The Research Associate will work with a vibrant team of researchers based at Manchester led by PI Professor Rachel Gibson, project partners (YouGov, Who Targets Me) and international academic experts. While the Research Associate will be encouraged to work across work packages, they will focus particularly on developing, coordinating and managing the qualitative and quantitative data collection and production of relevant documentation for ethical approval for the 2023 Polish national election.

As an equal opportunities employer we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of age, sex, gender (or gender identity), ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status.  All appointments are made on merit.

Our University is positive about flexible working – you can find out more here

Blended working arrangements may be considered

Please note that we are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies.

Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting and interviews:

Name: Prof Rachel Gibson

Email: [email protected] ​​​​​​​

General enquiries:

Email: [email protected]

Technical support:

https://jobseekersupport.jobtrain.co.uk/support/home

This vacancy will close for applications at midnight on the closing date.

Please see the link below for the Further Particulars document which contains the person specification criteria.