Graduate Research Assistant

Graduate Research Assistant

This part-time (0.9 FTE) post is available from 1 November 2026.

This post is offered as a fixed term contract and is funded by UKRI NERC until 30 November 2028.

In line with the University’s fair employment for all principles,, any further funding opportunities identified will be reviewed and discussed during the contract.

Salary will be £34,630 on Grade E subject to knowledge, skills and experience.

We welcome applications from candidates interested in job-sharing arrangements.

Please note that this role is subject to a DBS check. At the University of Exeter, we are committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.  We expect all our staff to share this commitment.

The Role

Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

The Faculty wishes to recruit a Research and Evaluation Assistant for a national project working towards equity in access and opportunity within the UK natural environment science education and workforce pipeline. The project focuses on pipeline inequity for individuals from Black heritage backgrounds and relies on the collection and analysis of data from a diversity of participants, settings and methods. 

The position, which can be filled as a job-share, will run for the duration of the project to assist with a diversity of aspects of data collection and analysis and project evaluation.

This includes, but is not limited to, carrying out literature searches for a quantitative survey, collating and preparing evaluation materials, organising files and updating databases, coordinating transcription and coding of data, contributing to transcription and coding of data and archiving of qualitative materials for content analysis, managing the evaluation calendar and assisting with dissemination of a national survey and analysis of results.

Training will be provided and tasks adapted as appropriate to skills and interests of the appointed individual. 

The Project

Context and Overview

Belonging is a core human need and fundamental determinant of educational experience, career trajectory and social integration for marginalised groups. In England, Black representation in NERC-facing subjects declines sharply from GCSE to A-level and undergraduate stages,reaching close to 0% in some NERC disciplines.

This pattern continues into employment: in 2022 only ~4.8% of those in NERC-related employment roles identified as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, compared with 12.6% across other sectors. Against entrenched anti-Black praxes in UK education manifested as tracking bias, inflated exclusion rates and persistent inequities in degree awards, lack of representation fundamentally erodes belonging.

Interventions explicitly cultivating belonging are both urgent and effective for improving retention and progression and, when cultivated at scale, for reshaping norms, networks, institutional cultures and policy trajectories.

Meeting the Challenge: Approach and Aims

Our theory of change centres connecting representation across the education and employment pipeline through coordinated interventions that operate at individual, institutional and policy levels. We will create spaces that normalise Black presence, leadership and expertise in environment sciences and use participatory and Afronographic (learning as people of African descent) methods to cultivate agency and translate lived experience into systems change. This “pipeline of belonging” will be leveraged to meet our aims of transforming individual trajectories and driving institutional and policy reform. 

About You

Applicants will be educated to bachelor's degree level or possess an equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study or equivalent experience and be able to demonstrate some knowledge in the discipline and of research methods and techniques to be able to begin work within established research programmes. Applicants will be able to demonstrate depth of understanding of day-to-day lived experiences of Black heritage individuals living in the UK and elsewhere in the Diaspora and meet the remaining essential person specifications for the role.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role. 

We would particularly encourage anyone interested in pursuing a postgraduate research degree in psychology or other closely aligned discipline to apply for this position.

Further information

• Please contact Safi Darden, s.darden@exeter.ac.uk 
• Not Specified
• Transform Your Career and Help Shape a Greener, Healthier, and Fairer Future

Join the University of Exeter, a top 200 Russel Group university (QS & THE World University Rankings 2025), excelling in teaching (triple Gold rating, TEF 2023) and leading groundbreaking research in the beautiful southwest of England. 

We are committed to understanding different cultures and perspectives, supporting diverse leadership, and striving for social justice. We encourage applications from all groups underrepresented in our community, including racially minoritised individuals and those with disabilities. Our inclusive, merit based recruitment processes seek to embrace a diverse set of experiences to ensure colleagues feel supported equitably. With over 30,000 students and 7,000 staff from 140 countries, we foster a culture where everyone can thrive.

You can read more about our current accreditations and commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here, including our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. 

What we can offer you

• Freedom (and the support) to pursue your intellectual interests and to work creatively across disciplines;
• Support teams that understand the University wide teaching goals and partner with our academics accordingly;
• An Innovation, Impact and Business directorate that works closely with our academics providing specialist support for external engagement and development;
• Our Exeter Academic initiative supports high performing academics to achieve their potential and develop their career;
• A multitude of staff benefits including sector leading benefits around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), paternity leave (up to 6 weeks full pay), and a Fertility Treatment Policy;
• A beautiful campus set in the heart of stunning Devon/Cornwall. 

How we can help

If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch with us at [email protected]. You can request reasonable adjustments within your application or by contacting us. You can also choose to be considered under our Disability Confident Scheme and find out here how this is managed during our recruitment and onboarding process.