Job Purpose

To make a leading contribution to The Rule of Law at Work: Employment Law Compliance and Enforcement (‘LawAtWork’) project, working with the Principal Investigator, Professor Ruth Dukes, and the rest of the project team. LawAtWork investigates employment law compliance and enforcement across several jurisdictions including the UK, Italy and Germany. It thereby seeks to test the hypothesis that widespread breach of employment rights may erode public faith in the rule of law. Using a combination of methods drawn from economic anthropology, sociology, law and comparative political economy, LawAtWork analyses actors’ decision-making, motivations and understandings and, at the same time, the structural constraints and resources that shape perceptions and actions. In doing so, it pays particular attention to broad changes in political economy over time, to legal, institutional and organisational change, and to technological developments.

The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the formulation and submission of research publications and research proposals as well as help manage and direct this complex and challenging project as opportunities allow. The successful candidate will be expected to be fluent in either German or Italian to a level that will allow for the design and completion of fieldwork within Germany or Italy and the drafting of reports and scholarly articles in those languages.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1.        Take a leading role in the planning and conduct of assigned research individually or jointly in accordance with the project deliverables and research objectives.

2.        Document research output including analysis and interpretation of all data, maintaining records and databases, drafting reports and papers as appropriate.

3.        Survey the research literature and environment, understand the research challenges associated with the project, and participate in the development and implementation of a suitable research strategy to meet research objectives and produce project deliverables.

4.        Presentation of work at international and national conferences, at internal and external seminars, colloquia and workshops to develop and enhance the team’s research and/or impact profile. Take a leading role in team meetings, seminars and workshops.

5.        Take a lead in the organisation, supervision, mentoring and training of postgraduate students and less experienced members of the project team to ensure their effective development.

6.        Perform administrative tasks related to the activities of the research group and School, including updating and population of the project website and social media.

7.        Establish and maintain your own research profile and reputation and that of the University of Glasgow, including establishing and sustaining a track record of independent and joint publications of international quality, enhancing the research impact in terms of economic/societal benefit, and gathering indicators of esteem.

8.        Keep up to date with current knowledge and recent advances in the subject areas.

9.        Engage in personal, professional and career development, to enhance both specialist and transferable skills in accordance with desired career trajectory.

10.    Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by your line manager and the Head of School.

11.    Contribute to the enhancement of the University’s international profile in line with University strategy.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Qualifications

Essential

A1 Normally Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 12 (PhD), in sociology, law or an associated field, plus a track record of emerging independence within a research/professional environment or alternatively possess professional qualifications and experience equivalent to PhD level plus the requisite experience.

A2 A comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of current issues and future directions within the study of employment law and/or employment relations and the sociology of work.

A3 Well-developed working knowledge of research methods relevant to the project as outlined in the Job Purpose.

Skills

Essential:

C1 Ability to communicate material of a specialist or highly technical nature and to be effective both orally and in writing at a level appropriate to the activity.

C2 Developing track record of research outputs compatible with enhancing the School’s research profile in accordance with School objectives.

C3 Fluency in either German or Italian to a level that will allow for the design and completion of fieldwork within Germany or Italy and the drafting of reports and scholarly articles in those languages.

C4 Proven commitment to supporting the career development of colleagues and to other forms of collegiality appropriate to the career stage, including some experience of research project supervision.

C5 Effective organisation skills to manage time, prioritise and deliver appropriate research, teaching and administrative responsibilities.

C6 Commitment to open research, as appropriate to the discipline, through open data, open code, open educational resources and practices that support replication.

Experience

Essential

E1 Experience of making distinct contributions to identifying and pursuing research funding (or equivalent business development) applications.

E2 Experience of planning and progressing work activities within professional guidelines or organisational policy, applying initiative and independent judgement.

Desirable:

F1 Experience of designing and carrying out interviews for research purposes.

F2 Experience of analysing interview data.

F3 Experience of additional empirical methods including fieldwork observation and focus groups.

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 7, £41,064 - £46,049 per annum.

This post is full time (35 hours per week), and is fixed term for up to 36 months until 31st May 2029.

The University of Glasgow has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.  If you require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of the visa route to be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Please note that this post may be eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route if tradeable points can be used under the Skilled Worker visa rules. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.

2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.

3 A flexible approach to working.

4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University  https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.