Applied Memory Lab Research Associate - School of Psychology - 108292 - Grade 6

Position Details

School of Psychology 

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £33,002 to £35,608 with potential progression once in post to £39,906

Grade: 6

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to February 2027 

Closing date: 17th November 2026

Background

To create and contribute to the creation of knowledge by undertaking a specified range of   activities within an established research programme and/or specific research project.

Role Summary

A Research Associate (RA) is a junior/entry-level research-focused role with a global remit. Your main responsibility is to support other members of the Applied Memory lab on project work for a diverse range of studies and impact activities. You may also be tasked with liaising with study participants directly and working with other senior team members to ensure the efficient and effective coordination of project work.

Main Duties

• Liaising with external non-academic partners (e.g., police forces and legal stakeholders) to assist with translating research for practice.
• Assistance with analysing impacts as a results of our research, and summarising the literature for non-academics 
• Administrative duties possibly including liaising with participants before and after study, assistance with gaining ethical approval, website development and maintenance, and lab organisation 
• Conducting experiments, participant recruitment, data collection and analyses
• Present research and impact outputs, including academic writings or parts thereof, for example at lab meetings, seminars and as posters
• Collaborating and assisting other colleagues in their research activities. Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews 
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters 
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research 
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Fosters a fair and equitable workplace for all staff
• Identify and respond to equality and diversity issues in line with relevant university policies and procedures
• Other relevant criteria from our equality and diversity duties document.

Person Specification

• An undergraduate degree in psychology, neuroscience, computer science or a related field 
• Resourcefulness and organisational skills to act on own initiative
• Ability to work independently
• Experience with Microsoft Office
• Experience or familiarity with research on memory and decision making, or related areas, particularly eyewitness identification (desirable).
• Experience with programming and statistics (e.g., Matlab, R or Python)
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010. Including fostering good relations and advancing the universities Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).
• Practical experience of applying the relevant skills and techniques
• Ability to analyse information and communicate effectively
• Ability to access and organise resources successfully

Further particulars can be found here

Informal enquiries to Melissa Colloff, email: [email protected] 

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.