Job Description

Unit : Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FASS) Salary : \xc2\xa337,099 to \xc2\xa344,263 (pro rata) Location : Please quote reference : 21136 7.5 hours per week, 10-month Fixed Term Contract Closing Date : 20 September, 2023 - 12:00

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK\'s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education.

The role

Applicants are invited to apply for a post-doctoral research associate position contributing to the OU funded Open Societal Challenges entitled \'Nurturing Creativities in Instrumental Music Education in Northern Ireland\'. The successful candidate will be based in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at The Open University Belfast Office and will work with Dr Lilian Simones (she/her). The anticipated start date is 1st November 2023.

Skills and experience

You will hold a PhD, or equivalent, in Music Education, Psychology, Sociology or a cognate area. You will have experience in building and supporting research capacity. You will be an active researcher producing high quality research outputs appropriate for career your stage.

The full summary of duties and skills required for the role can be found within the

Location and expenses

The role holder will be contractually based at the OU Belfast Office. Expenses for research field work travel have been allocated from within Northern Ireland to each of the project\'s required destinations by train.

While every effort will be made to support remote working and prevent the need for relocation, applicants are advised that the project may not be able to cover all additional travel costs that arise if they are located outside of Northern Ireland.

Flexible working options can be accommodated and apart from the needed research field work, most activities can be carried out remotely, with meetings conducted via Teams.

What you get in return

We offer a great range of benefits that support our employees and their families for the long term. Benefits include 33 days holiday per annum, pro rata, plus Bank Holidays and Christmas closure days and an attractive pension proposition.

If you would like to discuss the particulars of this role before making an application, please contact Dr Lilian Simones, Staff Tutor, School of Music, by email at:

Closing date: 20th September 2023 at 12:00 noon

Interview date: Likely to be between the second to fourth of October 2023.

How to apply

Access details for disabled applicants are available from the Resourcing Hub by telephone on 01908 655544 or by emailing quoting the vacancy reference VRF 21136

To apply for this role, you\'ll need to submit a personal statement and CV combined as one document. Please include your name in the header and add page numbers to the document. The document should also include the following information:

• CV - Please provide an academic CV that includes in any order details of your education, employment experience, publications and presentations, and any other information that demonstrates your suitability for the role.
• Personal statement - Your personal statement should respond, in order, to the questions outlined below and refer to the Person Specification. The word limits below are advisory only, but the whole personal statement should not exceed 1,000 words:

100 words - Briefly outline your background (such as your PhD project and/or employment history) and your interest in applying for the role. What appeals to you about the project? Does it align with your knowledge, experience, and skills? Is the contract on offer suited to your needs?

500 words - Think about a project that demonstrates your knowledge of at least one of the following topics:

Instrumental or vocal music education, Musical creativity and Music teaching and learning.

a) What were the project\'s aims?

b) What was your role on the project? In discussing your role, detail whether there were times that you worked independently, collaboratively, or both.

c) How did you conduct research? You should comment on your methodology, sources you used, and the main academic literature that underpinned your work.

d) What methodological or practical challenges did you face while conducting the research, and how did you adapt your working practices or the project\'s scope as a result?

e) What were the main findings from the project?

f) How did you share the project findings with academic (and if relevant, non-academic) audiences? For example, you could mention writing and publishing academic papers, presentations, and social media.

300 words - Is there any other relevant information about your knowledge, experience, or skills that you would like to share? In your answer, try to relate your achievements to the essential and desirable criteria listed in the Person Specification document and provide evidence. For example, you could give details of positive feedback from colleagues, quantify audience numbers at an event you organised, mention the outcome of training schemes you\'ve participated in, or discuss how your input positively changed a project.

Please save your document with the following file name as appropriate to the vacancy you are applying for: reference, surname, forename.

You will need to have your documents ready ahead of submitting the electronic application.

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