Research Associate in Computer Science King's College London United Kingdom
# Job description
We are seeking to appoint a full-time fixed-term researcher from September 2023 to August 2024 to work on the [IMPETUS project](https://impetus4cs.eu/). The project is dedicated to supporting and promoting participatory science and engagement in Europe, by providing funding, mentoring and training, and awarding the European Union Prize for Citizen Science.
The successful candidate will be based in the Distributed Artificial Intelligence group in the Department of Informatics.
The role will involve research and development in citizen science, with a focus on data use, ethics and processing in grass-roots participatory projects. The main contribution to the project will be in preparing and implementing an open call to select the next cohort of citizen science initiatives the project will fund. This will involve defining challenges for initiatives to address, including engagement with a citizen panel; creating and maintaining guidance documentation for applicants and an application platform; responding to applicant queries; hosting webinars to explain the call; conducting eligibility checks; arranging reviews for eligible applications, including organising external, paid reviewers; and conducting interviews with selected applicants. The role further includes the collation of insight from applicants, reviewers, participants, and the projects overall, to produce project and research publications.
The project provides a rich playground for research into participatory data approaches. The role will undertake action research to develop methods and approaches to advance the state of the art in human data interaction, as well as responsible data collection, management, and stewardship. This should result in publications, design materials, and guidance for bottom-up data projects with impact.
As a post-doctoral researcher, you will work closely with the technical coordinator of the project, also based at King’s. You will lead and contribute to research publications in the areas described above and be part of a team working on a range of human-centric data and AI topics. You may also be involved in stakeholder engagement and grant writing activities to ensure the sustainability of this line of research.
You must have outstanding time management, organisation, and collaboration skills. The post also includes (face to face and virtual) meetings with the Impetus project team, and travel to represent the project at European events. You must have fluent English communication skills to: engage with colleagues; perform public outreach; produce publications; present work to different audiences; and forge partnerships for follow-up funding.
This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for 1 year until the 31st December 2024.
This is a full-time post# Key responsibilities
- Support the delivery of the IMPETUS project - Coordinate the implementation of a funding call - Advise citizen science projects on topics related to data collection, processing, management, ethics, stewardship and open science - Develop and deliver training sessions for citizen science initiatives on these topics - Define relevant challenges in citizen science and sustainability - Help promote the projects by contributing to specific outreach events - Lead on or contribute to specific deliverable reports and research publications - Contribute to the writing of bids for research funding. - Carry out administrative tasks associated with specified research funding, including but not limited to organisation of project meetings, documentation of innovation action processes, implementation of procedures required to ensure accurate and timely execution of the assigned tasks in the project including those outlined above.
*The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.*
# Skills, knowledge, and experience
**Essential criteria**
1. PhD awarded (or near completion) in computer science, data science or web science or related work experience
2. Excellent time management and organisation skills
3. Experience in quantitative and qualitative research (e.g. user studies)
4. Excellent communication skills
5. Expertise in human data interaction, responsible data collection, management, and stewardship, data ethics.
**Desirable criteria**
1. Expertise in citizen science or science communication
2. Expertise in responsible research and innovation (RRI)
3. Knowledge of fundamental data science and analysis concepts, methods and tools and their applications
4. Very good grasp of the social, economic and environmental implications of technology
5. Experience in working in European projects in terms of management structures and reporting requirements.
## Further information
The post is for 1 year in the first instance, with the option to extend. We are looking to appoint as early September, but no later than November 2023.
*We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.*
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