📢 Come to work with us on museum analytics! 💡📊🏛️
URL: https://cis7.bbk.ac.uk/vacancy/postdoctoral-research-assistant-531235.html
This is a full time, fixed term appointment until 30 September 2024 at Birkbeck, University of London. Please note, the successful candidate will be employed at Birkbeck for Year 1 and KCL for Year 2.
Are you a recent PhD graduate or a Post Doctoral in computer science or data science, looking to work on an exciting trans-disciplinary project in the museums sector?
We are seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to work on the AHRC-funded project “Museum Closure in the UK 2000-2025”. You will be based at the Computer Science department at Birkbeck during the first year, and at the Digital Humanities department at King’s College London during the second year. The Museum Closure project will use trans-disciplinary methods to analyse closure and collections dispersal within the UK museums sector. Its aim is to examine the geographic distribution of closure, to better understand types of closure, and to document the flows of objects and knowledge from museums in the aftermath of closure.
A Knowledge Base will be designed to model and store the collected data, and visualisations and statistical analyses of the data will be developed. Using these tools, the project team will aim to critically reassess notions of permanence and loss within the museum sector. The project builds on the earlier “Mapping Museums” and “Museums in the Pandemic” projects at Birkbeck (see http://blogs.bbk.ac.uk/mapping-museums/).
It is led by Fiona Candlin, Professor of Museology at Birkbeck (Principal Investigator), Dr Andrea Ballatore (Digital Humanities, King’s College London) and Professors Alexandra Poulovassilis and Peter Wood (Computer Science, Birkbeck). As well as the Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Data/Computer Science, the project will also employ a postdoctoral research fellow in museology.
You will design and implement the Knowledge Base (including software for uploading and extracting data), the statistical analyses, and the visualisations required for detailed data analysis. You will be required to collaborate with the other project members and report to the project group at regular team meetings (which may be held virtually or in person). You will be responsible for preparing refereed publications and presentations at conferences and project meetings. You may be required to travel within the UK and abroad several times a year.
Essential skills include hands-on experience of programming, database design and implementation, and data analytics. The technologies used in the project include Python, R, and Neo4j. Experience in information visualisation is also highly desirable.
Remuneration:
For the First year, Grade 7 of Birkbeck’s London Pay Scale which is ÂŁ41,348 rising to ÂŁ47,118 per annum.
For the Second Year, Grade 6, Spine Point 35 of KCL’s London Pay Scale which is ÂŁ45,931 per annum
The salary quoted is on the London Pay Scale which includes a consolidated Weighting/Allowance which applies only to staff whose normal contractual place of work is in the London area.
Enquiries:
If you would like to know more about the role, please contact Peter Wood, Professor of Computer Science, via p.wood@bbk.ac.uk.
If you have technical issues or difficulties using the recruitment portal, please contact jobs@bbk.ac.uk providing your name and the job reference number of the position.
While we are happy to respond to all informal enquiries, only formal applications through the online system will be considered.
Birkbeck offers a competitive salary and pension scheme, 31 days paid leave, flexible working arrangements and some of the most generous benefits in the HE sector, all while being located right in the heart of Central London.
We welcome applicants from all sections of the community. The College is committed to improving the gender and cultural diversity of its workforce, holding an Athena SWAN award and operating Disability Confident & Mindful Employer schemes.
Cultural Geo-Analytics Lab 