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About the Role

The Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership (CVSL), part of the Faculty of Business & Law (FBL), invites applications for a Research Associate to support the Direct Cash Transfers to Alleviate Poverty Project. The project grew out of discussions between The Open University and MK Community Foundation following scoping research into the needs of the voluntary sector in the aftermath of the economic crisis commissioned by the Foundation. That research, conducted in 2023, found that demand on the voluntary sector was rising while its resources were shrinking. In response, the partners began exploring innovative ways to tackle poverty, which led to this project examining direct cash transfers in Milton Keynes. The research seeks to address three questions:

(1) What contextual factors influence the success of cash payment programmes?

(2) What impact are cash payment programmes expected to have on beneficiaries’ future income, health, education, and employment or self-employment outcomes?

(3) How will cash payment programmes affect social cohesion and community participation? The project is a joint initiative between The Open University’s CVSL and MK Community Foundation, and the postholder will both support and contribute to the research.

You will work alongside the academic research team in the Department of Public Leadership and Social Enterprise (PuLSE) and liaise regularly with MK Community Foundation and an advisory group of key Milton Keynes stakeholders. Most of the research will be carried out in person, although some work may be done remotely.

This is an exciting opportunity for a postdoctoral researcher with relevant research experience. The anticipated start date is 4 January 2027, and the contract will run until 30 September 2027 at 0.8 full-time equivalent (FTE).

The role offers opportunities for career and skills development, including the potential to support the team in producing research outputs such as conference papers, blogs, journal articles, and other dissemination materials, as well as applications for external research funding.

Key Responsibilities

• Supporting delivery of the direct cash transfer project’s objectives and coordinating tasks with the OU project team, MK Community Foundation, and a range of stakeholders.
• Reviewing the literature on direct cash transfers as a means of alleviating poverty.
• Organising and conducting up to thirty interviews with potential beneficiaries of a direct cash transfer scheme, key informants, and other stakeholders, as well as up to five focus groups.
• Analysing secondary data and data from interviews and focus groups.
• Drafting a clear and well-structured report on the research findings.
• Providing regular progress updates to the project advisory group, the CVSL team and MK Community Foundation.
• Communicating effectively through appropriate channels throughout the project to support engagement and impact.

About You

Essential Criteria:

• A PhD or professional qualification in a relevant field.
• Experience of reviewing academic and grey literature, including reports.
• Experience of conducting qualitative research interviews and analysing qualitative data effectively.
• The ability to use your own initiative while working as part of a multidisciplinary research team.
• The ability to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing, with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• IT skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams and NVivo (qualitative data analysis software).
• Professionalism when engaging with stakeholders.
• Record-keeping and organisational skills that demonstrate clarity and attention to detail and support accurate reporting.
• A diligent approach to conducting research and analysing information.
• Evidence of the ability to deliver work to an agreed standard within tight deadlines.

Desirable Criteria:

• Knowledge of relevant academic research areas.
• Familiarity with the Milton Keynes voluntary sector.
• An understanding of poverty alleviation, social inclusion and public administration.
• A record of research and/or knowledge exchange commensurate with the position.
• Experience of engaging stakeholders and producing communication outputs that drive change.
• Experience of translating qualitative findings into diagrams.
• Experience of planning and managing events.

Support with your application

If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email careers@open.ac.uk quoting the advert reference number.

What's in it for you?

At The Open University, we offer a range of benefits to recognise and reward great work, alongside policies and flexible working that contribute towards a great work life balance. Get all the details of what benefits we offer by visiting our Staff Benefits page (clicking this link will open a new window).

Flexible working

We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a job share, part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you.

Work location

It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where you can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that attendance on our Milton Keynes campus will be required. It is likely that you will work from our Milton Keynes office on average for 1 day per month, but this role requires flexibility to attend campus according to business need and so there will be occasions when attendance more than once a month is required. Full-time working from our Milton Keynes site is also supported if this is preferred by the candidate.  Expenses associated with travel to our Milton Keynes site are not reimbursable.

Next steps in the Recruitment process

Interviews are likely to be held in the week commencing 14 December 2026.

Early closing date notification

While most roles will remain open until the advertised closing date, applications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In some cases, vacancies may close earlier if a sufficient number of suitable applications have been received and equality impacts have been appropriately considered. All roles will remain advertised for a minimum of one week before any early closure is implemented.

If you have started an application or were in the process of applying when the advert closed, we encourage you to get in touch. We are committed to understanding individual circumstances and can offer further support where needed, including reasonable adjustments for applicants with protected characteristics.

How to apply

To apply for this role, please submit the following document(s):

• CV
• Supporting Statement (Your Supporting Statement should be no more than 1000 words and should outline how your current skills and experience meet the Essential Criteria, and where possible the Desirable Criteria listed above).

You can view your progress and application communications when you are logged into our recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folders if you do not receive associated email updates.