Research Fellow - REES Centre

Would you like to be a part of world-leading research which will improve the lives of children and young people supported by children's social care services?

The Rees Centre, based at the University of Oxford's Department of Education, is expanding with three exciting opportunities which will help the Centre step up its programme of academic research. The Centre produces research and evidence that enables practitioners, policy makers, and the research community to understand and improve children's social care and education.

Following the launch of our new five-year strategy, we are seeking a Research Fellow, who will be a skilled statistician with a track record in analysing large-scale administrative data on children's social care. They will lead the data analytic elements of a new three-year programme of research on stability for children in foster and kinship care.

Our new strategy sets out our vision for a future where children and young people supported by Children's Social Care (CSC) have more stable and robust relationships, better educational outcomes, and better lives. You would join a team of committed research and professional services staff drawn from various academic disciplines who have policy and practice experience in education and children's social care. The Centre offers its staff a supportive and collaborative environment in which to produce high-quality research that has real world impact on professional practice, and on the lives of children and their caregivers.

If you feel you could contribute to our vision, please apply on the links below.

The Department of Education at the University of Oxford wishes to appoint an experienced statistician as a Research Fellow to lead the data analytic elements of a new three year programme of research on stability for children in foster and kinship care.

As part of a strong and growing team of researchers in the Rees Centre, you will use your knowledge of research and associated administrative data-sets on children in care to lead the day-to-day analysis of national datasets, in particular, the SSDA903 statistics (children's social care) and the National Pupil Database (education) and work to improve understanding of trends in the current measures of stability.

You will ensure that the work is legal, ethical, and robust and that it delivers policy-relevant insights. There is also an opportunity to influence the future development of children's social care data, how it is best analysed, interpreted and used to understand the stability of care, and its contribution to children's outcomes.

You will hold a relevant Ph.D./D. Phil with sufficient relevant post qualification experience to have built a strong publications record. You will have a good understanding of the relevant large-scale datasets and have sufficient knowledge of policy and practice in children's social care to understand how they relate to the operational realities of social care services. As a Research Fellow, you will be able to make research applications and lead funded research. This requires the ability to independently design, plan and manage research and analysis projects, including analytical strategies, quality assurance and financial management.

Experience in making successful applications, managing a research budget and supervising staff, would therefore be advantageous.

This post is full time and offered on a fixed term for 3 years.

We welcome applications from care-experienced people.

Applications for this vacancy are to be made online and you will be required to upload a supporting statement, CV and a statement of research interests and future research plans as part of your online application. Your supporting statement must explain how you meet each of the selection criteria for the post.

Only applications received before 12.00 midday on 13 th January 2025 will be considered.

Interviews are planned to be held week commencing 27 th January 2025, at the Department of Education, Oxford.