Research Associate (Safety Science)

Location: Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom; Oxford Road

Salary: £38,448–£46,970 per annum depending on experience

Company

The hirify.global is an educational and research institution focused on interdisciplinary research, learning, and community.

What you will do

• Conduct a cross-sectoral systematic review of academic and grey literature, regulatory reports, and industry guidance on learning from incidents and accidents.
• Analyse incident reporting, learning, and feedback mechanisms across construction, oil and gas, aviation, healthcare, nuclear, and other high-hazard or safety-critical sectors.
• Design and conduct qualitative research, including semi-structured interviews with industry practitioners, regulators, and safety professionals.
• Synthesise qualitative and quantitative findings into an evidence-based framework for intersectoral learning from incidents.
• Work with industry forums, regulators, professional bodies, and other project partners to ensure relevant and applicable outputs.

Requirements

• PhD or near completion in a relevant discipline, such as safety science, engineering management, risk management, human factors or applied psychology, organisational studies, systems engineering, or a related field.
• Proven experience in qualitative research, including interview design and thematic analysis, with strong proficiency in qualitative data analysis software such as NVivo or ATLAS.ti.
• Experience using quantitative methods, survey design and analysis, and software packages such as SPSS, Mplus, or R.
• Strong analytical and synthesis skills, including the ability to integrate evidence across disciplines and sectors.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience producing reports and/or academic publications.

Nice to have

• Experience researching and learning from incidents, accident investigation, or safety management systems.
• Familiarity with socio-technical safety frameworks such as STAMP, FRAM, and Safety-I/Safety-II.
• Experience working with industry or regulatory bodies in applied research contexts.
• Experience with mixed-methods research.
• Evidence of publications in safety, risk, or management journals.

Culture & Benefits

• Generous employer pension contribution.
• 29 days of annual leave plus bank holidays and Christmas closure.
• Ride-to-work and electric vehicle car schemes are available.
• Inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives, enquiry, challenge, learning, debate, and new ideas.